Bio
Bio of Mercury Rev
The Holographic Press - by Jack Bishop, Senior Editor (updated 10/06)
MERCURY REV was formed in Buffalo, New York in the late 1980's. Consistently driven by Jonathan Donahue (vocalist/acoustic guitar), Grasshopper (moth-light guitars, etc.), Jeff Mercel (drums/piano) with Dave Fridmann (bass explore, telescope, knob twiddler), Mercury Rev have continued to surprise and enlighten listeners for over a decade and a half with their maverick musical explorations. In the beginning, MERCURY REV's first recordings emerged simply as a means for creating soundtracks to experimental films that they and their friends were creating. David Baker (sometimes vocals), Suzanne Thorpe (flutes), and Jimy Chambers (percussion) joined this loosely connected ensemble, and eventually recorded a demo during off-hours at the SUNY Fredonia studio. This demo somehow made its way to the British offices of the Jungle/Mint label, who contacted Donahue about signing the group. MERCURY REV reconvened to record their debut, YERSELF IS STEAM. Highlighted by distorted art-pop epics like "Chasing a Bee", "Coney Island Cyclone", and "Frittering", YERSELF IS STEAM was released to widespread acclaim in 1991. Later that year, the CAR WASH HAIR E.P. further convinced pundits of MERCURY REV's volatile genius. The group's second show (playing to over 10,000 people) at the Reading Festival in the UK, showed the dynamics of their live show, and during the next year and a half they found themselves performing at such diverse venues as the Royal Albert Hall in London and in an opening slot for Bob Dylan at Yale University. The release of BOCES in 1993 was a continuation of their marriage of searing noise with crystalline pop. Although this became their first record to hit the UK Top 50, by the next year, musical differences led to the departure of David Baker. Dave Fridmann, on the other hand, decided to focus on sound engineering and production, and ceased touring with the band (continuing to work with them in the studio). By the time the beautiful SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE appeared in 1995, the first chapter in MERCURY REV's maverick career had drawn to a close. While critics marveled over the wonderfully eclectic pop-jazz experiments of "Everlasting Arm", and "Racing the Tide", the band grappled with puzzling personal predicaments. Switching Record labels and nearly broke, Donahue and Grasshopper relocated to the Catskill Mountains in New York State with newcomers Adam Snyder (keyboards) and Jeff Mercel to begin writing new material. Chambers and Thorpe, unable to deal with the band's continuous chaos, decided to move on. The band began recording what was to become DESERTER'S SONGS during 1997 at Dave Fridmann's new Tarbox Recording Studio. DESERTER'S SONGS was released in 1998 to world-wide acclaim. On this influential album, Mercury Rev reinvented itself with sweeping orchestrations and poetically heartfelt lyrics. It would herald a rebirth for the band, allowing for further experimentation and thrill-seeking. Mercury Rev toured extensively for DESERTER'S SONGS, whuch was chosen as album of the year by the NME, MOJO, and many other music mags. Besides playing shows in Europe and The US, MERCURY REV found themselves playing festivals in Iceland, Israel, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Recorded at the end of 2000/early 2001, their follow-up ALL IS DREAM found MERCURY REV once again broadening their musical horizons with cinematic bombast. Older and slightly wiser, the band stumbled into exhilarating new musical galaxies on such songs as "The Dark Is Rising", "Little Rhymes", and "Tides of the Moon." They toured the world for most of 2002, and began recording songs with Dave Fridmann during the early months of 2003. During this "time off" they were also involved with composing pieces for various film soundtracks. THE SECRET MIGRATION came out at the beginning of 2005 and writer David Fricke wrote:"Mercury Rev have finally made their great life-cycle album, their own DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, except this one ends in promise and light." -Jack Bishop THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRESS (senior editor)}
The Holographic Press - by Jack Bishop, Senior Editor (updated 10/06)
MERCURY REV was formed in Buffalo, New York in the late 1980's. Consistently driven by Jonathan Donahue (vocalist/acoustic guitar), Grasshopper (moth-light guitars, etc.), Jeff Mercel (drums/piano) with Dave Fridmann (bass explore, telescope, knob twiddler), Mercury Rev have continued to surprise and enlighten listeners for over a decade and a half with their maverick musical explorations. In the beginning, MERCURY REV's first recordings emerged simply as a means for creating soundtracks to experimental films that they and their friends were creating. David Baker (sometimes vocals), Suzanne Thorpe (flutes), and Jimy Chambers (percussion) joined this loosely connected ensemble, and eventually recorded a demo during off-hours at the SUNY Fredonia studio. This demo somehow made its way to the British offices of the Jungle/Mint label, who contacted Donahue about signing the group. MERCURY REV reconvened to record their debut, YERSELF IS STEAM. Highlighted by distorted art-pop epics like "Chasing a Bee", "Coney Island Cyclone", and "Frittering", YERSELF IS STEAM was released to widespread acclaim in 1991. Later that year, the CAR WASH HAIR E.P. further convinced pundits of MERCURY REV's volatile genius. The group's second show (playing to over 10,000 people) at the Reading Festival in the UK, showed the dynamics of their live show, and during the next year and a half they found themselves performing at such diverse venues as the Royal Albert Hall in London and in an opening slot for Bob Dylan at Yale University. The release of BOCES in 1993 was a continuation of their marriage of searing noise with crystalline pop. Although this became their first record to hit the UK Top 50, by the next year, musical differences led to the departure of David Baker. Dave Fridmann, on the other hand, decided to focus on sound engineering and production, and ceased touring with the band (continuing to work with them in the studio). By the time the beautiful SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE appeared in 1995, the first chapter in MERCURY REV's maverick career had drawn to a close. While critics marveled over the wonderfully eclectic pop-jazz experiments of "Everlasting Arm", and "Racing the Tide", the band grappled with puzzling personal predicaments. Switching Record labels and nearly broke, Donahue and Grasshopper relocated to the Catskill Mountains in New York State with newcomers Adam Snyder (keyboards) and Jeff Mercel to begin writing new material. Chambers and Thorpe, unable to deal with the band's continuous chaos, decided to move on. The band began recording what was to become DESERTER'S SONGS during 1997 at Dave Fridmann's new Tarbox Recording Studio. DESERTER'S SONGS was released in 1998 to world-wide acclaim. On this influential album, Mercury Rev reinvented itself with sweeping orchestrations and poetically heartfelt lyrics. It would herald a rebirth for the band, allowing for further experimentation and thrill-seeking. Mercury Rev toured extensively for DESERTER'S SONGS, whuch was chosen as album of the year by the NME, MOJO, and many other music mags. Besides playing shows in Europe and The US, MERCURY REV found themselves playing festivals in Iceland, Israel, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Recorded at the end of 2000/early 2001, their follow-up ALL IS DREAM found MERCURY REV once again broadening their musical horizons with cinematic bombast. Older and slightly wiser, the band stumbled into exhilarating new musical galaxies on such songs as "The Dark Is Rising", "Little Rhymes", and "Tides of the Moon." They toured the world for most of 2002, and began recording songs with Dave Fridmann during the early months of 2003. During this "time off" they were also involved with composing pieces for various film soundtracks. THE SECRET MIGRATION came out at the beginning of 2005 and writer David Fricke wrote:"Mercury Rev have finally made their great life-cycle album, their own DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, except this one ends in promise and light." -Jack Bishop THE HOLOGRAPHIC PRESS (senior editor)}
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[cc of my note to Nixe follows]:
Nixe, you overwhelm me with your detailed comments on my playlist, Epic/Experimental Sounds. In truth, this complilation grew iteratively "like Topsy" after I put together three or four pieces that seemed to have a common theme that reasonated with one part of my minds-ear which is given to open spaces and limitless horizons. I then kept adding, re-arranging, and even dropping songs [as in the good old days on a rainy Saturday afternoon sorting through those vinyl round things called "records" now, sadly, in storage] to reinforce and add nuance to that feeling that I think is universal and hard-wired into our DNA. [You or listeners of this playlist may find of interest the link to a separate blog thread (just provided) that makes for thought-provoking reading, particularly as this playlist is all the while reasonating in the background!]
Your own perspectives will greatly aid the current and, hopefully, growing listeners of my "Epic Sounds" playlist [whoever they may be] in appreciating what was, to me, an intuitive effort to combine a sense of grandeur and adventure [caravans and sweeping vistas of the mind and spirit] with innocence [which was, indeed, why I added "Baibaba Bimba" - what an uplifting piece.] Both the "externalized and internalized sense of universal wonder" as you well describe the over-all intent of the playlist was created in positive counterpoint and marked contrast to much of what is dark and brooding in our music today - also, for a reason [but that is another subject].
Thank you for sharing such experienced aural and intellectual sensibilities with the listeners of these pieces who can now take their own view of the combined works of these artists to another level. To me, as I tinker with this list, it can only get better.
On my side, I will now try to pull in the artists who make up this evolving list to add commentary if they wish. I hope some of them will, but, of course, that will be up to them as I can appreciate that many artists prefer for each piece to speak for itself. To me, the "name of the game" to advance music in the web-based era, however, is increased, rather than diminished, engagement between artist and listener. Let's see what happens next here [if anything] as I "copy and paste" this blog thread on the artists' sites.
Again, many thanks.
much love,
B-rad