Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Moving Up From VCW Alumni Lounge to 9:30 Club

2213144227Last Thursday, D.C.’s renowned 9:30 Club played host to Georgetown’s own group of auspicious musicians, Mercies. Consisting of two former Hoyas, John Russell (guitar/vocals, COL ’09) and Justin Scott (bass/vocals, COL ’10) and one current student, Ezra Finney (drums, COL ’11), Mercies discusses in a recent interview the experience of trying to make it big in D.C.’s latent music scene.

Prior to the band’s conception, Finney and Scott belonged to the short-lived King Solomon and Billy the Kid. Admittedly, the band enjoyed little success during its brief life, playing a single show in the Village C West Alumni Lounge. Of this, Scott said, “I bet we sucked. There’s no document of it, which might be a good thing. It’s just as well.” At this time, Russell was a member of his own blues cover band which dissolved after losing its members to either graduation or study abroad. This led to his decision to join Georgetown’s own Guild of Bands, an umbrella organization which encompasses many budding music ensembles. Here, he met Scott and Finney, fresh off their Alumni Lounge circuit and ready for something bigger.

This meeting led to the Mercies’ predecessor, Ocellott, which also played only one show during its semester, according to Russell, with a repertoire of one-and-a-half songs. The band also featured a barefoot Scott and a bespectacled Russell, inspired by the representation of Bob Dylan in 1967’s “Don’t Look Back.” This group provided the base upon which the Mercies would come to grow. With this new band, Finney said, “There’s like so much less resistance. I feel like any other band I’ve been a part of felt more like work.”

Currently unsigned, Mercies remains content with the recognition it has already garnered from its three past performances at The Velvet Lounge, Black Cat and 9:30 Club. Of their most recent performance, freelance writer Chris Kelly states in his blog, Postcultural, “Mercies rocked on a visceral level only hinted at on their EP.” If their EP, which is available on their website, is any indication of this band’s potential, they are certainly worth checking out. When asked where they saw themselves in five years, Scott replied, “We just want to keep doing what we’re doing. We’re having a great time [and] it’s been awesome.”

In addition to the work they do with Mercies, each band member is hard at work with their own side projects. Russell currently performs with another band called Thundertyts, which performed at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Wednesday, Scott produces his own brand of electropop under the moniker of Stout Cortez and Finney lends his talents to another band called City Folk.

This band encourages any musically-inclined Hoyas, fans and aspiring musicians alike to get out of the infamous Georgetown “bubble” and get out into the city to experience what D.C. has to offer in terms of music. Russell said, “Listen to the bands … whose shows are upcoming and, if you like one, just go, even if you’ve never heard of them. The more local support [they get] and the more people who are interested in seeing music in D.C., the better off everybody is.” In adherence to this advice, be sure to catch Mercies at Sidebar Tavern in Baltimore on March 30 and Asylum in D.C. on April 7.

For more information, or to follow the band as they prepare for their upcoming shows, visit mercies.bandcamp.com or follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/merciesband.

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