If the indie/emo rock sound impressed you last month when Rainer Maria and Mates of State took the stage in Madison, you are in luck. Hey Mercedes and Panic in Detroit have teamed up to present an inspiringly forceful show this weekend that is guaranteed to rock this small town.
Indie-rock groupies who have been out of the loop lately may not recognize the name Hey Mercedes, which is really a reinvention of Braid.
Formed in 1999, Bob Nanna (vocalist/guitarist), Damon Atkinson (drummer) and Todd Bell (bassist) moved to Milwaukee, where they recruited second guitarist Mark Dawursk, and voila — just like magic, Hey Mercedes was born.
After recording four songs, Polyvinyl released the group’s finished product. Reflecting Braid’s style of songwriting and with the addition of Mark’s unique guitar work, the changes gave “the new relaxed, patient approach to the songs, and the infiltration of new influences [which] creates an entity all its own,” according to the band’s Web site.
In early 2001, Hey Mercedes signed with Vagrant Records and headed into the studio. After four months of ironing out every inconsistency and missed note, the group released Everynight Fire Works. After they got the ball rolling, there was no stopping for Hey Mercedes. Just two short weeks following the band’s debut single, the 11-song album was ground out with powerful precision.
After a long tour, traveling to the West Coast, across the South and back East, Dawursk decided his tenure with the group was over. Hey Mercedes recruited Sean O’Brien to substitute for Dawursk on the second guitar and traveled to Tokyo to perform two shows.
In May, a permanent replacement was found for the second guitarist, and Hey Mercedes welcomed its newest member, Cleveland native Michael Shumaker, to the group. He strove to learn every single song for kicks, and he certainly upheld Hey Mercedes’ reputation.
Accompanying Hey Mercedes on tour is Panic in Detroit, which offers another dose of epic indie rock.
After establishing a collection of demos, friends urged Ryan Chavez to start a band. Pondering this idea, Chavez teamed up with Ben Murphy to play guitar in a group called Lucky Motors.
After the breakup of the Motors and each member of the group engaging in different bands, Chavez, Murphy and longtime friend David Hobizal got their act together and formed Panic in Detroit.
The result: “pop with none of the sugary coating, a level-headed rawness, and a surreptitious shadow of metal underneath it all,” said the band’s publicist, Brooke Black.
Vocals and lyrics by Chavez are powerful in sound yet meaningful and sincere in context. Black described the sound as, “powerfully resonating vocals and lyrics echo the innocence found in letters you wrote to no one.”
Just recently, the group added a bass player — long-time friend Melissa Lonchambon, who used to be in Lucky Motors with Murphy and Chavez.
While many bands try to conform to modern pop culture and the teeny-bop trend that has fashionably topped the Billboard charts on repeated occasions, Panic in Detroit’s members have always stayed true to themselves and have never tried to act like anyone else. They are happy this way, and it seems that their fans are too.
The Texans recently released their self-titled CD/EP, which was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Virginia and is being released on ex-Burning Airlines bassist Mike Harbin’s label, Silverthree Sound Recordings.
Hey Mercedes and Panic in Detroit play an 18-and-up show at the Annex, 1206 Regent St. at 6 p.m. this Sat., March 1. Tickets are available for $10 in advance or $12 day-of-show. For more ticket information, visit www.intheannex.com.
