Hey Mercedes Interview

Well, I got to email Bob Nanna from Hey Mercedes, and ask him some questions about the new band, their new EP, and the tour coming up with Jets to Brazil. Overall, this was a good interview, but I'm kinda mad cos he didn't answer the one question that's been bugging me forever...the one about transportation, car names, and such, used in song and band names. I've been perplexed, as most his peers and even former bandmates are involved with this. I swear it's a conspiracy...well, anyway, I give you Bob Nanna, and Hey Mercedes!

GrillBurn: To start it off, I guess, who are all the members and what instruments do you play?

Robert Nanna- guitar and vocals Mark Dawursk - guitar Todd Bell - bass and vocals Damon Atkinson - drums

GB: Obviously, there's going to be some comparisons to Braid...how does that affect your songwriting process? Did you try to stay away from the Braid comparisons in general?

BN: We didn't let it affect our songwriting process at all. Obviously, since we are who we are, we're going to sound somewhat like how we did, but even with some of the most recent Braid stuff, we were progressing and maturing. And with the addition of Mark on guitar, it adds a whole new dimension - further independent of Braid... I'm not concerned with Braid comparisons at all. It's obvious that there will be some, but as long as people don't continue to ask us to play Braid songs, I'll be cool as a cucumber.

GB: How would you descibe your sound to people who haven't heard Hey Mercedes?

BN: Urgent rock and roll.

GB: How did you meet Mark? It sounds like he's working out good.

BN: Damon has actually known Mark for many years. Todd and I met Mark through Damon and the Promise Ring, with whom he has roadied as guitar tech. When we needed a guitarist and he was available, we jumped at him. Luckily he caught us. He's working out fabulously.

GB: What would you say your musical influences are?

BN: Everything from punk rock to jazz to folk to grindcore, if you can believe it. Right now, all i'm listening to is Red House Painters, Joni Mitchell, Pele, and Jets to Brazil.

GB: What about other influences, such as art, films, literature, etc...how do they come into play?

BN: They all come into play. We're all constantly reading and seeing movies that affect us, so everything tends to play its part in the songwriting process. A lot of times, I'll find myself structuring lyrics as if they were a screenplay - with setting, plot, conflict, resolution. It's not something we try and do, it just happens. We also play a lot of Scrabble and that seems to help!

GB: Is your music written collaboratively? What about words?

BN: We will write the music collaboratively based on parts that one of us brings to a practice. So far, I've written all of the lyrics, but I'm encouraging the other guys to try their hands at it as well.

GB: So, now that you've played a couple shows, how has the response been?

BN: Great! The crowds have been very receptive. It's weird, though, to be playing a whole set of songs that nobody knows!

GB: Do you find that alot of fans expect Braid with a new guitar player? How do you deal with the "ex-Braid" label?

BN: We really haven't seen too much of that yet... Ask me after a big tour!

GB: When can we expect a full length? Will it be on Polyvinyl?

BN: There will be a full length in the summer of 2001. We have not solidified any deal with Polyvinyl, so we're sort of free agents at the moment.

GB: Is Hey Mercedes exclusive to Polyvinyl? Or was this a one off kinda thing?

BN: Nope. It's a one off kinda thing.

GB: Are you excited about the tour dates with Jets to Brazil? How did you come to get to go on tour with them? Are you a big fan of their stuff?

BN: Yes, extremely excited! Mark had toured with them before, so they were already old pals. So when they heard the stuff and liked it, they invited us to come along... We are all huge fans.

GB: Okay, this is kind of a dumb question, but why the name "Hey Mercedes"? Were there any other names, any runners-up to "Hey Mercedes"? Not trying to be mean, cos I love the name, but I was just wondering. It seems like in Braid, and the sort of genre they were lumped in, there was a huge trend in using car names and driving in general, or something to do with airplanes. Can you explain the obsession with transportation?

BN: We actually got it from a line in a movie. It ended up on a list of about 100 other options and we narrowed it down. so it doesn't have anything to do with transportation. kind of dumb luck that way.

GB: If you had a chance to play with any five other bands, dead or alive, who would it be? (I know this is a majorly generic question, but it's used often to get insight into other influences)

BN: Steely Dan, Jeff Buckley, Travis, The Beatles, and Fugazi.

GB: Would you say that there is a "Midwest" sound? Would you consider Hey Mercedes to be part of that?

BN: That seems like a question for someone who doesn't live in the midwest. I have a feeling there was one at one time, but now it's developed into many other sounds. You can't say that Hey Mercedes sounds like Joan of Arc or Aloha or Alkaline Trio or The Promise Ring...

GB: What do you think of the other Polyvinyl bands, like Paris Texas (who I am also doing an interview with for this issue), Aloha, Rainer Maria, etc...?

BN: I like them all. Matt runs a wonderful label.

GB: Well, thanks for doing the interview, good luck on the tour and with the new ep.

BN: Thanks!