The Mercy Now
Encyclopedia
The Mercy Now is a Canadian rock and roll/soul/garage band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada whose members include X-Shikasta frontman Russell Fernandes (Vocals/Bass/Guitar), Adam Burnett (Vocals/Guitar/Bass), David Viva (Guitar/Keyboards/Vocals) and Lee Rogers (Drums/Vocals). They formed in 2006 and have released several notable independent recordings including 2010's Ian Blurton
produced Self Control, which included the song Hard Times, nominiated as a finalist and receiving an honorable mention in the Rock category in the International Songwriting Competition whose judges included Peter Gabriel
and Tom Waits
. Toronto's Now Magazine's Benjamin Bowles gave the record a 4/5 star rating stating "When you find yourself involuntarily banging your head 10 seconds into an album and the hard-rock fever doesn’t break until the end, that’s a very good sign." Johnson Cummins of the Montreal Mirror stated "If there is a better current rock band in Canada, I’ve yet to hear them."
In early 2011 the band won the City of Hamilton, Ontario's Y108 Rock and Roll Challenge including a $30,000 prize and is scheduled to record a new EP with Ian Blurton
in August. The band is sharing bills this summer with Helix
, Hawksley Workman
, and Dan Hill
and America
, Jon Anderson
of Yes
, Helix
, and The Tea Party
at the Festival of Friends.
Ian Blurton
Ian Blurton is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was born in Chicago in 1965, and moved to Toronto in the mid 1970s.He has been a part of Toronto's indie music scene since the early 1980s, playing drums in the original line-ups for Cowboy Junkies and A Neon Rome before becoming the lead...
produced Self Control, which included the song Hard Times, nominiated as a finalist and receiving an honorable mention in the Rock category in the International Songwriting Competition whose judges included Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
. Toronto's Now Magazine's Benjamin Bowles gave the record a 4/5 star rating stating "When you find yourself involuntarily banging your head 10 seconds into an album and the hard-rock fever doesn’t break until the end, that’s a very good sign." Johnson Cummins of the Montreal Mirror stated "If there is a better current rock band in Canada, I’ve yet to hear them."
In early 2011 the band won the City of Hamilton, Ontario's Y108 Rock and Roll Challenge including a $30,000 prize and is scheduled to record a new EP with Ian Blurton
Ian Blurton
Ian Blurton is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was born in Chicago in 1965, and moved to Toronto in the mid 1970s.He has been a part of Toronto's indie music scene since the early 1980s, playing drums in the original line-ups for Cowboy Junkies and A Neon Rome before becoming the lead...
in August. The band is sharing bills this summer with Helix
Helix
A helix is a type of smooth space curve, i.e. a curve in three-dimensional space. It has the property that the tangent line at any point makes a constant angle with a fixed line called the axis. Examples of helixes are coil springs and the handrails of spiral staircases. A "filled-in" helix – for...
, Hawksley Workman
Hawksley Workman
Ryan Corrigan , better known by the stage name Hawksley Workman, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has garnered critical acclaim for his blend of cabaret pop and glam rock. Workman has released eleven full length albums throughout his career...
, and Dan Hill
Dan Hill
Daniel Grafton "Dan" Hill IV is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major hits with his songs, "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try," a duet with Vonda Shepard.-Early life and career:...
and America
America (band)
America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
, Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
of Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, Helix
Helix
A helix is a type of smooth space curve, i.e. a curve in three-dimensional space. It has the property that the tangent line at any point makes a constant angle with a fixed line called the axis. Examples of helixes are coil springs and the handrails of spiral staircases. A "filled-in" helix – for...
, and The Tea Party
The Tea Party
The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock, Indian and Middle Eastern influences, dubbed "Moroccan roll" by the media. Active throughout the 1990s up until 2005 when the band broke up, The Tea Party released eight albums on EMI Music Canada, selling 1.6 million records...
at the Festival of Friends.