Interview: Mercury Bullet.
Hmmm. Not sure how to start this blog out. I don't want to offend anyone with what I say. I guess I can start off by explaining why I wanted to interview Fresno "rock/metal/pregressive" band Mercury Bullet.I was browsing through the bulletin posts on Myspace not too long ago, and I saw something from Mercury Bullet saying they wanted their fans to name their upcoming CD.
"Name our upcoming CD!!!!!!!!!" I believe that was what the bulletin's subject line was.
I thought this was really weird. Why would a band want their fans to name their CD??? Isn't the whole point of being in a band to create content that will be interesting for your fans? What's next, letting your fans write your song titles - or even your songs?!?!?! If I were in a band, I sure as hell wouldn't want my fans naming my CD. First off, I wouldn't trust them to come up with a cool title and, second, it just seems wrong.
The bulletin post gave a link to a blog posting on Mercury Bullet's Myspace page. I suggest you read the blog so you can get an understanding of what I'm talking about here.
After reading the blog, my first reaction was to write my own blog, explaining how ridiculous I thought the concept of letting your fans name your CD was. Instead, I thought I'd try to be fair and let Mercury Bullet explain why they were doing this. Hence the whole interview thing.
So I came up with a few questions and asked the band if they'd be interested in doing an e-mail interview. The band's drummer, Jeremiah Dasalla, wrote back saying he'd be the one answering the questions. Upon checking my e-mail box this morning, the answers came from Andrew Beasley, Mercury Bullet's guitarist. So I don't know who the hell answered the questions below.
Maybe I wasn't clear enough in the questions I asked, but the answers I got were very disappointing. I was hoping the band would go a little deeper into why they wanted fans to name their CD. They gave a pretty simple response. You'll see...
Hell, they must be doing something right. The guys have like 50 million "friends" on their Myspace. I just keep wondering what ever happened to the good ol' days when bands came up with their own creative album titles. But maybe Mercury Bullet is on to some kind of fan/band interactive relationship that will raise their awareness. I still think it's pretty lame.
And like I said above: I'm not trying to offend anyone with this blog. I'm just stating my opinion. If Mercury Bullet or any of their fans reads this and gets upset, it's all good. I just think it's something worth pointing out and investigating. To the five-piece's credit, I totally respect the fact that they're playing tons of shows and working hard. More power to 'em.
P.S. Before we move on to the questions, I just wanted to let everyone know that last night I had to pay five freakin' dollars for a large black tea at Tower District's Teazer tea house. I was shocked. I expected to pay $2 or $3 at the most. But when it rang up "$5.13" I thought the guy workin' the register was trying to screw me. Anyway, that is freakin' ridiculous - $5 for a cup of tea!!! What is this world coming to?
Anyway... Ladies and Gentlement, Mercury Bullet...
Mitch on Speed: Whered the name Mercury Bullet come from?
Mercury Bullet: Well, it is something that can't happen. You can't make a Mercury Bullet 'cause when mercury gets too hot it melts.(We're nerds! lol!)
Now let's get to the whole point of why I'm doing this interview. In your band's Myspace blog, you're asking fans to choose a name for your upcoming full-length CD. I find this odd. Explain why you're doing this.
Well, we are playing music for the fans. So we figured this new CD should be all about the fans, so why not have them name it for us.
So far, approximately 60 fans have left comments in your blog, giving title suggestions. Have you picked one yet?
We haven't picked a name yet, but there's been some really good names. And we want to thank everyone who gave us a name. Keep them coming!!!
How will you decide whose suggestion to choose? Will you make them sign a waiver?
Well, we are going to pick the one that we think will refelect the music on this CD the best.
I have a title suggestion: Mercury Bullet (self-titled). What do you think about that one?
LOL. Good one! But that's what the last (CD) one was.
You mention in the blog that the 2004-released Mercury Bullet record didnt have a title. Why didnt you give it a name?
We figured that we would just not name it and let the music speak for itself.
When is the album coming out?
Either late October or early November.
Are you self-releasing it, or will you be on some kind of label?
Yes, we are self-releasing it. We aren't on a label but if anyone is interested in signing us fill free to! LOL!
Is there a tour in the works?
Yup. We are planning one for July. Up through Northern Cali and Washington. In Washington, we are planning on playing a festival called Tomfest.
What is Mercury Bullet's short & long-term goals? Just curious.
We plan to do lots of touring all over the U.S. and continuing to play music. As long as people will listen, we will play.
Closing comments?
Thank you to all our fans. You are the reason why we do this. Thank you Mitch for the interview, and everyone expect a surprise when the new CD comes out!!!
Interviewed by Mitchell Peters
