18 Apr 2024
Mercury Crowe - Mercury Crowe Newsletter Interview
18 Jul 2009 // An interview by Shade
What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?
I’d say our Wellington album release at Bodega in May would be well up there. The bar was jam-packed, we played really well and everyone was partying up a storm which made it a wicked night. Plus we had Edinburgh Zuccollo from Harbour City Electric playing Hammond and Lisa Tomlins from Fat Freddy’s singing backing vocals, so it was good to introduce some of the new songs on a bigger scale like that… Having said that, we’ve played mid-week shows to about three people and had a blast doing that too.
What is your favourite NZ venue?
Tough call actually. We loved the vibe at the Dux de Lux in Queenstown, the Cavern Club in Wellington (with all its Beatles memorabilia) is great for acoustic gigs and I’d recommend any venue which has Toby Melbourne behind the bar. It basically comes down to the crowd in the end.
What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?
I can’t wait to see Little Bushman again – they completely blew me away last time and Rick Cranson is one of my favourite drummers in the world. The Dukes are also great and I enjoyed The Checks new stuff the other night. I think for it’s size, Wellington is spoilt for good bands and there seems to be a high level of musicianship too. I love the fact that I can regularly go out and see my friends bands (Harbour City Electric, The Thomas Oliver Band, Moonlight Flit, Andrew Moore, Th. Cherry Bombs, Elston Gun) and be constantly amped about how good they all sound.
What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?
We often follow Auckland gigs with a weekend on Waiheke Island which always ends in a debauched mess. One night Rowan fell into an uncovered man-hole while stumbling back to the motel and smashed his face leaving him with a massive, bloody black eye to go home with. We’ve also all had the odd spew out of the van window on a hangover etc but we know each other pretty well now, it takes a bit to get to the embarrassed stage.
How did you come up with the name Mercury Crowe?
Over a Big Mac combo at McDonalds Basin Reserve. That’s where we go to make all important decisions. It’s where we named our band both times (first Supernova, then Mercury Crowe), and where we decided on track-listings and album titles for both releases. It’s phenomenal.
How do you describe your music?
The Black Crowes playing a Hendrix cover of a Beatles song. That’s roughly the mule we’re riding.
What can we expect to see from Mercury Crowe over the next year?
We’ll be touring the 'Set Your Mind to Fly' album around the country over the next few months, continuing our Cavern Club residency on the first Thursday of every month and basically working on the ridiculous amount of songs we’ve all been writing/ demo-ing lately and working those into the shows. We’re loving writing at the moment and relishing the chance to jam without too much of an agenda.
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
If you jam with as many musicians as you can, you’ll instinctively gravitate toward like-minded people. After that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing to five people or five hundred people, it’s all amazing.
What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?I’d say our Wellington album release at Bodega in May would be well up there. The bar was jam-packed, we played really well and everyone was partying up a storm which made it a wicked night. Plus we had Edinburgh Zuccollo from Harbour City Electric playing Hammond and Lisa Tomlins from Fat Freddy’s singing backing vocals, so it was good to introduce some of the new songs on a bigger scale like that… Having said that, we’ve played mid-week shows to about three people and had a blast doing that too.
What is your favourite NZ venue?
Tough call actually. We loved the vibe at the Dux de Lux in Queenstown, the Cavern Club in Wellington (with all its Beatles memorabilia) is great for acoustic gigs and I’d recommend any venue which has Toby Melbourne behind the bar. It basically comes down to the crowd in the end.
What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?
I can’t wait to see Little Bushman again – they completely blew me away last time and Rick Cranson is one of my favourite drummers in the world. The Dukes are also great and I enjoyed The Checks new stuff the other night. I think for it’s size, Wellington is spoilt for good bands and there seems to be a high level of musicianship too. I love the fact that I can regularly go out and see my friends bands (Harbour City Electric, The Thomas Oliver Band, Moonlight Flit, Andrew Moore, Th. Cherry Bombs, Elston Gun) and be constantly amped about how good they all sound.
What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?
We often follow Auckland gigs with a weekend on Waiheke Island which always ends in a debauched mess. One night Rowan fell into an uncovered man-hole while stumbling back to the motel and smashed his face leaving him with a massive, bloody black eye to go home with. We’ve also all had the odd spew out of the van window on a hangover etc but we know each other pretty well now, it takes a bit to get to the embarrassed stage.
How did you come up with the name Mercury Crowe?
Over a Big Mac combo at McDonalds Basin Reserve. That’s where we go to make all important decisions. It’s where we named our band both times (first Supernova, then Mercury Crowe), and where we decided on track-listings and album titles for both releases. It’s phenomenal.
How do you describe your music?
The Black Crowes playing a Hendrix cover of a Beatles song. That’s roughly the mule we’re riding.
What can we expect to see from Mercury Crowe over the next year?
We’ll be touring the 'Set Your Mind to Fly' album around the country over the next few months, continuing our Cavern Club residency on the first Thursday of every month and basically working on the ridiculous amount of songs we’ve all been writing/ demo-ing lately and working those into the shows. We’re loving writing at the moment and relishing the chance to jam without too much of an agenda.
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
If you jam with as many musicians as you can, you’ll instinctively gravitate toward like-minded people. After that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing to five people or five hundred people, it’s all amazing.
About Mercury Crowe
The nine-track album credits song-writing from all four band members and features long time collaborator Ed Zuccollo (Harbour City Electric) on Hammond Organ, and the phenomenal Lisa Tomlins (Fat Freddies Drop, Hollie Smith) singing backing vocals. It’s a big step forward from their debut e.p ‘Mercury Crowe’ (2007) and, while both were similarly produced, mixed and designed by the band themselves; it’s clear the year-and-a-half between was spent honing their craft from the stage. The result is nine well delivered, road tested, sing-able rock n roll songs.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Mercury Crowe
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