The Mexican Pets were a four piece guitar band, who formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1991 by vocalist and guitarist Pat Clafferty. Mexican Pets were Pat Clafferty (guitar & vocals), John Duff (bass), Brian Gough (guitar, organ & occasional vocals), and Fionan O'Leary (drums). Former members include Jill Hahn (guitar), who originally co-founded the band with Pat Clafferty, and Derrick Dalton (bass).
The band released their first record "The Voice of Trucker Youth", in 1996 on Blunt/Independent records, a small Dublin-based label established in 1994. The record was a collection of the a and b-sides of their first five singles ("Nobody's Working Title", "Subside", "How To Have More Fun", "Diana the Moon", and "Where's My Pony?/Mackerel Sky High"), which were originally only released on vinyl, so the band compiled them all on cd on "The Voice of Trucker Youth" principally as a promotional tool to bring with them and sell when they toured Europe. The record comes with the instructions "Play Loud" printed on the inside sleeve, and better advice i could not recommend. It is a fun record, especially when played loud.
The Mexican Pets sound was described by their label as "beautifully sculpted melodies with finely weighted guitar tunes for the heart-soaring generation". In their heyday the Pets played with bands such as Pavement, Sebadoh, Fugazi, and Pet Lamb, and their musical sound was compared to the likes of Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth and Sebadoh. Unfortunately, the Pets broke up in June 1997.
In their short, six-year career, the Pets released two albums, "Humbucker" in April 1997, and the singles compilation "The Voice of Trucker Youth" in 1996.
My favourite line from a Pets song is "Now I've got a new friend, she tells me everything, except how to have more fun", from "How To Have More Fun" from the single of the same title.
Pat Clafferty released a solo album, entitled A Prayer for St. Jude in June 2004. But at the time of writing, there is no sign of the Pets reforming.
The story round town goes, that the Mexican Ambassador to Dublin once invited the Mexican Pets to play at the Mexican Embassy in Dublin, purely on the basis of their name! I'm assured the story is true. What a claim to fame!
with thanks to: www.irishmusiccentral.com