Mercury Crowe’s on the prowl
“They wanted a name that was reminiscent of the sky. Mercury seemed like a good choice for a band name, but many other groups had the same idea. Back to square one. Then came the realisation that all the best musicians had the name Crow – the Black Crowes, Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow. And Mercury Crowe was born.
The Wellington rock band was formed four years ago while it’s members were studying at university, and a regular schedule of live shows enabled Mercury Crowe to hone it’s skills, producing a tight, energetic sound with influences ranging from blues and rock to pop.
“We started shaping ourselves at university, and while we’re working towards making it a full time thing, we have to work it around our jobs. Weekends have become nonexistent, but we love what we do so much, that it isn’t a problem,” lead vocalist and guitarist Allan Mansfield says.
Even in the music-steeped capital, there is only so much gigging one can do.
“You can’t be stagnant, so we decided to get pro-active and tour the country – which isn’t the worst thing to do. I get to travel with three people I love and have a good time doing it.”
The band members spent several months working on a self-titled, seven track EP that was released in November.
“We recorded the whole thing in Nicks bedroom, and we had a lot of discussions as to what tracks would go on it. It is halfway between an EP and a full-length, but we felt it would be hard for people to stomach an entire album’s worth of material from a band they didn’t even know.”
Mansfield likes to take situations from his own life when penning tracks, but other members use observations to inspire material.
“A song has got to mean something to me in a real way, but we are all writing and contributing. We rip song ideas to bits and put them back together again, and you learn not to be so precious about your material. It’s about the bands sound, and not just you, and that can take a while to get used to,” he laughs.
“You learn not to have too many hang-ups, because everyone needs to have the band’s best interests at heart.”
“And realistically, everyone has their thing that they’re good at.”
Mercury Crowe has 2008 marked as its touring year.
- Taranaki Daily News, Thursday March 27, 2008
Monday, March 31st, 2008
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