Written by DCist Music Contributor Jim Smalley.
Photos by Patrick L. Dunne.
We imagine the beginning went something like this…
Okay, first we’d like to thank you all for trying out for our new project. While we’d love to keep everyone, we’re unfortunately are going to have to let some of you go. First, Dan Cord. You’re in. We like your tight beats behind the kit. You’re the perfect foundation to build this band around. Next, Kristen Williams. We’re keeping you. Your beautiful synth jingles are exactly what we want to color our sound with. Tortured soul indie guitarist, we liked your minor 7th chords and falsetto, but we just don’t see it working out. We wish you luck in finding someone who really understands you. Buh-bye. Next, Tom Benca. Shocker! – you’re in. Just do us a favor, and miss a note or two on your next solo. Please? Make us believe you’re fallible. Matt Kraft, you’re in. We think you may find the stage at certain venues around town a little too small to pull off all your stage antics, but your energy is amazing. Welcome aboard. Chris Dixon, you’ve made the cut. We like your leadership and punk rock flava. We see you as the glue to the whole band, and we also like your songwriting ability. And you, Kelly Landers. We fell in love with you at first sight, but still had to put you through the grinder. Will you be our date to the prom? Lastly, we’re sorry nü-metal vocalist. We’d love to rev up our DeLorean to 88 m.p.h., flux-capacitate our way back to your childhood and stop Mommy and Daddy from hurting your feelings so much. Really, we would. But we’ve all got our own parental luggage to tote around, and we just don’t see it working out. May we suggest a good therapist? Congratulations ladies and gentlemen. You are now Full Minute of Mercury, and your mission is to bring fun back to the D.C. music scene. Go forth and we wish you luck…
Thursday night, at Iota Club and Café in Clarendon welcomed the latest show in the journey of our synth-pop sextuplet. We got in a bit late and caught the tail end of opener Run Silent Run Deep’s pounding set, who were preceded by D.C. rockers Chrysalis. We grabbed an I.P.A. and took our first sips just as Mercury broke into punk opener “Alive Again,” with Williams supplying the first of the night’s many bouncy Korg synth lines. Digging deep into our music knowledge, the only band we could summon to compare Mercury’s energy and metal/punk/radio pop hybrid sound to was The Rentals, the former side project of original Weezer bassist Matt Sharp. We saw some strange things last night, most notably, movement coming from the Bed Bath and Beyond crowd. Were D.C. music fans having fun? We hung around to investigate.
