Thursday, June 4, 2009

Thursday Morning with Toast & Peanut Butter

If someone told me that when I was 41 I would be singing in a local indie rock band I would tell them, “cool”. Right, I am doing something I love. I write, record and play music on a regular basis. I could not be happier with the group of friends I play with. It is so easy to be negative these days about anything and everything. The attendance sucked but I do not care. The crowd that was there was friends and loved ones. I would not trade that in for anything. In all honesty, I did not perform too well last night. It had nothing to do with the crowd or lack of. It was due to me just not being on as I should have been. The days leading up to this gig were arduous to say the least. Putting up posters around town, printing single CD’s to hand out to people to get them to purchase an album that I hold near and dear to my heart. Having discussions with the venue’s management on terms that were agreed upon booking and then have everything change the day of the gig. I expect to have these kinds of shows; it is the nature of the beast.

Last night after the show, we had a hilarious load out with Erin and me taking turns shouting out inappropriate things in my megaphone in downtown Portsmouth. We all laughed and both bands went their separate ways. Some had an hour drive home some just 5 minutes. We are warriors for music. We wear our hearts upon our sleeves but we love music, enough so, to play it for anybody that will listen. I thank all of you that were last night. Hell or high water we will get the music out there. When I was walking downtown handing out flyers before the gig I gave out a flyer to a dude by the name of Geno. He said, so, what kind of music do you play? I said all originals. You would have thought I had told him I had the swine flu. To the Geno’s of the world, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Tom Petty, Boston, etc; they all started out by writing these “Original” songs and playing them to small little crowds. A cover song was once an original! Now I am not saying we are of that caliber but being a fan of music, I think we are pretty fucking good. I see a little scene trying to emerge from the murky depths of cover bands. So, if you have not seen Mercuryhat or any local original band lately, throw us a life vest and come out to listen to a show. It may not be perfect, I may be a little tipsy, I may take creative license and change a lyric or two and it may fail miserably or maybe, just maybe you may think you saw the coolest little rock show ever.

Last night, Erin and I got to her place and she made me the best toasted tomato sandwich I have ever had. Well, I had not eaten dinner that night. I do not like eating before a show. Less likely to yack. So I am sure that could be the reason it tasted so good. (the Eddie Murphy Ritz cracker skit comes to mind) Or, it could have been that it was made by someone that wanted to make the most perfect tomato sandwich she could make for the guy she calls her boyfriend. I believe it is a combination of both reasons.

The morning after: as I drove home to get ready for work, the sun is beating down on my head, sun spots blind me. I notice as I am driving down the Spaulding turnpike, a parking ticket from the previous night under my wiper blade. I chuckle to myself, shit I totally forgot about my parking ticket I got last night. I get to work on time, fix myself a piece of toast and peanut butter and black coffee. Life is not so bad now is it Eric? We just get up and do it again.

Cole, Jessie, Moses and Courtney the sweetest people you will ever meet. The Make Out Scene. A band you should see. Chris, Mark, Steve, Tom and Cole. The coolest and some of the best friends a guy could have. Mercuryhat, a band that you should check out. Just regular people that want to share with you their passion and love for music.

Ya know, the peanut butter sandwich was no where near as good as the toasted tomato sandwich. We will try it again next Wednesday night at the Muddy River. We would love to see you all there. Thanks for reading and supporting the local Original Indie Rock band scene. - Eric

Sunday, February 8, 2009

1/23/2009 Biddy Mulligan's

Everyone knows about my hand and the accident so… We had already committed to playing a show at Biddy’s so… We had asked good friend & Owner of Elysium Arts Folk Club Joe Simes to play guitar for us. We practiced once before the show and it seemed like it would work fine.

Good friend Cole Gove & the Make Out Scene started off the night with really beautiful songs with Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Ukulele. Cole is amazing and will be one of our regulars for sure.
I was so unsure if this gig was gonna happen I really did not do any promoting for it. I was expecting the worse. Well, I would say during Cole’s mid-set the place was filling up. People I knew but even better, people none of us knew. This is something any struggling band could hope for, an actual draw.

Again, sorry for the brief entry; In summery, Joe rocked! He was amazing as well as the rest of the band. It really is starting to gel, this band and I cannot wait to play again after I get this stupid cast off and get physical therapy. We have a slew of shows planned, some with the band and some with Chris and I acoustic. Thanks to everyone that continues to support us.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

11/21/08 CD Release Party

Thursday, the night before the show, I was getting nervous at about noon time. I got home from work and as I climbed the stairs my chest was hurting really bad. I knew it was not a heart attack. The pain in my chest was a thing called anxiety. You kind of feel like a dork when you have your first anxiety attack and you go to the hospital and tell them, yeah, I think that last double cheese pizza may have clogged up and artery and I am having a heart attack. So, in great efforts to calm down I had a few cocktails. . As I was surfing around on FaceBook I was receiving amazing support and encouragement from friends like Jenn and Marty England. (Marty from the cool band Pondering Judd). Steve called me up to meet him downtown. I felt that it would not be wise to get into a car so Steve being the amazing cool person he is, picked me up. Steve told me not to worry, all will be great. It was nice to get this thing out of the way on Thursday although my stomach was in knots all day Friday.

We got to Biddy’s at around 6:00 and started to unload all the gear. We then did our sound check and I was not nervous. I felt great. I am not sure if it was the not eating before the show or the just a few beers before the show rule, or it could have been the do not look anybody in the eye thing that I looked up on Google earlier that day. Anyway, after the sound check we sold two CD’s from the two songs we did. All was cool and calm.

People started coming in and it looked like it was not going to stop! At 9:15 the great “Before the Crash” started their set and people were totally stoked. I have known Curt the lead singer for quite a while now and he is a great musician and great friend. The band was truly amazing as usual. They are by far one of the most different bands around this area. They truly have their own sound. I guess they sound kind of like the Cure on acid. Curt’s voice is really unique and the bands guitars just swirl around adding this amazing sonic imagery with Curt’s voice. Check these guys out!

So we started our set and here is the scoop. I opened my eyes or looked at the crowd maybe 3 times? Why I say this is that one of my best friends was in the audience. Not only that but, he was the dude that played drums on the new album. Mr. Christian Berling, a man that does need an introduction. He had been playing in Mercuryhat for about 2.5 years or so and had to leave the band for the sole reason of taking care of his family. He already had a little girl and was expecting another one while we were in the studio. Christian basically knew that between his two baby daughters and the demands of his job it would be unfair to try and juggle all of that. Anyway, Christian had arrived from a 7 + hour flight with a time change difference of 6 hours (ahead of eastern standard time) to come out and see the band. Me; being the total nervous dork I am did not see him seated in front. My eyes were welded shut. When talking with Erin later, I said: “I am surprised Christian did not make it”, she said, he was there; he was sitting right out front! ! I never made mention about him and I felt really bad. So Christian, I know this whole dissertation is unnecessary but I thought I would tell you that your amazing drumming and arrangement contribution on the album has not gone un-noticed. I also feel bad because they spelled his name wrong in the newspaper article. Christian you rock!

I will be short about the two sets. Mark, on guitar: Amazing, truly amazing. Between him giving me guidance and then just burning up the whole place with guitar, I cannot be more blessed then with playing music with this guy. Steve: Again, how do you end up with these amazing players? I have known Steve since 1985 and he is one of the best drummers around. He truly takes everything he does serious but he is one of the funniest guys to be around with. Tom; as I said on stage; this guy is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He is the man that just fills and sprinkles sounds on everything. He is a plethora or 70’s musical trivia. Chris, (aka bass-love); I would not be here playing music if it was not for this dude. He is a best friend and my musical compadre. He is one of the best bass players around no doubt. This guy writes such amazing bass lines.

This is truly a cohesive band that is looking forward to playing more and recording more. Everyone was so nice and it was one of the best nights I have ever had. Thanks so much for coming out!