New Jerseys The Feelies formed in the late 70s around the core of guitarists Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Between their seminal first record, 1980s Crazy Rhythms, and 1991s Time for a Witness, their post-punk, Velvet Underground and Jonathan Richman-inspired sound evolved from their twitchy, polyrhythmic debut to more atmospheric, complex guitar pop, leading critic Robert Christgau to say of the final record of their original run, the minimalism of Crazy Rhythms was always misleading. Post-Feelies, Mercer worked on several other projects, including the band Wake Ooloo and a solo record. Million left music entirely and for nearly twenty years, reportedly didnt touch his guitar, leading previous attempts to reunite the band to stall without his involvement. Now, Million is back, and for the first time since 1991, The Feelies have a new record called Here Before. Despite its self-referential lyrical winks to their past, the new record would sound right in their discography next to The Good Earth or Only Life. I spoke with Glenn Mercer recently about the new record, his relationship with Bill, and how one band becomes R.E.M. while another unfairly disappears into semi-obscurity.
Keith Daniels: Has the experience of having a record coming out changed over time? The record came out yesterday. Are you as nervous now as you always were?
Glenn Mercer: I dont think we were always nervous about a record coming out. We feel pretty confident about it. Weve got a lot of pre... responses have been pretty positive.
KD: What are some of your favorite responses? What do you like to hear?
GM: The thing we get a lot is that people say we kind of picked up where we left off, I guess. That it reminds them of the other Feelies records.
KD: The last Feelies record, Time For a Witness, and a lot of your stuff with Wake Ooloo, had a more aggressive, distorted sound. Was it a conscious decision not to go in that direction on this one?
GM: Not conscious, but I think that a few factors might have influenced that. Number one, we had done that before. Number two, it seems a lot more interesting to explore different guitar sounds. It seems like the easy option to just turn on the fuzz box. Also, where Im at now personally I just dont find that kind of sound as appealing anymore. I have tinnitus so maybe thats partially the reason. [Laughs] There are songs that do have distortion. It was more that we have thirteen songs to take advantage of a lot of moods and textures to have more variety of sound.
KD: Bill hadnt played guitar in many years, right? How long did it take him to get back up to speed?
GM: He seemed really there from the first rehearsal in 2008 to me. Didnt seem to take very long to me at all.
KD: Youve worked with a lot of musicians over the years. What is it thats special about the relationship between you and Bill?
GM: Its pretty effortless. Not a lot of thought. We have a sympathetic way of relating on the guitar thats sort of second nature, really.
KD: Did the way that technology has changed over the last twenty years affect the recording of the new album?
GM: A little bit. Although we had Pro Tools available back in 91 and we did use it very sparingly on Time For a Witness, one aspect that was new to us was that I was able to do some recording here at my house and then transfer those to the master. That worked out really well for us.
KD: What was it about the Feelies that made you feel like there was unfinished business?
GM: I never really felt that. I always felt like I would have been happy with the statement we did make. I guess thats a good enough reason to continue; it was satisfying and fulfilling. I guess, in a way, the flip side of that would be that if it was unfulfilling you might want to make up for that. That really wasnt the case.
KD: But on the other hand, theres a danger of -- if you went out with a bang, a strong record -- of undoing that.
GM: Yeah, yeah definitely. Theres always that possibility. Youve just got to not think about that and trust your instincts. Plus, where were at in our lives its just not that crucial. We have other priorities. We never looked at it as a career, although at times it definitely was. It seems like whenever we did put that perspective on it is when we were in trouble. So definitely not one of our concerns nowadays.
KD: How did the reunion go from lets have some fun and play a bit to lets make a new record?
GM: That was talked about from the very first discussion we had about reforming. To me, and to all of us, it just seemed like to not make new music would just be too much nostalgia. Nothing wrong with that, we appreciate that element, but we want to feel like were a vital band. Were creative people, so theres no reason why we wouldnt want to make new music together.
KD: One of my favorite songs on the record is Morning Comes. Can you tell me a little bit about what inspired that song?
GM: Somebody actually asked me the same question yesterday, so I thought about it. I think they were referring to the lyrics. I really just had to kind of remind them that we always write the same way, which is really with the guitar first. From that the melodies pop into my head, and from there its the lyrics. So if anything can be credited as the inspiration for the lyric its the mood of the music. Thats always how it is. Its never the case of sitting down with an idea, lyrically, then having that worked out and the music follows from that. It always stems from the music.
KD: So the music reveals...
GM: ...where it wants to go with the lyric.
KD: Is there a song on this record that youre particularly proud of?
GM: Not really. Im just proud of the way the whole record turned out. We worked really hard on it and took our time. It was a few years of writing and about a year of actual work on the record in terms of rehearsing and demoing and recording. So it was a lot of work over a long period of time. Its really satisfying that it came out well.
KD: How difficult is it now that everyone is a grown-up and has their own families and lives to even get together?
GM: In particular because Bill lives in Florida and Brandon lives in Pennsylvania, thats our biggest obstacle. We really dont get to get together as much as wed like. Consequently, when we do we tend to have a very serious workmanlike attitude and try to be as efficient as we can.
KD: The Feelies have long had a tangential connection with R.E.M.. Im curious if youve ever thought about why one band tours stadiums for twenty years, and another band whos just as good becomes more of a cult band.
GM: I actually have, but only because its been brought up and written about, and Ive been asked about it. I just look at their career, and see the kind of band they were when they started and the kind of band they became. Although theyre always heralded as the band that didnt compromise, for us those kinds of things would have been a compromise. Being on the Muppet Show...
KD: Shiny Happy People
GM: Yeah, doing those kinds of videos. Theyre perfectly happy doing that but I dont think we would have been.
KD: Where does your unwillingness to compromise come from? Why was that so important for you?
GM: I think all artistic people feel that way. You as a writer probably wouldnt be happy with somebody rewriting your story, or changing it.
KD: [Laughs] No.
GM: You know what Im saying. If youre creating something you want to see it through to the end and have it come out the way you envisioned it. Simple as that.
KD: I noticed that you thanked Yo La Tengo in the liner notes.
GM: Theyve always been really supportive of the band. Weve been friends going back a long way. There was a period just before the reunion that Id spoken to Ira and hed offered to contact Bill to try to get things in motion to get the band reunited. That struck me as being a very nice gesture. He invited Bill and I down to play at their Hanukkah show last year and spoke to the crowd. It was for us a kind of a return to Hoboken in terms of recording in Hoboken, and the pictures were taken there. In a way, they acknowledged that too.
KD: The Feelies were never known for doing tours. Is that going to remain the case?
GM: Pretty much, yeah, I think. A lot of things make it difficult for that to happen. Families. The economics of it. Its just hard to make money on the road nowadays. There arent as many places to play now, either.
For more information on The Feelies, check their website The Feelies Web.
Keith Daniels: Has the experience of having a record coming out changed over time? The record came out yesterday. Are you as nervous now as you always were?
Glenn Mercer: I dont think we were always nervous about a record coming out. We feel pretty confident about it. Weve got a lot of pre... responses have been pretty positive.
KD: What are some of your favorite responses? What do you like to hear?
GM: The thing we get a lot is that people say we kind of picked up where we left off, I guess. That it reminds them of the other Feelies records.
KD: The last Feelies record, Time For a Witness, and a lot of your stuff with Wake Ooloo, had a more aggressive, distorted sound. Was it a conscious decision not to go in that direction on this one?
GM: Not conscious, but I think that a few factors might have influenced that. Number one, we had done that before. Number two, it seems a lot more interesting to explore different guitar sounds. It seems like the easy option to just turn on the fuzz box. Also, where Im at now personally I just dont find that kind of sound as appealing anymore. I have tinnitus so maybe thats partially the reason. [Laughs] There are songs that do have distortion. It was more that we have thirteen songs to take advantage of a lot of moods and textures to have more variety of sound.
KD: Bill hadnt played guitar in many years, right? How long did it take him to get back up to speed?
GM: He seemed really there from the first rehearsal in 2008 to me. Didnt seem to take very long to me at all.
KD: Youve worked with a lot of musicians over the years. What is it thats special about the relationship between you and Bill?
GM: Its pretty effortless. Not a lot of thought. We have a sympathetic way of relating on the guitar thats sort of second nature, really.
KD: Did the way that technology has changed over the last twenty years affect the recording of the new album?
GM: A little bit. Although we had Pro Tools available back in 91 and we did use it very sparingly on Time For a Witness, one aspect that was new to us was that I was able to do some recording here at my house and then transfer those to the master. That worked out really well for us.
KD: What was it about the Feelies that made you feel like there was unfinished business?
GM: I never really felt that. I always felt like I would have been happy with the statement we did make. I guess thats a good enough reason to continue; it was satisfying and fulfilling. I guess, in a way, the flip side of that would be that if it was unfulfilling you might want to make up for that. That really wasnt the case.
KD: But on the other hand, theres a danger of -- if you went out with a bang, a strong record -- of undoing that.
GM: Yeah, yeah definitely. Theres always that possibility. Youve just got to not think about that and trust your instincts. Plus, where were at in our lives its just not that crucial. We have other priorities. We never looked at it as a career, although at times it definitely was. It seems like whenever we did put that perspective on it is when we were in trouble. So definitely not one of our concerns nowadays.
KD: How did the reunion go from lets have some fun and play a bit to lets make a new record?
GM: That was talked about from the very first discussion we had about reforming. To me, and to all of us, it just seemed like to not make new music would just be too much nostalgia. Nothing wrong with that, we appreciate that element, but we want to feel like were a vital band. Were creative people, so theres no reason why we wouldnt want to make new music together.
KD: One of my favorite songs on the record is Morning Comes. Can you tell me a little bit about what inspired that song?
GM: Somebody actually asked me the same question yesterday, so I thought about it. I think they were referring to the lyrics. I really just had to kind of remind them that we always write the same way, which is really with the guitar first. From that the melodies pop into my head, and from there its the lyrics. So if anything can be credited as the inspiration for the lyric its the mood of the music. Thats always how it is. Its never the case of sitting down with an idea, lyrically, then having that worked out and the music follows from that. It always stems from the music.
KD: So the music reveals...
GM: ...where it wants to go with the lyric.
KD: Is there a song on this record that youre particularly proud of?
GM: Not really. Im just proud of the way the whole record turned out. We worked really hard on it and took our time. It was a few years of writing and about a year of actual work on the record in terms of rehearsing and demoing and recording. So it was a lot of work over a long period of time. Its really satisfying that it came out well.
KD: How difficult is it now that everyone is a grown-up and has their own families and lives to even get together?
GM: In particular because Bill lives in Florida and Brandon lives in Pennsylvania, thats our biggest obstacle. We really dont get to get together as much as wed like. Consequently, when we do we tend to have a very serious workmanlike attitude and try to be as efficient as we can.
KD: The Feelies have long had a tangential connection with R.E.M.. Im curious if youve ever thought about why one band tours stadiums for twenty years, and another band whos just as good becomes more of a cult band.
GM: I actually have, but only because its been brought up and written about, and Ive been asked about it. I just look at their career, and see the kind of band they were when they started and the kind of band they became. Although theyre always heralded as the band that didnt compromise, for us those kinds of things would have been a compromise. Being on the Muppet Show...
KD: Shiny Happy People
GM: Yeah, doing those kinds of videos. Theyre perfectly happy doing that but I dont think we would have been.
KD: Where does your unwillingness to compromise come from? Why was that so important for you?
GM: I think all artistic people feel that way. You as a writer probably wouldnt be happy with somebody rewriting your story, or changing it.
KD: [Laughs] No.
GM: You know what Im saying. If youre creating something you want to see it through to the end and have it come out the way you envisioned it. Simple as that.
KD: I noticed that you thanked Yo La Tengo in the liner notes.
GM: Theyve always been really supportive of the band. Weve been friends going back a long way. There was a period just before the reunion that Id spoken to Ira and hed offered to contact Bill to try to get things in motion to get the band reunited. That struck me as being a very nice gesture. He invited Bill and I down to play at their Hanukkah show last year and spoke to the crowd. It was for us a kind of a return to Hoboken in terms of recording in Hoboken, and the pictures were taken there. In a way, they acknowledged that too.
KD: The Feelies were never known for doing tours. Is that going to remain the case?
GM: Pretty much, yeah, I think. A lot of things make it difficult for that to happen. Families. The economics of it. Its just hard to make money on the road nowadays. There arent as many places to play now, either.
For more information on The Feelies, check their website The Feelies Web.