Thirsting For More Merc

Source: Faster Louder

Author: Zero

Date Published: Saturday Apr 10th, 2004

Thirsty Merc singer, guitarist and pianist Rai Thistlethwayte met his band mates Matt Baker (guitars) and Karl Robertson (drums) four years ago, because he ‘was always over at their place’, often crashing there after a night out with their flatmate, bass player and long time friend Phil Stack. It wasn’t until 2002, however, that the four musicians joined forces to become one of the most refreshingly unique acts in Australian rock today.

"We wondered what it would be like to combine our powers. We were always really respectful of each other’s musical worlds, but at that stage we’d never thought of putting it together and seeing what came out. We had a jam together at the start of 2002 and then did a little gig at an Irish pub and that was it. We knew we’d be jamming together for a while."

After playing many gigs around Sydney and recording and releasing their Debut EP First Work, Warner got on board and gave Thirsty Merc distribution. Wasting Time, the first single off First Work, received critical acclaim and established a solid fan base for the band, who finished recording their debut album over December/January in Melbourne.

So what can listeners expect from this album?

"They can expect a lot more breadth and a lot more light and shade," says Rai. "Also more energy. Because we’ve been playing so many gigs, there are a lot more hard-hitting moments on there. But there are also introspective moments as well as some very sing-a-long-able stuff. It’s got a nice combination of street-level, honest lyrics, and classic-sounding old-school melodies. Some people have described it as Rock Sinatra."

This is a comparison that strikes a chord with Rai. "Rock Sinatra’s conjured up so much imagery. Sinatra to me was so scarily amazing at interpreting a song."

Emancipate Myself is the first single off the upcoming album and its train-of-though lyrics effectively complement the song’s topic of bad break-ups and thinking things over until you have nearly reached a point of insanity. All this is delivered with sincerity and an underlying dry sense of humour.

"The song is about all the intricate and crazy different emotions you go through when you break up and it goes really sour," says Rai. "You realise how ridiculous your thought patterns become – you think too much about these things at times. That’s what I’ve tried to capture with this song."

While certain songs are written from personal experience, daily observation and perspective provide inspiration for many of Thirsty Merc’s tunes.

"Get Over Myself and Emancipate Myself are personal takes on what it’s like to be young in middle-class Australia. There’s quite a lot of comment on that. We’re a sarcastic, cynical kind of race at times."

Thirsty Merc have been accredited with putting on energetic and captivating live shows. Rai concedes that performing and touring are definitely two of the most rewarding aspects of being in Thirsty Merc.

"I definitely love it," he enthuses. "As opposed to recording and conceiving and composing music, performing is such an immediate combination of visual and sonic energy. I’m there with the other guys in the band and we’re laying the songs down live and it’s an amazing rush. I think there needs to be more of it in the world and in Australia."

When asked if there are any places in particular that Thirsty Merc enjoys performing, Rai mentions that a couple of his favourites are the Annandale Hotel in Sydney and the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne.

"Yes, there are certain places that we’ve had an amazing time playing at. The Espy in Melbourne is a brilliant, cool place to play. There’s always so many bands, so much music going on at any one time, its an absolute melting pot of music"

Thirsty Merc’s tour of the East Coast this month will cover the most ground out of any tour they have done to date.

"This is definitely the widest-spread tour at this stage, because we are going up to Byron Bay and Brisbane and down to Melbourne and doing some gigs with Maroon Five."

In addition to these dates, May will see the band embarking on another tour, playing more gigs in regional areas.

The next two months are bound to be a hectic affair for Thirsty Merc. I ask Rai what albums he is enjoying listening to in what little time off he has at the moment.

"Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf, that’s a great album. Here Comes The Sun by Nina Simone, some Bill Evans…I’ve been listening to a Japanese composer named Toru Takamitsu who died in 1996. He does some strange composition. I put that on to zone out when I want to get away from rock."

Rock is definitely one thing that people attending the upcoming Thirsty Mercshows will not get away from! Be sure to catch them during their tour of the East Coast.