Of this province's 100-year lifespan, Saskatchewan has spent a full tenth of it listening to a home-grown trio known as Wide Mouth Mason.

Of course, not every Saskatchewan resident can be called a fan of Shaun Verreault, Safwan Javed and Earl Pereira, who have been a staple of the Canadian music scene since their formation as a band in 1995, spawning hits like "This Mourning," "Smile" and "Sugar Cane."

But with five albums under their belt (most bands are lucky to make one or two), an impressive resume that includes opening gigs for the Rolling Stones and AC/DC, and experience performing across North America and the world, you can't look at Wide Mouth Mason and not think, 'Hey, not bad for some local boys from Saskatoon.'

Still, is it fair to pigeonhole Wide Mouth Mason as a "Saskatchewan band," a label that carries implications of a solely local fan base?

Depends on your perspective, according to drummer/back-up vocalist Safwan Javed.

"I guess we are a band that's national or international in scope, in terms of we've played all over North America, and we've played overseas, across both oceans," said Javed, in a recent interview.

"But if you're defining a Saskatchewan band made up of people who are Saskatchewanites in how they carry themselves, and how they sort of perceive the world, then yeah, I think we're a Saskatchewan band," he said.

This Friday, July 22, Wide Mouth Mason (along with Megan Lane and the Wheat Monkeys) will be performing a free concert in the city of Weyburn as part of the 2005 Crop Checkin' Tour, in honour of Saskatchewan's Centennial.

Residents should note an important fact from that last paragraph: this concert is free. FREE. While it may be in the Tom Zandee Sports Arena, it won't cost you a penny to see this celebration of Saskatchewan talent.

Though some might argue the lack of a ticket price can mean a lacklustre performance, from Javed's perspective, a "free" concert doesn't necessarily translate to "bad."

"Ultimately I feel we owe it to ourselves, and the band as a whole, whenever we go out, we give it our all," said Javed.

"I think we're learned lessons early on when we were touring and just kind of making our start," he added, dropping names like Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar, the Odds and 54-40 as mentors who showed them the ropes.

"No matter what the scenario is, you still go out and put your show on, and your show should always be consistently good. And if it's not, then you need to work on it, regardless of whether there's two people or 2,000 people or 20,000 people, or whether the people paid $30 or whether they got in for free."

2005 is a big year for Wide Mouth Mason in marking their 10th anniversary alone. But they've also signed with a new label, Curve Music, and their sixth album, "Shot Down Satellites," is due for release in mid-August. Concert-goers in Weyburn can expect some new music mixed in with Wide Mouth's usual hits, which may or may not include their new single, "I Love Not Loving You."

"We kind of took our time with the record," says Javed. " With no pending distribution set-up, it was kind of like we took things at our own pace, so we feel really good about it."

Though there are a few soft ballads on "Shot Down Satellites," Javed says the album on the whole leans toward the "rock" side of the band's sound.

"In the scope of Wide Mouth Mason, it's towards the heavier end of what we do," he says. "Generally speaking, it's a heavy rock record."

Though Wide Mouth is clearly still putting out a product, recently, both Earl and Shaun have worked on solo projects; Verreault is currently on a "Not Quite Wide Mouth Mason" tour as of now.

Solo records might spell the doom of some groups (think David Usher and Moist), but Safwan says it's just natural that the band should branch out with independent projects. After all, they're people - and artists, for that matter - outside of being in Wide Mouth Mason.

"It's healthy for the sake of the band, and for the individuals that make up that band We're 10 years in now, and looking back on that, you feel like this becomes your identity. Everything you are relates back to this band."

"Either you become sick of it or you become really jaded and you lose all perspective. You only know that, and you literally are a one-trick-pony."

"I think it's really healthy for all of us that we have other things in our lives, that aren't just Wide Mouth Mason," says Javed. "(But) the plan is to stay a band as long as people still want to hear our music."

Doors open for the Crop Checkin' concert at 7 p.m. For more info on the tour, go to: www.cropcheckin.com