Hey Mercedes more than just another emo band
Jessica Klement
Issue date: 2/3/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
From the ashes of early '90s emo heroes Braid came Hey Mercedes. After years of constant touring and numerous albums, Braid learned that having a hard work ethic can lead to exhaustion and disintegration of a group. But before Braid ended three of the members knew they were meant to find success in another form.
"We weren't through playing music, I mean at the time we were through playing with the band," says Robert Nanna, Mercedes' leading man. "Three of us really wanted to keep playing music and so we knew even before Braid broke up that the three of us, being [drummer] Damon [Atkinson], [bassist] Todd [Bell] and myself decided to start our own band."
The three former Braid members took a few months off but after finding Mark Dawursk for guitar, they jumped back into the studios to start a new band and album in April of 2000.
"I think the first album was maybe us getting use to a new person playing in the band," says Nanna. "And kind of feeling out what we wanted to do."
Hey Mercedes' new album, Loses Control has the band satisfied as to the sound they set out to accomplish; they strayed away from the emo sound to more rock.
"This new album is definitely more of a collaboration of the four of us and I think that in a lot of ways it's a little more rock than Everynight Fire Works," says Nanna. "It's definitely more of a focused sound."
One of the reasons for the success of Loses Control was Michael Shumaker who replaced Dawursk for on guitar, this added more charisma to the musical talents of Mercedes.
"As far as the songs go I think he does add a really great new dynamic and that is kind of a more rock quotient," says Nanna. "The band he was in called, Sheilbound he was the only guitar player and he had all the guitar duties and all the singing duties, he had more of a sick rock background then ... I did."
The inspirational lyrics of Loses Control were produced when the group headed to a friend's cabin in a secluded area of Massachusetts.
"We weren't through playing music, I mean at the time we were through playing with the band," says Robert Nanna, Mercedes' leading man. "Three of us really wanted to keep playing music and so we knew even before Braid broke up that the three of us, being [drummer] Damon [Atkinson], [bassist] Todd [Bell] and myself decided to start our own band."
The three former Braid members took a few months off but after finding Mark Dawursk for guitar, they jumped back into the studios to start a new band and album in April of 2000.
"I think the first album was maybe us getting use to a new person playing in the band," says Nanna. "And kind of feeling out what we wanted to do."
Hey Mercedes' new album, Loses Control has the band satisfied as to the sound they set out to accomplish; they strayed away from the emo sound to more rock.
"This new album is definitely more of a collaboration of the four of us and I think that in a lot of ways it's a little more rock than Everynight Fire Works," says Nanna. "It's definitely more of a focused sound."
One of the reasons for the success of Loses Control was Michael Shumaker who replaced Dawursk for on guitar, this added more charisma to the musical talents of Mercedes.
"As far as the songs go I think he does add a really great new dynamic and that is kind of a more rock quotient," says Nanna. "The band he was in called, Sheilbound he was the only guitar player and he had all the guitar duties and all the singing duties, he had more of a sick rock background then ... I did."
The inspirational lyrics of Loses Control were produced when the group headed to a friend's cabin in a secluded area of Massachusetts.
