Save Ferris has created a sound fueled by the finger-snapping rhythms of their eleven-track Epic album It Means Everything. There's the vintage vibe of "Superspy," the sexy swing of "Goodbye," the sing-along "Spam," the bounce of "The World Is New," and a rocking version of "Come On Eileen," the Dexy's Midnight Runners hit which topped the US charts in 1983.

All seven members were a part of the budding Third Wave ska underground circa 1995. After their band Los Pantelones fell apart at the seams, guitarist Brian Mashburn and saxman Eric Zamora, for fun, decided to make music with some friends including former Pantelones bassist Bill Uechi and trumpeter Jose Castellanos. Using the temporary name Save Ferris -- a graffiti Brian had seen on a cubicle wall -- they played a few casual gigs. People remembered the catch phrase from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the band for their catchy music.

Within a month, Brian had written more songs, and the band had recruited a fierce drummer even younger than themselves. They just needed the right singer.

Brian and Bill made a couple of nervous, giggle-filled calls to Monique "Mo" Powell's parents' home, after obtaining her number from an old high school roster.

"When I was 11 I wanted to be a ballerina, but I had a growth spurt," Mo explains. "So I started singing. The only lessons nearby were from a classical voice teacher -- I wanted to learn pop, so we compromised and she taught me pop and opera." Mo's classical training continued until her love for ska and Duran Duran took over.

"I got into a folk band, and then an all-girl ska band which played one show and broke up. Then I got into a band called Larry, founded by the bass player from Suburban Rhythm. We threw lard at the audience during a St. Patrick's Day show at a roller rink in Huntington Beach. Then one day I came home and my dad said, "These punk kids are crank-calling you and they were laughing and said they wanted to talk to you about a band." Mo returned the call.

A month after enlisting Monique and former Knuckle Brothers trombonist T-Bone WIlly, Save Ferris recorded and mixed seven songs in just 30 hours of studio time. The result was a self-released CD, Introducing Save Ferris, which was meant as a calling card for bookings. It quickly began to sell at shows and in local record stores.

"We designated ourselves a record company (Starpool)," explains Brian. "Jose became the distribution guy driving from San Diego to Riverside to L.A. to deliver records, Bill did the artwork, and so on." On their own, the band sold 12,000 copies of Introducing Save Ferris, since remastered and nationally distributed by Epic. The EP has sold an additional 22,000 since April '97, when radio stations began playing "The World Is New."

In late '96, Save Ferris was one of 6,000 nationwide submissions chosen to compete in the NARAS Foundation-sponsored Grammy Showcase. After taking top honors in both the local and regional showcases, the band was flown to New York in February, '97 for the final round. Unbeknownst to Save Ferris, Epic Senior VP of A&R David Massey was in the audience. "We had a meeting with him the next day, and then every day we were in New York," Brian recounts. "When we came home, we had not only won the NARAS contest but had set up the basic grounds for our deal."

Three months later, the group was recording its Epic debut album with Producer Peter Collins (who's worked with everyone from Suicidal Tendencies to Musical Youth and Jewel) and engineer Clive Goddard (Sneaker Pimps, World Party). Upon completion of It Means Everything, the band quickly shot a video for the first single, "Come On Eileen," and hit the road.

"All we can do is express who we are, and we're not happy all the time," surmises Mo Powell. "But we do love to play the music that we play, and we love to go up on stage and give everything we have, then walk off the stage feeling absolutely drained because we gave every single ounce of energy. That's what Save Ferris is about."