Mercyland

1985–1991

originally published November 22, 2006

Among the many things this writer is thankful for is the fact that I was lucky enough to move to Athens before Mercyland played its final gig.

The band was formed in 1985 when bassist David Barbe recruited Kilkenny Cats guitarist Mark Craig and Fashionbattery drummer Harry Joiner after those two quit their other bands. “ I had  played in bands from the time I was about 12," recalls Barbe, "but none of any real distinction, all of whom have fortunately been forgotten. By 1985, I was writing a lot of songs and working towards finding my own voice… I loved both of those guys' playing and thought that they would be perfect for this thing I heard in my head. We played together one night at my house on Grady Avenue and really clicked.  So we started playing that fall.”

Craig would be replaced by Andrew Donaldson (Terrakotta Swayed, Bungee Chords) in 1986, and Joiner yielded his drum stool to Joel Suttles (Black Cop, Crack, The New Invincibles) in 1988. Says Donaldson, “I was friendly with David so he asked me if wanted to give it a try and gave me a tape of songs to learn. I was living with Vic Chesnutt at the time and he picked out every chord of every song on the tape for me, otherwise I would have been hopelessly lost. I went in to the audition and nailed it.”

Although early on the band played speedy punk influenced by Buzzcocks and The Jam, Mercyland is remembered largely for a sound that was akin to post-hardcore acts like Hüsker Dü. The band was also adept at writing angular material similar to Boston’s Mission of Burma. Barbe’s lyricism was strong, and could range from adventure storytelling to intensely personal songs of incredible tenderness.

At The Time

"The Athens scene was changing by '85," says Barbe.  "What just a few years earlier had seemed to me to be centered around art students, had really spread out.  It seemed like more and more new bands were cropping  up all the time and if your type of music wasn't part of the existing scene, then you just started your own, like Porn Orchard or the Bar-B-Q Killers.”

Mercyland’s sound and live show were honed not only in the local clubs, but on the road. The band toured relentlessly. Barbe remembers, “I was in my early 20s and settling into some sort of staid adult lifestyle seemed like unconditional surrender to me.  I knew that when I would see touring bands that I liked a lot - and certainly the Minutemen were a big influence, perhaps more in spirit than a direct musical sense -  they just seemed so much more legitimate than guys who put up a few posters and play at the local bar for their buddies.” Barbe gives the most credit, however, to local musician Greg Reece and his band The Primates. “Our first long tour was with the Primates," he says.  "We were gone for about five weeks.  We had no record out of any sort, just a black plastic cassette, and the two DRG compilations. It seems laughable now.  I mean, I can't imagine too many bands touring like that now, except Drive-By Truckers, who did it that way about 10 years later.”

When not out on the road, Mercyland was a staple within the local scene - playing regularly at local venues like The Rockfish Palace, Stitchcraft, the 40 Watt Club and the Uptown Lounge with local acts like Bar-B-Q Killers, Time Toy, White Trash and Ray Ugly. The band also shared the stage with national bands such as Naked Raygun, fIREHOSE, Butthole Surfers, Volcano Suns, the Pontiac Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soul Asylum and Seven Seconds. Even so,  Suttles cheekily remarks, “Mercyland ‘shared’ the stage with nobody!”

Why the Split?

In the spring of 1991, Mercyland split after some inevitable priority shifting. “It was time," says Barbe.  "I was married with a baby, Andrew was ready to move to New Orleans, and it was obvious that we weren't going to be making much of a living doing this any time soon… We played our favorite places one more time, we  sold our van to Porn Orchard and used the money to make an album. Fortunately, Sean Curry wanted to put out an EP on his Planned Obsolescence label. So we released [Enter the Crafty Bear] on Valentine's Day 1991 and announced at the same time that we were breaking up. It made the end of the band more of a celebration of what was, rather than a wake for what wasn't.”

Donaldson says of the breakup, “By 1990, the band had been together about five years and hadn’t achieved a lot of the goals we had set out for ourselves. Tupelo Records' release of No Feet on the Cowling had been a complete disaster and we had been burned by some bogus booking agents and A&R folks, so things weren’t looking so hot. We decided to make one final push and if things weren’t looking more promising at the end of it, then we would shut it down. They weren’t, so we did. I don’t think we wanted to do the band as some kind of weekend hobby; it had been the focus of our lives, so when it started becoming less of a priority, it was time to end it.”

These Days…

“I've followed David's lead and procreated with abandon," says Suttles, "which sadly killed my burgeoning career as a session accordionist.” Joiner became a marketing headhunter. Donaldson played in New Orleans punk band Sweetfist before relocating to Lafayette, LA, and performing with several blues and zydeco artists including Roy Carrier, Thomas Fields and J.J. Caillier. He currently does training and implementation for a software company.

Barbe went on to play with two bands - the world-famous Sugar with Bob Mould and the local favorite Buzz Hungry - and, after apprenticing with engineer John Keane, went on to become one of Athens' most in-demand studio engineers. In 1997, he opened Chase Park Transduction with Andy Baker and Andy LeMaster. He has three children and plans to record the follow-up to his 2001 solo debut Comet of the Season soon.

Gordon Lamb

That Beat in Time is a biweekly feature examining dearly departed local acts worth digging up. Next up: The Trap. Is there a band you'd like to see covered? Email music editor Chris Hassiotis at music@flagpole.com.