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.
Que Shiraz
Hey Mercedes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In tune to the t
You tumble at me
Angellically delicate.
But I could be handsome
If you'd only pull the curtain
And we could be brilliant
If you'd only chance uncertain.
Before I realize
My head will never be the same again.
You're smiling like New Jersey on its side
I'm glued to the seat and
Honestly I can't dream of anything better.
But I could be handsome
If you'd only pull the curtain
And is it so tragic
To think that we never happened.
But how far can you drive
Before you realize
Your head will never be the same again.
And the color bars go
Que shiraz.
How long can we fight
Before we realize
We won't be the same.
And the color bars go
Que shiraz
Tell me where you are.
The lyrics to Hey Mercedes's song Que Shiraz explore a complex relationship between two individuals. The persona in the song is in love with the other person, who is presented as angelic and delicate. The persona expresses that they could be handsome and brilliant, but they feel limited by their love interest's reluctance to take a chance on them. The chorus refers to the color bars going "que shiraz," which could be a reference to a television test pattern or a wine. The repeated line suggests a sense of uncertainty or instability in the relationship.
The second verse introduces a sense of longing, as the persona describes their idealized version of the relationship, where they are "glued to the seat" and can't dream of anything better. They lament that the relationship never happened, and wonder how far they can pursue it before realizing that they won't be the same. The final lines of the chorus repeat the phrase "que shiraz" and ask where the other person is, suggesting a desire to be together despite the uncertainties.
Overall, the song Que Shiraz captures the complexity and uncertainty of love and relationships, especially when one person is reluctant to take a chance on the other.
Line by Line Meaning
Apart from being devilishly dressed
In addition to your alluring appearance,
In tune to the t
In sync with the situation,
You tumble at me
You come towards me clumsily,
Angellically delicate.
Graceful and gentle like an angel.
But I could be handsome
I have the potential to be attractive,
If you'd only pull the curtain
If you would reveal the real, vulnerable me,
And we could be brilliant
Together, we could be amazing,
If you'd only chance uncertain.
If only you would take a risk and give us a chance despite the unknowns.
But how long can I smile
But how much longer can I pretend to be happy,
Before I realize
Until the point where I accept and understand,
My head will never be the same again.
That my perspective has changed forever, and I can never go back.
You're smiling like New Jersey on its side
Your grin is so wide that it reminds me of a tipped-over New Jersey state on a map,
I'm glued to the seat and
I'm stuck in my place and unable to move,
Honestly I can't dream of anything better.
I honestly cannot fathom a better situation than this right now.
But is it so tragic
But is it really that heartbreaking
To think that we never happened.
To imagine a scenario where we never became something more.
But how far can you drive
But how much longer can we continue down this path of uncertainty,
Before you realize
Until the point where you finally comprehend,
Your head will never be the same again.
That your perspective has been irrevocably altered, and you can never go back to how things were before.
And the color bars go
And as the visual display moves,
Que shiraz.
It becomes a blur of colors (possibly referencing the Shiraz wine's deep red hue).
How long can we fight
How much longer can we struggle through our feelings,
Before we realize
Until we finally understand,
We won't be the same.
That our relationship has already changed us in profound ways.
And the color bars go
And as the visual display moves,
Que shiraz
It melts and blends into each other, like the blending of wine.
Tell me where you are.
Please, reveal to me your location and emotional state, so we can face the situation together.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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