Glenn Mercer: The Monday Interview

Things have been moving at a furious pace in the world of The Feelies of late, keeping in mind that things were moving rather slow for two decades.

After hanging it up in 1991 for what would become a 20-year hiatus, the band has been on fire, relatively speaking. First came leader Glenn Mercer’s 2007 solo debut, Wheels in Motion. That was followed in 2008 by some dates by a reunited band (this includes Mercer, guitarist Bill Million, drummer Stanley Demeski, bassist Brenda Sauter and percussionist Dave Weckerman) and word that Mercer and Million were again writing songs.

That brings us to 2011, and the improbable event of the release of the Feelies fifth album, the majestic Here Before. Indeed, it feels as if we have been here before, with an album that could be the logical successor to 1986′s The Good Earth, a collection of songs that blend the pastoral wash of acoustic guitars with the more frenetic picking of electric strings. There are subtle changes from when we last heard the band, as just a touch of studio sheen is replaced by a slight hint of experimentation. But this is a Feelies record, and a very good one at that.

All of this isn’t as unlikely as one might gather from the above. Pre-2007, however, it might have been. But when Mercer began recording what he called his “Feelie-ish” solo debut, he called is old bandmates for assistance. Million, who had decamped in 1991 for Florida, said was interested, but the timing was off, Mercer told me in 2007. “It just didn’t seem right to call it a Feelies record without Bill’s involvement.”

Fast forward a year, and Million is back playing with the reunited band, and the prospect of a new album became strong.

Some have assumed that the lyrics make direct reference to the band’s return, and it’ easy to hear. Opener “Nobody Knows” begins with the lines “Is it too late/To do it again?/Or should we wait/Another ten?” Mercer debunks that, a bit, below. But regardless of what the band thinks of the return, fans are sure to rejoice. The Feelies are among the few bands without a real misstep, and Here Before continues that streak effortlessly.

TIRBD: Much has been made of some of the lyrics here, where songs bookending the album refer to “doing it again.” Do those songs reference the band getting back together, and if so, what was the mindset of the band while recording those tracks?

GM: Most of the reviews have mentioned the opening line as being a reference to the reunion, and there may be some connection to that, but the song is more about the lines, “well, you never know how it’s gonna go.” It’s mostly dealing with the balance between trying to exert control over circumstance and accepting whatever life is presenting to us. We’ve always been more successful when being reactive, rather than pro-active, in terms of our “career.” In regards to the song “So Far,” that really doesn’t have much to do with our reunion and it’s more about my life in general and that’s also true of “Nobody Knows.” The phrase “do it again” doesn’t imply any specific reference to the passage of time.

What has the chemistry been like being together again, particularly playing with Bill?

I wouldn’t want to go too far toward analyzing what makes our band’s chemistry what it is, but I appreciate that we have a particular sound that comes only from the combination of the five of us. In general, it comes from the way we each approach our instruments. I think our chemistry remains in place because we still have the same approach. Our playing may be more refined, but our approach is still the same. As far as playing with Bill, we share a sympathetic style that requires very little, if any, communication or analysis. We just play with a dynamic that is effortless.

You mentioned around the time of your solo album that the absence of Bill Million was the difference between that being your solo debut or the fifth Feelies album. Now that he’s back, what is the difference in the music being made? Do you write differently when you know it’s for a Feelies project, or are the songs the same but simply performed differently by these players than others?

My approach when writing songs was the same for the Feelies as when I was working on Wheels in Motion. Because Dave, Stan and Brenda played on some of those tracks, it sounds similar to the Feelies in some ways, but it also has a sound of its own because of how and where it was recorded. I didn’t really know if I was actually making a record when I did Wheels. I didn’t have a deadline, or even a label at that time. It was made over the course of several years, in connection with me putting my home studio together. The most obvious difference between the two is that my solo record didn’t have any writing collaborations with Bill.

Should we be amazed at how much of a piece this feels with your past work given the 20 years that transpired between Time for a Witness and Here Before?

I’m not surprised when I hear it suggested that Here Before picks up where the other records left off. Each of those records had its own sound, while maintaining common threads throughout. We didn’t set out to make the new record sound any particular way, except to maintain the same basic feel that we had on the demos. When we play live, there are many variables that contribute to the sound – room size, ceiling height, PA specs, stage set-up, etc. – and we always sound like us. The same is true when recording. Despite the variables, we really can’t help sounding like us. It’s also true when we play or record cover songs, we still sound like us.

The Feelies has been a tremendously influential band, but still no one sounds exactly like you do. Do you hear that influence in younger bands, and what qualities do you feel the band has that make it unique?

It’s flattering to hear that we’ve been influential on other, younger bands, but whenever I listen to other groups that supposedly sound like us, I never hear the similarities, only the differences. Again, I’d prefer not to get too analytical about why we sound unique. For the most part, it’s all very organic and natural and is a result of the sum of the various components.