Hey Mercedes' first release was a Self Titled EP on Polyvinyl Records. Soon after its release, they signed to Vagrant Records and started touring for support of their upcoming Vagrant full length. In 2001 alone, they performed 114 shows. After the release of the band's first full length at the end of 2001, Dawursk left the band and was replaced with Mike Shumaker. With 2 full lengths, 3 EP's and 358 shows under their belt, Hey Mercedes called it quits. Their final show (#359) was at the Metro in Chicago on April 23rd of 2005.
In a 2007 e-mail campaign, Threadless Tees reported that Hey Mercedes would play at the Metro, to celebrate the grand opening of the company's Chicago store.
Spread Eagle, Wisconsin is a place best known for water, wilderness and paintings of the local ducks. Now it can take credit for LOSES CONTROL, the long-awaited second album from Hey Mercedes. As powerful as it is melodic, the follow-up to 2001's "Everynight Fire Works" finds the midwestern foursome's sharp, wounded songs crackling in a guitar-driven bonfire set by producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Dinosaur Jr., Mighty Mighty Bosstones).
From the instantly catchy anthem "Quality Revenge At Last" to the more insinuating closer "Go Drone," LOSES CONTROL is remarkably tight and accomplished for a sophomore effort -- though not without good reason. Prior to forming Hey Mercedes guitarist/vocalist Robert Nanna, bassist Todd Bell and drummer Damon Atkinson played together in Braid, a band often referred to as "emo pioneers," though you probably won't find the trio pleading guilty to either description. Nanna and Bell have been musical compadres since 1993, coming together at the University of Illinois as fans of Chicago punk bands like Naked Raygun and Screeching Weasel, while Atkinson joined them in 1997. Braid broke up two years later with five studio albums and several hundred shows behind them, "but it was just so obvious that we needed to keep playing," Nanna says.
The trick was to go down a different path, not just in terms of music, but logistics -- having done everything themselves for years and years, they wanted to stay connected to that grass roots ethic while cutting down on both genuine despair and "Spinal Tap"-like moments. "It's hard to focus on writing honest music when you're 3000 dollars in debt or have three more shows to book, or the show just got cancelled 'cause the cops came," Nanna says.
This time, there'd be a record label and a more patient approach. Joined by guitarist Mark Dawursk, Hey Mercedes played their first show in August of 2000, put out an EP on Polyvinyl and spent the next year touring and developing their sound. Vagrant released "Everynight Fire Works," produced and engineered by old friend J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines), in April 2001. It earned rave reviews, including Audio Galaxy's Album of the Year and a Top 5 position on the CMJ chart. Along the way, the band racked up their usual 200-plus shows per annum, including the sold-out Vagrant America tour and bills with Jimmy Eat World, New End Original and Saves the Day. They also found the time to share themselves with fans on a regular basis via "Are You Wearing A Wire?" a collectively written "blog" that can be found on the band's web site.
2002 saw the release of "The Weekend EP," as well as a personnel change - Clevelander Michael Shumaker stepped in for Dawursk, adding an enthusiasm for AC/DC and an eagerness to merely play guitar after fronting his own band Sheilbound.
LOSES CONTROL was recorded at Slade and Kolderie's studio in Cambridge, MA. The band went into the session’s half-afraid the unfamiliar knob-twirlers would impose a different style, but the veteran duo made sure Hey Mercedes' particular quirks and uniqueness were always at the fore. They broke down every part of every song in pre-production, built an amazing set of drums for Damon and gave Robert and Michael access to some three dozen guitars. "Because they knew our songs so well they knew which guitars would sound good on different parts of every song," Nanna says. "The guitars are awesome, really layered -- they just sound big and fat.
"I think overall LOSES CONTROL is just more of a rockin' record than Fire Works," he adds. "It's really loud and in your face. Though lyrically, it's pretty bleak and desolate."
Nanna's vocals bridge the gap between those poles, whether he's locked into "Boy Destroyers"' riff-o-rama or bringing a melancholy overtone to the textured spaciness of "Absolute Zero Drive" (a song the band had earmarked as B-side until Slade and Kolderie convinced them otherwise). Another highlight is "Lashing Out," angry/catchy pop-punk that unexpectedly mutates into a sweet lyrical homage to Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" - a couplet Bob sang while the song was being written, then couldn't bring himself to drop.
And what of Spread Eagle? The band - three-quarters of whom currently reside in Atkinson's hometown of Milwaukee, with Nanna two hours away in suburban Chicago -- wrote much of LOSES CONTROL at a friend's home there, just a few miles from Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
"It was probably a drunk moment," Nanna says. "We were like, 'y'know, what we should do is find someone with a cabin or a trailer someplace far away in the woods, where we can be as loud as we want for as long as we want, in total seclusion." So they dragged all their gear and a little bit of soundproofing up to Spread Eagle for two weeks of playing, writing, cooking and canoeing. "And we didn't go crazy," he marvels. "It wasn't like 'The Shining.'"
Except maybe for this: Whether you're talking King or Kubrick, "The Shining" stands the test of time. LOSES CONTROL is a dynamite rock'n'roll record that's bound to do the same.
Everybody
Hey Mercedes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sick of all the pressure invested in pretense
I shuffle out to the deck
Where all the smokers sound off
One witness sighs in distress
Her sour face reflected in metal
Pulling from a pocket
I up and ask
A sour face for all the
Sorrow replaced with alcohol
Everybody's working for the weak
And only when I sleep
Can I feel stronger
I don't care what you think
Cause I won't wait here to much longer
The two of us at two fifteen
The two of us in love
With whiskey
Then in that moment we realize
Shivering in the cold
We've sold our souls
And don't even smoke
Everybodys working for the weak
And only when I dream can I feel stronger
I don't care what you think
Cause I won't wait here
Too much longer
Stop what you're doing now
What are you doing now
While everybody's working for the weak
You'll still be asleep
Knowing you got out
And don't care what they think
About those dreams you carry around
Everybody's working for the weak
I don't care what you think
Cause I won't wait here
Too much longer
Longer
Longer
Longer....
The lyrics to "Everybody's Working For The Weak" by Hey Mercedes lament the pressure to conform and the feeling of being stuck in a meaningless job. The singer is feeling trapped, "strapped into the dent of a desk," and sick of the facade of pretense that is required in the working world. Seeking solace on the deck with other smokers, the singer realizes that everyone is "working for the weak," and that the only escape is in dreams or whiskey. The lyrics are a call to action, urging the listener to stop working for the weak and to pursue their dreams, regardless of what others think.
The imagery of the song is powerful, evoking feelings of confinement and desperation. The singer is "strapped" into their desk, unable to escape the pressure of the working world. The smokers on the deck are a reflection of the singer's state of mind, "sighing in distress" and seeking relief in alcohol. The lyrics draw a contrast between the monotony of the daily grind and the fleeting moments of freedom and passion that the singer experiences with their lover. The image of selling one's soul in exchange for conformity and security is a powerful one, and the call to action at the end of the song is a powerful anthem for those seeking to break free from the constraints of society.
Line by Line Meaning
Strapped into the dent of a desk
I am sitting at my desk, feeling trapped and suffocated by the weight of my responsibilities.
Sick of all the pressure invested in pretense
I am tired of the endless charade of pretending to be something I'm not, just to fit in and meet others' expectations.
I shuffle out to the deck
I go to the outdoor area, trying to escape the suffocating environment of the office.
Where all the smokers sound off
I join the smokers outside, who are complaining about their own problems and seeking solace in cigarettes.
One witness sighs in distress
A fellow smoker nearby expresses her own despair and exhaustion.
Her sour face reflected in metal
She looks at her own reflection in a metal surface and sees the weariness in her own face.
Pulling from a pocket, I up and ask
I take something out of my pocket, and abruptly ask the woman for a drink.
And as she passes that flask
She hands me the flask, which I drink from.
A sour face for all the sorrow replaced with alcohol
We both drink to try to ease the pain, but it just leaves us with a bitter taste and a temporary numbness in place of our sorrow.
Everybody's working for the weak
We are all working hard, but for whose benefit? It seems like we are only catering to those who are unable or unwilling to carry their own weight.
And only when I sleep can I feel stronger
The only time I feel any semblance of strength or power is in my dreams, when I can escape from the confines of my daily life.
I don't care what you think
I refuse to be swayed or influenced by others' opinions or expectations.
Cause I won't wait here to much longer
I am determined to break free and move on from this cycle of despair and disillusionment, and I won't wait any longer to do so.
The two of us at two fifteen
Two of us are together at 2:15, perhaps trying to find comfort or solace in each other's company.
The two of us in love with whiskey
We bond over our shared love of drinking, which is our only escape from the pressures of the world.
Then in that moment we realize
We suddenly come to a revelation or epiphany.
Shivering in the cold
We are both cold and exposed to the harsh realities of the world outside.
We've sold our souls
We have given up our integrity and our true selves to conform to societal norms and expectations.
And don't even smoke
We are not even true smokers, but rather just use smoking as a means to fit in and cope with our problems.
Stop what you're doing now
I am urging myself and others to pause and reflect on our current actions and behaviors.
What are you doing now
What positive action are we taking right now to change our situations and make a difference in our own lives?
While everybody's working for the weak
Everyone seems to be doing the same thing, working towards the same unfulfilling goals and catering to those who don't deserve it.
You'll still be asleep
If we continue on this path, we will remain asleep in our own lives, never truly awakening to our full potential or purpose.
Knowing you got out
If we take action now and break free, we will be able to look back and know that we escaped from the cycle of despair and found our own paths.
And don't care what they think
We refuse to let the opinions or judgments of others dictate our decisions or control our lives.
About those dreams you carry around
We each have our own unique dreams and aspirations, which deserve to be fulfilled and nurtured, rather than ignored or suppressed.
Everybody's working for the weak
Once again, we are reminded that the majority of people seem to be working towards goals that are unfulfilling or catering to those who don't deserve it.
I won't wait here too much longer
At the same time, we are also reminded of our own determination to break free and pursue our own paths, unfettered by the pressures of society and the expectations of others.
Longer
The repetition of this word at the end of the song emphasizes our desire to break free and move on from our current situations, to not wait any longer than we need to to pursue our own dreams and fulfill our unique potentials in life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind