Mom Rock List the Top 10 Commercials that Influenced Their New Album

Mom Rock represents all those staples of rock music that you love and keep coming back to. Their songs are upbeat, positive, and radio-ready. You’ll hear as much on their debut album, Now That’s What I Call Mom Rock. Due out this Friday, October 13th, the record features eight rock n’ roll anthems with pleasing pop hooks and the energy of a young band that’s just starting to come into their own. Based in Nashville, the trio has worked hard to get to this point. They’ve all only ever wanted to play music, and they feel like it’s the perfect time to be a young band. People are looking to art for both entertainment and enlightenment, and that’s where Mom Rock feels they can come in.

Based in Nashville, Mom Rock features singer and guitarist Curtis Heimburger, bassist and singer Tara Maggiulli, and drummer Wilson Reardon. They initially formed in 2017, a house party group that knew how to get the party started. Heimburger initially met Reardon while they were students at the Berklee College of Music. Maggiulli joined a year later, and the lineup was complete. The new album is an amalgamation of everything they have previously done but in a more sophisticated way. They tried to record the songs as they would sound in a live setting. It’s quite an impressive release that shows a lot of potential for a band still growing.

Joining us today for a special Top 10 list is Mom Rock themselves. Today, they run down for us the top ten commercials that in some way had an influence on Now That’s What I Call Mom Rock.

1. Chili’s Baby Back Ribs

“Perhaps one of our strongest musical influences, this commercial inspired the melody for our song ‘Real Tough Life.’ In a rehearsal, we were jamming on ‘Chili’s Baby Back Ribs,’ which eventually evolved (or devolved) into the chorus for the track. Due to copyright laws, we were advised to change the lyrics to something more ‘on brand’ and ‘not about ribs.’”

2. Shake Weight

“It’s hard to keep in shape on the road, so we turned to the shake weight for a portable workout solution. Tara loves it so much that she opted to use it during her vocal takes, against our producer’s wishes. You can hear it throughout the record, but most prominently, at the end of ‘Something New For Free.’”

3. House Hippo

“Those unfamiliar with the House Hippo, this Canadian gem was a PSA aimed to encourage the youth to think critically about what they watch on TV and see online. The house hippo is sadly a creature that does not exist, inspiring the line, ‘Sometimes I wish I didn’t exist’ in our song ‘Sometimes (I Wish).’ Fun fact: we almost entitled this song ‘House Hippo’ because of this. Sadly, we felt the reference would be lost on our listenership, and opted for the current title.”

4. Ringo Starr Apple Juice

“To be just like one of our heroes, Ringo Starr, we collectively consumed 37 gallons of apple juice in the span of one day. The sugar rush was so severe that it sparked us to write ‘My Way’ in three minutes flat. The resulting sugar crash caused us to go into hibernation.”

5. Geico’s Don’t Be Like Your Parents

“One of the more recent commercials on our list, this one is destined to be a classic, as we hope our album will be too. Unlike a lot of things you like, your parents will love this.”

6. Bumpit

“Many people fawn over Curtis and Wilson’s mullets which are accentuated by the Bumpit. But where there are admirers, there are haters. ‘More Than Happy’ is a response to all those who are jealous of their poise and beauty. People seek to bring others down to bring themselves up, but if they really wanted to do that, they could just use the Bumpit.”

7. Starburst Berries and Bream

“When we watched this commercial for the first time, we thought, ‘Isn’t that just so fun?’ From this, ‘Just So Fun’ was born, and we hope that it captures the delight and whimsy of this little lad. The line, ‘It’s just so fun to see you happy unlike anyone,’ describes his insurmountable joy when he encounters Starburst berries and cream.”

8. George Foreman G5

“One morning, while having breakfast together, we realized we’d all had the same dream that night: we were each married to George Foreman, living in a big house with a big dog and a big George Foreman grill. We all felt a sense of loss upon waking up from this dream and decided to immortalize it in our song ‘Close Your Eyes.’ George, if you’re reading this, please answer our calls.”

9. Peepy

“WE. HATE. THIS. Out of pure disgust and vitriol, Curtis wrote ‘Scumbag’ to vent his anger towards Peepy. The line, ‘He’s a wet rag,’ describes Curtis’s fantasy to use Peepy as a toilet cleaning utensil.”

10. Billy Mays OxiClean

“During the recording of Now That’s What I Call Mom Rock, Wilson spilled a glass of apple juice all over his drums. Our producer got really mad, and we thought the record was done for. Luckily, it wasn’t long before we remembered the wise words of Billy Mays, and we ran to the nearest convenience store to get a jug of OxiClean. We had the drums spotless in no time, and the record was saved. Thank you, Billy Mays!”

Mom Rock ‘Now That’s What I Call Mom Rock’ album artwork