Glenn Mercer and The Feelies

Come on ... feel the noise

By Jonathan Donaldson

Of all the great lesser-known groups to come out of the '80s, The Feelies were easily the most collective and least ego-riffic—nearly a brotherhood. Charmingly unassuming, and therefore somewhat anonymous, co-founding guitarists/vocalists Glenn Mercer and Bill Million took more inspiration than influence from groups like the Ramones and Television and came up with their own unique strand of rock & roll: a sparkling kinetic vibe with supreme dynamics, boyish vocals and something called plain prettiness. A sound perhaps best described by the title of their classic 1980 debut, Crazy Rhythms.

"Keeping it real simple and repetitive to the point where as you're hearing it,it's like an art approach ... where you're hearing it in a new way. If you don't present a lot of variables, you detect subtle variations," says Mercer."

A polite and dignified fellow with Lou Reed-style sunglasses, Mercer is pleased but cautious to claim any secrets about his ace 2007 debut solo disc, Wheels In Motion (Pravda). "It doesn't have a central theme; I never write with that in mind. But I guess if I had to pick one recurring topic, it would be dealing with time."

This seems to jive with the general flow of the songs, which range from icy meditations to desert blooms from the '80s underground. And because this is his most autocratic album, Mercer has had to ally himself with more of a singer-songwriter's attitude than ever before. "I wanted to keep the basic focus of the songs being just the vocal and the guitar," he says. The result is something slightly folky with acoustics, shimmery organs and shadowy vocals, most reminiscent of The Feelies' 1985 standout, The Good Earth.

Mercer spent much of the '80s on-and-off again with The Feelies (and later in the '90s with Wake Ooloo), often holding court at Maxwell's in Hoboken, a prized local venue. His repertoire usually includes cover songs and Wheels In Motion is no different. In this case, The Beatles' "Within You/Without You" gets systematically stripped to a pulsing beat and slithery melody with a good measure of detached cool. Mercer doesn't seem to suffer from iconoclasm and embraces the recycled nature of music with a more healthy traditionalist view. "You could draw a certain comparison to folk songs, maybe Mexican folk songs which you could trace to the '50s," he says of the roots of his sound. "Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens had that same kind of strum Pete Townsend picked up on. I'd be turned on by The Who and go back from there."

There's something else to rejoice about. The Feelies' reunion shows are scheduled for July 1st and 2nd at Maxwell's in Hoboken. They will also appear with Sonic Youth at Battery Park on July 4th. And the possibility of a new album? "We've been talking about it, yeah," says Mercer. As fresh and invigorated as he is sounding these days, this would be a very good thing indeed.

GLENN MERCER

W/ WILD CARNATION

A BENEFIT FOR THE

SOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION

SAT 5.17

JOHNNY D'S

17 HOLLAND ST.

DAVIS SQ.

SOMERVILLE

617.776.2004. 9PM/21+/$20

JOHNNYDS.COM

http://www.weeklydig.com/arts-entertainment/music/200805/glenn-mercer-and-feelies

Feelies frontman to play Somerville, boosting Homeless Coalition

Tue May 13, 2008, 03:41 PM EDT

From the Luna Lounge in Brooklyn on April 12, 2008:

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=eci5iAaU5Xw

Exciting news!  The Feelies will reunite for a show on the 4th of July at Battery Park NYC (River To River Festival).  For more details, check out the new Feelies 'Official' myspace site:

http://www.myspace.com/thefeelies

April 11, 2008

Joe Belock of WFMU selected Glenn's Wheels In Motion as his 1 CD of 2007:

December 19, 2007

Joe Belock's Top Albums of 2007

Visitors to WFMU who come via the PATH train are greeted by a piece of graffiti in the station singing the praises of Joe Belock's show.  (No seriously!  Check it out)  Think you know better than a chunk of graffiti hidden 6 stories underneath New Jersey?  Me, I'm listenin' to Joe Belock, on WFMU:

1. Glenn Mercer - Wheels in Motion (Pravda)
2. Neil Young - Chrome Dreams 2 (Reprise)
3. Sadies - New Seasons (Yep Roc)
4. The Makes Nice - Candy Wrapper and 12 Other Songs (Frenetic)
5. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full (Hear)
6. Gondoliers - s/t (Earie)
7. Wild Billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire - Punk Rock at the British Legion Hall (Damaged Goods)
8. Southern Culture on the Skids - Countrypolitan Favorites (Yep Roc)
9. The 1990s - Cookies (Rough Trade)
10. Safes - Well Well Well

Click on any link to listen to a song from that album, in the WFMU Realaudio archives.

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/12/joe-belocks-top.html

------------------------------------------------------------------

Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times picked Wheels In Motion as his 2

CD of the Year:

Jim DeRo's Top 10 Albums of 2007

I was going to publish my list of the 50 Best Albums of the Year in reverse order spread out over the course of this week, starting with 50 to 40, and building to the Top 10, since the latter won't appear in print until Sunday. Then I realized that I already talked about seven of these 10 albums on "Sound Opinions" last weekend, so why should I make you wait?

Look for 11 to 20 tomorrow, 21 to 30 on Wednesday, and so on. Hit the links to read my reviews as they appeared in the paper throughout the year -- and feel free to share your own lists, too.

2. Glenn Mercer, "Wheels in Motion" (Pravda)

It's been nearly two decades since New Jersey cult legends the Feelies disbanded, but their influence continues to loom large on groups such as the Strokes, Arcade Fire and Yo La Tengo. This year, the Feelies' co-founder, lead guitarist and vocalist released his first solo album, and it was as hypnotic and melodically infectious as his old band at its best.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2007/12/jim_deros_top_10_albums_of_200_1.html

.................................................................................................................

Wheels In Motion voted 10 on Things I'd Rather Be doing list:

12.07.2007

Best music of 2007

OK, I'll admit it: I like the music of white guys. If they're bookish, or a bit too clever for their own good or back after a long layoff, so much the better. I've tried for diversity, tried to broaden my horizons, but my time is limited these days, so I seek out the aural equivalent of comfort food. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'll peruse all of the dozens of other lists out there, look for some commonalities and continue to build my "to-be-heard" list so that when I do someday get some time, I'll know what to see out.

In the meantime, if smart white guys with guitars are your thing, you could do worse than to check out these 25 discs. As always, you get a sort of annotated top 10, a second 10, another handful and some comments about those that missed.

Overall, it felt like a good year for music. I'll be curious to see who tops the Idolator and Village Voice polls, because nothing really struck me as a runaway obvious best-album choice for the masses. My pick was easy, but I doubt Joe Henry cracks the top 25 most anywhere else. Sure, critics like to single out things that don't get airplay -- when they're not busy ironically touting mainstream pap because it's subversively derivative... or whatever -- but not white former alt-country also-rans on the edge of 50 who make more money producing than performing. That's fine: Joe can be my little secret.

For me, 2007 was the year of the welcome return. Henry was back after several years away from his solo career while producing, while Nick Lowe also returned after a long layoff. Seth Tiven, Dumptruck frontman, issued his first solo album this year, the great Solitude, after a few years away as well. Then there's Glenn Mercer, the former Feelies frontman, who came back after nine years away from recording and more than 15 years since the Feelies hung it up. Add to that nice discs by Ian Hunter, John Fogerty and Dinosaur Jr., and it's like the old folks home ran out of room and sent a bunch of 'em to the recording studio to sleep on cots.

OK, enough pontification. On to the list.

Glenn Mercer – Wheels in Motion..:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />
This disc defines the term "welcome return." Its 11 songs sound current at the same time they feel perfectly aligned in spirit with Mercer's two-decade-old Feelies work. You feel right at home from the start, as the acoustic guitar strums and organic drums drive the song. Things ebb and flow nicely over the course of the next nine songs, as Mercer shows off his delicate guitar work and uncanny way of creating compelling melodies with a limited vocal range. By the time he reaches the end, with an inspired medley of George Harrison's "Within You, Without You" and "Love You To," it becomes clear that Mercer hasn't lost a step.
web site
TIRBD Monday Interview

http://www.tirbd.com/2007/12/best-music-of-2007.html

 

From Wheels In Motion CD (Pravda 2007)

DAYS TO COME

WHY ARE WE STILL HANGIN' 'ROUND

I THINK IT'S TIME TO GO

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT WE FOUND?

'CAUSE I REALLY WANNA KNOW

THE HOUR'S GETTING LATE

TIME IS MARCHING ON

THE DAYS TURN INTO DAYS

YEA, WE'RE MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG

WE CAN SPEND OUR TIME

LIKE IT'S JUST BEGUN

WE CAN LEAVE BEHIND

FOR THE DAYS TO COME

I REMEMBER TIMES

IT WAS ALL FOR ONE

DID WE LEAVE A SIGN

FOR THE YEARS TO COME?

DID WE LEAVE A SIGN

FOR THE YEARS TO COME?

WHEELS IN MOTION

SUNDAY MORNING

WE WENT WALKING

THROUGH THE SHADOWS

WORLD SURVIVING

HEAD NO WARNING

SEE NO EVIL

ANYTHING AT ALL

GOING TO BE MINE

EVERYTHING WE ARE

RUNNIN' OUT OF TIME

CHAIN REACTION

WHEELS IN MOTION

TABLES TURNING

MORNING LIGHTS

YESTERDAY, I SAW IT COMIN'

SHOULD HAVE GONE AWAY, RUNNIN'

HAD A CHANCE, DIDN'T TAKE IT

ANOTHER TIME, TRY AND MAKE IT

FOR ALL THE TIMES WE SHIFT THE BLAME

AND AFTER THAT I CALL YOUR NAME

AND THEN I NEED TO FEEL YOUR TOUCH

UNTIL I FIND IT'S ALL TOO MUCH

CAN WE GO ON, AGAIN THIS TIME

OR GIVE IT ALL FOR SOME PEACE OF MIND

& THEN YOU'LL KNOW IT'LL BE ALLRIGHT

WE'LL SEE IT CLEAR IN THE MORNIN' LIGHT

DON'T MIND WHAT YOU'RE SAYIN

PRETTY SOON I'LL BE PRAYIN'

DON'T MIND ALL YOUR TALKIN'

KEEP IT UP AND I'LL BE WALKIN'

FOR EVERYTHING WE TRY TO HIDE

CAN'T TAKE AWAY HOW MUCH WE TRY

AND THEN I FEEL I'M IN YOUR CLUTCH

UNTIL I FIND IT'S ALL TOO MUCH

UNTIL IT'S CLEAR

NOT LIKE BEFORE

NOT ANY MORE

WE CAN PRETEND

IT NEVER ENDS

OVER AND THEN

DO IT AGAIN

WHY CAN'T YOU SEE?

WHAT IT'S DOIN' TO ME

DON'T BE TOO LONG

AWAY FROM HERE

A THOUSAND TIMES

UNTIL IT'S CLEAR

WAIT FOR YEARS

'TILL IT'S CLEAR

AWAY FROM HERE

HAD ALL THE FUN

NOW THAT IT'S DONE

OUT OF CONTROL

TAKIN' IT'S TOLL

IN REAL TIME

WHEN IT'S TIME TO TELL THE STORY

TAKE YOUR TIME AND GET IT RIGHT

WE CAN ALL GO OUT IN GLORY

OR, GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT

WE CAN END THE CONVERSATION

AT LEAST JUST FOR A WHILE

THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH INFORMATION

ALL I WANTED WAS A SMILE

GO REAL SLOW

TAKE YOUR TIME

GO SO SLOW

IN REAL TIME

WHEN ALL YOUR BELLS ARE RINGIN'

WHEN ALL YOU BATTLES WON

HEAR EVERYBODY SINGIN'

UNTIL THE SHOW IS DONE

WHATEVER HAPPENED

GO WHERE YOU WANNA GO

DO WHAT YOU WANNA DO

WHAT DO YOU WANNA KNOW?

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?

WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

DON'T WANNA HEAR NO MORE

MAKING ME WANNA SHOUT

EVERYBODY, FINDS A REASON

COMPLICATED, DON'T BELIEVE IT

WHY DON'T WE FALL IN LOVE?

MAYBE WE'LL COME ALIVE

ALL IV'E BEEN THINKING OF

MAYBE ANOTHER TIME

STARE AT THE OPEN ROAD

WONDERIN' WHERE TO GO

MAYBE YOU'LL FIND ME THERE

MAYBE IT'S TIME TO GO

GET IT BACK

HOW COULD THEY KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR HEAD

HOW COULD THEY SAY THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID?

I KNOW THE LOOK THAT'S IN YOUR EYES

I KNOW IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE

WHEN YOU TAKE IT BACK

WILL YOU FEEL THE SAME?

ARE YOU HAVING FUN, WHEN YOU PLAY THE GAME?

MAYBE YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU

MAYBE IT'S TIME TO SAY WE'RE THROUGH

MAYBE IT'S BETTER OFF THAT WAY

MAYBE THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO SAY

NOT OVER NOW

IT CAN GO ON

YOU KNOW YOU KNOW

IT CAN'T BE GONE

TWO RIGHTS

WHAT WE ARE, IS WHAT WE WANT

COME SO FAR, TO FALL APART

ONE WAY UP, ONE WAY DOWN

IN YOUR HEAD, NO WAY OUT

ARRIVE BEYOND WHERE WE BELONG

& SEE BEHIND THE WORLD WE'RE ON

& ON AND ON AS TIME GOES ON

UNTIL WE TAKE A STEP BEYOND

BEFORE YOU KNOW BEFORE TOO LONG

FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT STRONG

ANOTHER DANCE ANOTHER SONG

ANOTHER CHANCE TO RIGHT A WRONG

A WRONG, MOVE ON

ONE MORE TIME, TO GET IT RIGHT

EVERYONE, EVERY NIGHT

WALK THAT WALK, TAKE THAT ROAD

HEADIN' ON, HEADIN' HOME

WHAT WE ARE IS WHAT WE WANT

COME SO FAR TO FALL APART

EVERYONE, EVERY NIGHT

ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT, ALLRIGHT

HERE AND GONE

WAITING FOR THE DAY

ANOTHER CHANCE TO TAKE

DUSK BEFORE THE DAWN

ALL THE DAYS ARE LONG

MAYBE HEAR YOU SAY

TIME TO GET AWAY

LATER ON, LATER ON

ALL THE LINES ARE DRAWN

RIDE ALONG, ANOTHER SONG

HERE AND GONE

SO LONG, SO LONG

WAITING FOR THE DAY

ANOTHER CHANCE TO TAKE

DUSK BEFORE THE DAWN

ALL THE LEAVES ARE GONE

RIDE ALONG, ANOTHER SONG, HERE &GONE

SAY SO LONG, SO LONG, SO LONG,

SO LONG, SO LONG

ANOTHER LAST TIME

LET'S TAKE OUR TIME

DON'T SAY GOODBYE

THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEAD

THINGS LEFT UNSAID

AND ALL THAT MATTERS

IS GETTING CLEARER

EVERYTHING ELSE

IS DISAPPEARING

THINGS ARE FALLING

ALL TOGETHER

ALL THE PIECES

FIT TOGETHER

PLANTING THE DREAM

MAKE YOU BELIEVE

WAIT FOR A SIGN

FOLLOW YOUR MIND

SEE THE MOONLIGHT,

GETTING CLEARER

NIGHT IS FALLING

GETTING NEARER,

REAL LOVE

ONE MORE LAST TIME

STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE

NOWHERE TO HIDE

FALL FOR THE LINE

FLOAT ON A RIVER FOREVER & EVER

TRUE LOVE

(all lyric copyright 2007 Glenn Mercer)

Things I'd Rather Be Doing

10.08.2007

Monday Interview: Glenn Mercer

I was having a discussion with a friend recently about the spate of late '80s-early '90s indie bands reforming for a suddenly lucrative market. Meanwhile, bands that slogged on the entire time are seemingly taken for granted. Glenn Mercer falls somewhere in between. The much-beloved Feelies disbanded in the early 1990s, and Mercer -- who was the main voice and songwriter behind the band -- continued with one of his many side projects, Wake Ooloo. That group never saw the acclaim afforded the Feelies, so when it ended in the mid-'90s few took notice.

Now, Mercer is back with a stunningly good solo album that sounds like a natural bridge between The Good Earth and Only Life, and... nothing. I either saw a small ad for it in the back of a magazine or perhaps read a short review somewhere. A record this good from a guy who fronted a band as critically acclaimed as the Feelies ought to be fighting off fans left and right. Instead, Wheels in Motion has made little dent in the indie-rock consciousness. Consider this a modest attempt to correct that oversight.

The disc (whose cover was designed, coincidentally enough, by my friend, Tod Foley) offers 11 songs that sound current at the same time they feel perfectly aligned in spirit with Mercer's two-decade old Feelies work. (A 12th track, the breezy "Sunday Morning," is available from eMusic) You feel right at home from the start, as the acoustic guitar strums and organic drums drive the song. Things ebb and flow nicely over the course of the next nine songs, as Mercer shows off his delicate guitar work and uncanny way of creating compelling melodies with a limited vocal range. By the time he reaches the end, with an inspired medley of George Harrison's "Within You,Without You" and "Love You To," it becomes clear that Mercer hasn't lost a step.

Part of the reason for this disc's cohesion with the rest of his catalog is the fact that many fellow former Feelies contributed. Stanley Demeski, Anton Fier and Vinny DeNunzio -- former Feelies drummers all -- each played on the album, as did former Feelies and Wake Ooloo bassist Dave Weckerman. The most notable absence is Mercer's guitar foil, Bill Million; he was the difference, as you'll read below, between this being Mercer's solo debut or the Feelies' fifth LP. That's certainly one reason why the disc has made a minimal splash. Don't let the name sway you, however; if you liked the Feelies, you'll love Wheels in Motion.

TIRBD: It has been 10 years since you issued a disc with the last Wake Ooloo album. What have you been up to -- musically and otherwise -- and

GM: After the last Wake Ooloo record, I remained fairly active in music, playing with friends in various situations, all on a local, low-key level. I played with former Trypes in a band called Sunburst, I played acoustic guitar for a short time in ..:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />Ruby on the Vine. Dave and I also play on a regular basis with Russ from Wake Ooloo. At that point, I didn't really think about the "business" side of music. I soon found, however, that songs started popping into my head with little or no effort. Whenever I had a new song, I'd record a demo version and soon I had a cassette tape filled with songs. When my friends heard the tape they all encouraged me to put out a record, so I did.

Crazy Rhythms came out 27 years ago, and while your new disc sounds like something that could have been made by the group that cut that record (or, in the very least, the Good Earth), it still feels of the moment. Does the music feel different from what you were doing back them?
..
Some things about making a record never change and some things are always different. Recording always starts with the song, the core being the guitar and vocal, so that provides the point where you begin to work outward. The process follows, somewhat, the factors such as budget, rehearsals, technical considerations, etc., which tend to change how the work gets done. With this record, the experience was unique because it was self-produced and finished without any outside involvement. I also recorded at home, so that made it easier to slot time, but also allowed for some distractions to emerge. Overall, the biggest influence was not having any deadline; that meant for a relaxed atmosphere that I think affected the mood of the record.

Did you write new material recently for this, or did you have a backlog from over the past several years from which to draw? If it's the latter, how did you choose what to record?

All of the songs were written between 2000 and 2004. I've never been in a position of having a backlog of songs, so I've never had to choose what to record and what to leave out.

While recording the demo tapes, I began to notice how much the material sounded "Feelie-ish" and it was easy to imagine what the songs might sound like played by the Feelies. That's when I started to consider getting involved with my old band mates. At one point, I even considered making it a Feelies record, so I approached Bill with the idea. His response was that he'd love to re-unite the band to perform and record, but that the time wasn't right just now. It just didn't seem right to call it a Feelies record without Bill's involvement.

The Feelies were always known for inspired covers, and you uncork a couple here with your George Harrison medley. What led you to that choice, particularly the decision to fuse the two songs together?

I had jammed on "Within You/Without You" and it felt like something that could be arranged for western/electric instruments. I thought it was interesting that it was the least well-known song on a very well-known album. Also, the lyrics seem to fit the overall mood of the record. Adding "Love You To" was almost an afterthought. The two songs just seemed to fit together and made it more unique. When I first started recording, I hadn't yet heard the smash-up from the Beatles Love album, or Patti Smith's version. If I had, I might not have chosen to record it. I guess the song was in our collective conscience at the time.

You have played live a few times on the East Coast. Any plans to tour more widely? Do you enjoy live performance?

I don't have any set plans for touring at the moment. The few shows we've done have gone well, but the concert/club scene has changed so much since I last toured it's hard to work out the economics to make it worthwhile. I still enjoy performing.

Labels: Monday Interview, music

Another Brave New World

Glenn Mercer's solo debut could be a Feelies reunion. He's just too nice to make it one.

by Rob Trucks

June 12th, 2007 4:59 PM

Though we may be the lone strangers on this one, companionless contrarians careless of the compulsory crit-pick of Crazy Rhythms, likely the only thing writer Rick Moody and I have in common is our commitment of needle to the Feelies' Good Earth vinyl over a thousand times apiece. Easy.

This, the band's second album–released in 1986, a good half-dozen years after their debut, Crazy Rhythms–served as the soundtrack to Moody's own novelistic debut, 1992's Garden State. (No, not that Garden State. This Garden State is set in Hoboken and bereft of anyone remotely resembling Natalie Portman.) Like the book Moody wrote while playing it over and over and over, the Feelies' sophomore effortthanks to vocals so buried they might've reached Chinareeks of the now-removed warehouse-industrial side of Ol' Blue Eyes' hometown. Mellifluous, yet murky. As if singing a sprightly shadow. The album (nominally co-produced by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck) not only bridged the gap from the Velvet Underground to college radio, it also paved the way for Hoboken geek rock (They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, etc.). And while I'm not suggesting this is a good thing, the multi-platinum equation that was the Counting Crows' August and Everything After is near-equal parts Van Morrison (vocals) and the Feelies (music).

Fittingly then, The Good Earth is also the one record accountable for the Feelies' classification as a "Hoboken band." A mislabeling, it seemsdamn near all of them, both past and present, hail from Haledon, a good four stops up New Jersey Transit's Main Line and much closer to William Carlos Williams's Paterson than any citified suit and tied.

True, Hoboken provides the entire setting for at least one Feelies video (the Jonathan Demmedirected "Away"); Coyote, the Twin Tone Records subsidiary that unleashed The Good Earth upon the world, received its mail on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. As didand doesthe club Maxwell's, the band's musical epicenter. But, says former Feelies frontman Glenn Mercer, "I never lived here."

And yet here we are: Not only in Hoboken, butafter a well-paced and purposefully strode mile from the train station, with Mercer in the leadat Maxwell's, the site not only of the Feelies' last-ever gig, but of Mercer's next one. For, later this month, he will publicly provide aural glimpses into his very first solo album, Wheels in Motion. Which, like The Good Earth, offers strummed guitars detailed with picked-through chords, dramatically plodding bass licks, rudimentary percussion (obligatory shout-out to Mo Tucker), and long, lethargic vocal lines delivered so slowly and so obliquely ("Anything at all/Going to be mine/Everything we are/Running out of time," suggests the title track's chorus) that any baritoned Southerner could comfortably sing along.

For this singular effort, the professorial indie rocker (think My Aim Is True–era Elvis with a mortgage) prevailed on past bandmates: all four former Feelies drummers and bassist Brenda Sauter (whose group Wild Carnation will open Mercer's show). "I think, ultimately, the reason I play music is to connect with people," Mercer says. "All of my friends are musicians. That's how I've made all my friends, really. And kept them. And kept playing."

Damn right. You'd need some overly fulsome flow chart to track all the amalgamated Feelies associations in which Mercer has participated. Though personnel changed frequently, for convenience's sake let's focus on the Good Earth–era Feelies: Sauter on bass, Stanley Demeski on drums, Dave Weckerman on percussion, and Mercer, along with longtime songwriting partner Bill Million, playing the guitars and singing. Besides which, Mercer has always busied himself with well-nigh unquantifiable side projects with one or more of his Feelies friends, before (the Out Kids, the Trypes, the Willies), after (Wake Ooloo, True Wheel, Sunburst, East of Venus), and even during (Yung Wu) his primary band's best run.

"I try to keep all of my musical relationships, you know, going," he says.

No shit.

But after one of alt-rock's longest games of musical chairs ever, it is the Feelies who are left standing, and largely left out. All four of the band's discs (after Good Earth came 1988's Only Life and 1991's Time for a Witness) are out of print, and whatever current visibility the band enjoys (not a word often utilized in a Feelies piece) comes from exquisite memories and a Volvo ad that utilizes Good Earth's "Let's Go." (Say what you will about buried vocals costing radio airplay, it does result in a respectable amount of commercials and soundtrack work.)

So, with seemingly every other group with even a taste of college-rock cool (the Pixies, Bad Brains, Dinosaur Jr., the Jesus and Mary Chain, etc.) now regrouping, the time seems more than right for a reunion. And with Mercer's Wheels in Motion packed with guest Feelies literally picking up where his former band left off, we're really and truly almost there. And if it looks like the Feelies (check), sounds like the Feelies (absolutely), and plays where the Feelies used to play (thank you, sir, may I have another?), it must be the Feelies, right?

Well, no. Not so much.

For, even though most of us would cheerfully cash the chip that provided our claim to fame (assuming we ever had one), Mercer defers to something akin to that which kept him playing in all those many bands: friendship. "I wanted it to be a Feelies record," he says. "All along I would sing a background part and think, 'Man, it sounds like Bill.' It was eerie."

Bill, of course, is the aforementioned Million, Mercer's longtime, long-ago songwriting partner, the man who, in fact, formulated the band's Aldous Huxley–inspired name (for the record, Mercer's never even read Brave New World–nor Moody's Garden State, for that matter). "I had been in touch with Bill," Mercer says. "And he said, 'I'd love to do it.' You know, it was kind of like what he had said back before he left for Florida: 'I'd love to do it, but the timing's not right now.'"

Oh, by the way, Bill Million is also a bona fide icon in the admittedly narrow category of great postpunk disappearing acts.

As the story goes, Million triggered the Feelies' (evidently still) final breakup in 1991 by moving to Florida. Granted, a gazillion grandparents relocate their garish lawn ornaments and golf clubs to the Sunshine State each and every year, but the thing is, Million headed south without telling any of his soon-to-be-former bandmates. Or leaving so much as a forwarding address.

But pay attention, amateur rock historian. "We actually broke up before he moved to Florida," Mercer clarifies. "We were at that pivotal point, you know, being on a major label [A&M], where we kind of had a lot of pressure on us to go to that next step, the next level. It just seemed like a lot pressure. It just didn't seem to be as much fun."

Which explains the parting of ways. But what about Million's move? "I think within maybe a couple months after our last show [at Maxwell's, in fact], Stanley called me and said he had spoken to Bill, and Bill had expressed a desire to play again," Mercer says. "So Dave and I went to where he worked and we, you know, talked to him about it, and he said, 'Yeah, I do, but the time's not quite right.' We said, 'Well, you know, when the time is right, just let us know.' And then I called maybe a month after that, I called where he worked, and the guy who answered said, 'No, you didn't hear? Bill moved to Florida.' So it was pretty abrupt.

"He had two kids at that point," Mercer explains. "And one of the things on his mind, if they ever get sick, you know, was to have health insurance."

But even before Million's Disney World disappearing act, there was a fissure, at least in terms of songwriting, between Mercer and his longtime partner.

"On Crazy Rhythms, we really wrote a lot more together," he says. "Also, I felt like the arrangements of the songs played such an important part of the songs that we always arranged together, but on The Good Earth there were some songs that I really have to admit I wrote myself."

Though all 10 tracks on that album are credited to Mercer-Million, the group's final two discs consist of a more or less 50/50 split on songwriting credits: one half to Mercer-Million, and one halfthe bigger half, as they sayto Mercer alone. Which, along with the proof that is Wheels in Motion, goes to show that Mercer can and could pen a Feelies record solo.

Rumor suggests that, having just escaped a family health scarea realization of the very reason (health insurance, through a steady job offered down there) that guided him south initiallysomewhere in central Florida, Bill Million is once again playing guitar. Mercer's a family man himself nowadays, a wife and two children. And since the Feelies have always tilted toward Haledon homebodies, a full-scale reunion tour would, at the very least, be problematic. But though the Feelies may lack Pixies-esque appeal outside of their home state, Mercer realizes that the potential audience for a record release of reuniteds dwarfs the crowd he'll draw solo at Maxwell's. So, with five current former bandmates in tow and a batch of new but still somehow familiar songs, why not stick a beloved label on the thing and sell some discs?

"I really can't explain it other than the fact that it wouldn't seem right," Mercer says of his geographically departed partner. "If either one of us isn't involved, it wouldn't be the Feelies."

PM

.. end top article info -->.. begin article -->.. BEGIN: PHOTO-MOREINFO --> ..> ..> ..>..> Glenn's aim, in case you were wondering, is still true photo: G. Keyser .. language=javascript type=..> .. // OAS_AD('Middle'); //--> ..>.. language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N3314.villagevoice/B2415907.5;sz=300x250;click0=http://oascentral.villagevoice.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.villagevoice.com/music/L26/941087570/Middle/TheVoice/vv_YariResurrecting_Aug07_ENT300/vv_YariResurrecting_Aug07_ENT300.html/424a304f776b624e6749494143315555?;ord=941087570?">..>...... Template Id = 1 Template Name = Banner Creative (Flash) -->.. Copyright 2002 DoubleClick Inc., All rights reserved. -->.. src="http://m1.2mdn.net/879366/flashwrite_1_2.js">..>.. language=VBScript>dcmaxversion = 9dcminversion = 6DoOn Error Resume Nextplugin = (IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash." & dcmaxversion & "")))If plugin = true Then Exit Dodcmaxversion = dcmaxversion - 1Loop While dcmaxversion >= dcminversion..>...... .. END: PHOTO-MOREINFO -->Though we may be the lone strangers on this one, companionless contrarians careless of the compulsory crit-pick of Crazy Rhythms, likely the only thing writer Rick Moody and I have in common is our commitment of needle to the Feelies' Good Earth vinyl over a thousand times apie