Carey Mercer
Encyclopedia
Carey Mercer is a Canadian
musician and English teacher best known for his work as lead singer of the indie rock band Frog Eyes
and his work in Swan Lake
. He has an additional solo project called Blackout Beach. Once, when on tour with Sum 41 (opening), Mercer fell off stage and bruised his tailbone at a Daughters of the American Revolution picnic in Topeka, Kansas. This resulted in his patented slouchy posture and surly disposition, although through this he also earned his music scene moniker "Southern Lemonade". (This is contested, as certain sources indicate that is was the result of a high-school gymnastics accident, but Mercer will neither confirm nor deny either version.)
band Blue Pine in 2001, members Mercer and Michael Rak reunited to form a new group. Recruiting Mercer's roommate Spencer Krug
and wife Melanie Campbell, the four began writing music under the moniker Frog Eyes
. it is also a well known fact Carey is afraid of snakes
Mercer also began writing music on the side for his solo project Blackout Beach, and in 2004, released the album Light Flows the Putrid Dawn through Soft Abuse Records. His follow-up, Skin of Evil was released January 27, 2009.
In 2006, Mercer teamed up with friends Spencer Krug
(of Sunset Rubdown
and Wolf Parade
) and Dan Bejar
(of Destroyer
and The New Pornographers
) to form the supergroup Swan Lake
. The band released Beast Moans
through Jagjaguwar Records on November 21, 2006. Enemy Mine, the second album from Swan Lake was released on March 24, 2009. as well as all of Carey's musical projects it is rumoured that he was one of the founding member's of the two person gang, "the Twixer Twins", and also fantasizes that he is actually a Sith lord.
In recent years Mercer has had to balance his musical work with his position as English teacher at Parkland Secondary in Sidney, British Columbia
.
Mercer is currently hard at work on a record of cover songs that he has indicated he will entitle "The Greatest Covers". The collection will include versions of James Moody's "Great Day", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire", Dolly Parton's "How Great Thou Art", The Ting Tings' "Great DJ", Burning Spear's "Great Men", Cat Power's "The Greatest", Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All", Kenny Rogers' "Greatest", R Kelly's "The World's Greatest", Smashing Pumpkin's "Today (is the Greatest)", John Prine's "Pretty Good" and Mickey Dolenz' "Not That Bad". He will be playing all instruments himself, although indications are that there will be many special guest appearances on back-up vocal tracks. When asked about how it was coming along, Mercer told Seattle's THE STRANGER magazine, "It's going to be, well, pretty sweet."
He was also one of the primary architects of "Chocolate City".
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
musician and English teacher best known for his work as lead singer of the indie rock band Frog Eyes
Frog Eyes
Frog Eyes is an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada known for their highly idiosyncratic songs, which pit Carey Mercer's melodic falsetto whoops against an avalanche of guitar, keyboards, piano, and drums. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the...
and his work in Swan Lake
Swan Lake (band)
Swan Lake is a Canadian indie supergroup comprising Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes and Blackout Beach, Daniel Bejar of Destroyer, Hello, Blue Roses and The New Pornographers, and Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes. Originally playing under the moniker "Thunder Cloud", the group...
. He has an additional solo project called Blackout Beach. Once, when on tour with Sum 41 (opening), Mercer fell off stage and bruised his tailbone at a Daughters of the American Revolution picnic in Topeka, Kansas. This resulted in his patented slouchy posture and surly disposition, although through this he also earned his music scene moniker "Southern Lemonade". (This is contested, as certain sources indicate that is was the result of a high-school gymnastics accident, but Mercer will neither confirm nor deny either version.)
Overview
Following the breakup of the Canadian indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Blue Pine in 2001, members Mercer and Michael Rak reunited to form a new group. Recruiting Mercer's roommate Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug is a Canadian musician. He is currently the singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the indie rock bands Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown. He has also performed with other Canadian bands including Swan Lake, Frog Eyes, Fifths of Seven, and ska band the Two Tonne Bowlers, playing various...
and wife Melanie Campbell, the four began writing music under the moniker Frog Eyes
Frog Eyes
Frog Eyes is an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada known for their highly idiosyncratic songs, which pit Carey Mercer's melodic falsetto whoops against an avalanche of guitar, keyboards, piano, and drums. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the...
. it is also a well known fact Carey is afraid of snakes
Mercer also began writing music on the side for his solo project Blackout Beach, and in 2004, released the album Light Flows the Putrid Dawn through Soft Abuse Records. His follow-up, Skin of Evil was released January 27, 2009.
In 2006, Mercer teamed up with friends Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug is a Canadian musician. He is currently the singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the indie rock bands Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown. He has also performed with other Canadian bands including Swan Lake, Frog Eyes, Fifths of Seven, and ska band the Two Tonne Bowlers, playing various...
(of Sunset Rubdown
Sunset Rubdown
Sunset Rubdown is an art rock band from Montreal, Canada. The band began as a solo project for Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, who released his debut, Snake's Got a Leg, in early 2005...
and Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band formed in 2003 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is currently on an indefinite hiatus as of May 31, 2011.-History:...
) and Dan Bejar
Dan Bejar
Daniel Bejar is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver renowned for his challenging and often cryptic lyrics and unorthodox vocals featured in many of his songs. Bejar has gained widespread popularity through his musical collaborations with Vancouver indie-rock band The New Pornographers,...
(of Destroyer
Destroyer (band)
Destroyer is a Canadian indie pop band fronted by singer-songwriter Dan Bejar.- Overview :Daniel Bejar is an independent pop singer-songwriter from Vancouver who formed Destroyer in 1995. He self-produced his first album, the lo-fi We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, which was recorded at his in...
and The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
) to form the supergroup Swan Lake
Swan Lake (band)
Swan Lake is a Canadian indie supergroup comprising Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes and Blackout Beach, Daniel Bejar of Destroyer, Hello, Blue Roses and The New Pornographers, and Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes. Originally playing under the moniker "Thunder Cloud", the group...
. The band released Beast Moans
Beast Moans
Beast Moans is the debut album by Canadian indie rock supergroup Swan Lake, released in November 2006 on the label Jagjaguwar. It was recorded at Dead Wood Studios in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia as well as at a house in Victoria, British Columbia....
through Jagjaguwar Records on November 21, 2006. Enemy Mine, the second album from Swan Lake was released on March 24, 2009. as well as all of Carey's musical projects it is rumoured that he was one of the founding member's of the two person gang, "the Twixer Twins", and also fantasizes that he is actually a Sith lord.
In recent years Mercer has had to balance his musical work with his position as English teacher at Parkland Secondary in Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...
.
Mercer is currently hard at work on a record of cover songs that he has indicated he will entitle "The Greatest Covers". The collection will include versions of James Moody's "Great Day", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire", Dolly Parton's "How Great Thou Art", The Ting Tings' "Great DJ", Burning Spear's "Great Men", Cat Power's "The Greatest", Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All", Kenny Rogers' "Greatest", R Kelly's "The World's Greatest", Smashing Pumpkin's "Today (is the Greatest)", John Prine's "Pretty Good" and Mickey Dolenz' "Not That Bad". He will be playing all instruments himself, although indications are that there will be many special guest appearances on back-up vocal tracks. When asked about how it was coming along, Mercer told Seattle's THE STRANGER magazine, "It's going to be, well, pretty sweet."
He was also one of the primary architects of "Chocolate City".
Republic of Freedom Fighters
- Republic of Freedom Fighters LP (1996) Mountain Collective/Linkwork
Frog Eyes
- Emboldened Navigator EP (2001) Soft Abuse
- The Bloody HandThe Bloody HandThe Bloody Hand is the debut album by Frog Eyes, and was released in 2002 on Global Symphonic Records. The album was reissued by Absolutely Kosher Records on April 18, 2006 with nine extra tracks.- Track listing :2002 release...
(2002) Global Symphonic - The Golden RiverThe Golden RiverThe Golden River is the second full length album by Frog Eyes. It is critically acclaimed and regarded by many as their best work.-Track listing:#"One in Six Children Will Flee in Boats" – 4:15#"Time Reveals Its Plan at Poisoned Falls" – 1:30...
(2003) Animal WorldAnimal WorldAnimal World is a collection of short stories written by Antonio di Benedetto, with hallucinatory animal transformations by the internationally acknowledged Argentine master.- Summary :...
/Global Symphonic - The Folded PalmThe Folded PalmThe Folded Palm is the third album by Frog Eyes, released on September 14, 2004 on Absolutely Kosher Records.- Track listing :# "The Fence Feels its Post" - 1:39# "The Akhian Press" - 1:42# "I Like Dot Dot Dot" - 1:10...
(2004) Absolutely Kosher - Ego ScriptorEgo ScriptorEgo Scriptor is a 2004 album by Frog Eyes. It contains acoustic versions of songs from other Frog Eyes albums.- Track listing :# "A Latex Ice Age"# "Ship Destroyer"# "Silence But for the Gentle Tinkling of the Flowing Creek"...
(2004) Absolutely Kosher - The Future Is Inter-Disciplinary or Not at AllThe Future is Inter-disciplinary or Not at AllThe Future Is Inter-Disciplinary or Not at All is an EP by Frog Eyes, released by Acuarela Discos in Spain in 2006.The EP was not as well received as previous releases, Coke Machine Glow going as far as to describe the album as one that "isn't good", and the level to which it can frustrate...
(2006) Acuarela - Tears of the ValedictorianTears of the ValedictorianTears of the Valedictorian is a 2007 album by Canadian indie rock band Frog Eyes. It has received high critical praise, with Pitchfork Media declaring it "one of their best full-lengths to date" and "recommending" the album....
(2007) Absolutely Kosher - Paul's Tomb: A TriumphPaul's Tomb: A TriumphPaul's Tomb: A Triumph is a 2010 album by Canadian indie rock band Frog Eyes.-Track listing:# "A Flower In a Glove" – 9:08# "The Sensitive Girls" – 3:37# ""Odetta's War"" – 6:22# "Rebel Horns" – 4:22# "Lear, In the Park" 1:56...
(2010) Dead OceansDead OceansDead Oceans is an independent record label based jointly in Bloomington, Indiana and Austin, Texas. The label has a small, but powerful roster of well-known acts including Akron/Family, John Vanderslice, Califone, Phosphorescent, Bishop Allen, Casey Dienel's band White Hinterland, Bowerbirds, and...
Blackout Beach
- Light Flows the Putrid Dawn (2004) Soft Abuse
- Skin of Evil (2009) Soft Abuse
- Fuck Death (2011) Dead Oceans
Swan Lake
- Beast MoansBeast MoansBeast Moans is the debut album by Canadian indie rock supergroup Swan Lake, released in November 2006 on the label Jagjaguwar. It was recorded at Dead Wood Studios in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia as well as at a house in Victoria, British Columbia....
(2006) JagjaguwarJagjaguwarJagjaguwar is an indie rock record label based in Bloomington, Indiana.-History:In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, friends of Darius Van Arman who performed in a band under the moniker The Curious Digit had just recorded a new album, but they were signed to no label... - Enemy MineEnemy Mine (album)Enemy Mine is the second album by Canadian indie rock supergroup Swan Lake, released on March 24, 2009 on the label Jagjaguwar.-Track listing:# "Spanish Gold, 2044" - 5:15# "Paper Lace" - 3:44...
(2009) JagjaguwarJagjaguwarJagjaguwar is an indie rock record label based in Bloomington, Indiana.-History:In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, friends of Darius Van Arman who performed in a band under the moniker The Curious Digit had just recorded a new album, but they were signed to no label...
External links
- Official website: Frog Eyes
- Official website: Swan Lake
- Official website: Blackout Beach