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Hometown: Austin, TX, USA

Influences: No influences given.

Website: http://www.themercers.com

Our Story:

press:
"Myspace friends of Nada Surf and Dr. Dog, these Austin misfits claim to be influenced by "cheap beer, big dreams; sad sarcastic pop bursts." Who isn't? The band's best Myspace mp3, "Sexy Youth," sits at the shady crossroads of swagger and sensitivity; one day this one's gonna be an excellent soundtrack to a show-closing montage on Grey's Anatomy." Esquire Magazine - July 2006

"Austin Indie stalwarts The Mercers have somehow survived the ongoing evolution of the Austin music scene by simply letting it catch up with them. This three piece turned micro-symphony is particularly note-worthy because there isn't a band in this town that comes close to sounding like them, in fact they're one of the few bands in the live music capitol that bears little or no resemblance to the influences they cite in their bio (which includes Guided by Voices, Wilco, and oddly enough The Psychedelic Furs). Despite their immense talent, they're not famous yet and aren't in any apparent hurry to ink any deals, choosing instead to focus on writing brilliant, instantly catchy songs that make you almost wish they were pop radio sweethearts, tastefully drowning out all the crap we're force fed by Clear Channel and their ilk on any given day" Whoopsy Magazine - March 2007

Bio
The Mercers:
- Peter Wagner, singer, guitarist, loud talker, and the figurative father of the band.
- Bryan Ray, bass guitarist and band-mother despite the fact that he practically oozes masculinity.
- Erik Ray, multi-intstrumentalist, shit-talker extraordinaire.
- Ethan Herr, drummer, soft-spoken, pensive, yet not to be trifled with; he has the ability to cut you out of his life at a moment's notice.

While the comparisons to early Peter Gabriel, the Psychedelic Furs and Guided By Voices are apt, the Austin group is perhaps most proud of the occasional country influence. "Combining our brit-pop inspired sound with the occasional pedal steel or country western chord progression gives our songs a sort of eery quality I think," says lead-singer Peter Wagner. "Were from Texas, but it's obvious that our minds have wandered elsewhere."

Peter was born and raised in Austin. He met the Ray brothers in college when he and Bryan played in a few bands together. After nearly crippling his left hand, Peter asked Erik to help out on guitar and eventually to stay on as a second guitarist along with taking on synth duties. Ethan Herr is from Buffalo and moved to Austin after studying music at Arizona. He joined the band in May 2006.

The Mercers had a vision of making pop songs a la U2/Doves/Psychedelic Furs, along with a barroom Guided by Voices/Who bent. GBV was one of the first bands Peter and Bryan idolized together. Blending this with Peterês longtime deviant penchant for pop country and the odd/alt-country of Austin locals, the Gourds, this all blended into what we hear now - some kind of 80's british pop influenced indie rock with country tendencies. Their first record, Pretty Things Walk, came out in May 2007.

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