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.
Quality Revenge At Last
Hey Mercedes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
City sister
As the world will end
You'll have your sweet revenge
I'm promising
You'll feel better than
Better ever planned
Then we'll line them up again
Soon you'll understand
That in a corner of Aurora there's a girl all aglowing and she's waiting for a car that isn't showing
We are all on our way to save you
And in the madness of it all there's a phone call coming from a ragged romeo in Joliet
We are all on our way to save you
Steady now
City sister
As the sky will fall
You'll have your curtain call
All in all
You'll feel better than
Better ever planned
Then we'll line them up again
All your men
Soon you'll understand
That in a corner of Aurora there's a girl all aglowing and she's waiting for a car that isn't showing
We are all on our way to save you
And meanwhile in the madness of it all there's a phone call coming from a ragged romeo in Joliet
We are all on our way to save you
So give us quality
Are you hearing me
We want quality revenge
See in a corner of Aurora there's a girl all aglowing and she's waiting for a car that isn't showing
We are all on our way to save you
And meanwhile in the madness of it all there's a phone call coming from a ragged romeo in Joliet
We are all on our way to save you
Save you
"Quality Revenge At Last" by Hey Mercedes is a song about a woman who has been wronged by her partners and is seeking revenge. The song is directed towards this woman, referred to as "city sister", and promises her that she will have her redemption. The lyrics in the first verse tell her to stay calm and that the world will end, but she will have her sweet revenge. The singer promises that she will feel better than ever planned when this is over. He then speaks about lining up all her men, and she will understand what is happening.
The chorus is a repetition of the first verse, stating that the woman will also have her "curtain call", and she will feel better than ever before once this is over. The second verse is very similar to the first, beginning with the same lines as the first verse, but now speaking about the possible help that is on the way. In Aurora, there is a girl waiting for a car that isn't showing, and the singer promises that they are all on their way to save her. The second verse also refers to a phone call coming from a "ragged Romeo" in Joliet, and they are all on their way to save her.
In summary, the song is telling a woman that she will have her revenge on her former partners. The lyrics are promising her that she will feel better than ever before once this is all over. There is vague mention of help being on the way, but it is not clear who this help is or how it might manifest.
Line by Line Meaning
Steady now
Keep calm and remain steady.
City sister
A woman living in the city, likely with a certain resilience that comes with urban life.
As the world will end
The end of the world, either literally or metaphorically, is imminent.
You'll have your sweet revenge
You will have an opportunity for payback that will be satisfying.
I'm promising
I'm guaranteeing you.
You'll feel better than
You will feel greater than expected.
Better ever planned
Implies that the revenge will be more successful and satisfying than previously expected.
Then we'll line them up again
Assuming the revenge involves those who wronged the artist, they will be re-grouped or re-purposed for further retribution.
All your men
All of the people contributing to the artist's struggles, likely men specifically, will be dealt with.
Soon you'll understand
Your understanding will soon come, likely about the situation.
That in a corner of Aurora there's a girl all aglowing and she's waiting for a car that isn't showing
There's a girl in a specific location (Aurora) who's either visibly excited or flushed, and she's waiting for someone who hasn't come.
We are all on our way to save you
Others are coming to rescue you.
And in the madness of it all there's a phone call coming from a ragged romeo in Joliet
In the midst of a chaotic situation, someone is calling from a specific location (Joliet) and they are likely distressed.
So give us quality
Provide us with something of high quality.
Are you hearing me
Are you listening to what I'm saying.
We want quality revenge
We desire revenge that is well-executed and satisfying, possibly indicating that the artist doesn't want a reckless or poorly-planned payback scheme.
See in a corner of Aurora there's a girl all aglowing and she's waiting for a car that isn't showing
Reiteration of the previous statement about a girl in Aurora.
Save you
Rescue you, likely from whatever negative situation you're in.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Olicio Graciano Filho
mano me lembro quando eu era adolescente e um amigo me apresentou essa banda.... nossa chorei agora.... que banda foda.... 2021 pra mim eles ainda bomba no meu coraçao post hard core pra sempre
Robert Warf
Love these guys. I didnt discover them until years after they split but i got to see them on their reunion tour in 2016. So thankful!
ficsci
Band + water is classic. But before this video I didn't know humans and instruments can get carwashed and come out alive.
Bang !
Depends. Remember, the magic happens when you wake up drunk in Milwaukee.
Anywhere else, don’t risk it man.
I must go now. I’m currently only allowed back in 2001 and 2002. I’m from the future in a year where I’m pretty much drinking myself to death.
I need to get to 2004 but the new International Senate based in Earths new Capital, Instanbul has issued a Red Card Inter-dimensional Arrest Warrant
Conscious Robot
These guys are so brilliant. Haven't listened to them in a few years and almost forgot how incredible their sound is. There's nothing else like it.
Real_fine_mess-it_is
Braid part 2! Love both bands
Robert Mosby
This is so random: I knew this song well, but hadn’t heard it in many years. So, when I finally listened to it today, I was shocked how quickly it came back to me
Ben Lane
Get it? They're a luxary vehicle, Mercedes. Car wash how clever. Wish I could see these guys play.
Robert Warf
They did a reunion tour a couple years ago. Hope you were able to catch it!
Gordon Stearns
@Ben Lane You can't see them live anymore, unfortunately. But on the bright side, you can see Braid again, which is like Hey Mercedes, only better, and I'm pretty sure they still occasionally play Hey Mercedes songs.