Lady Mercedes Rock 'n' Blog!

Happy New Year...We're Back!

After an insane hogmany show in Aberdeen, Lady Mercedes are back on the road!

Friday 18th Jan, Maggie Mays, Trongate, Glasgow. Playing along with Gordy(Echo + The Bunnymen) DJ Set.

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

Lady Mercedes is the kicking and screaming, issue ridden, flea-bitten toerag of Mr Brett McIntosh and Mr Ray Evans, formed a few years back with a one track mind to kick out the jams,

The result are some soulful rootsy vocals, meshed with a metalic/bluesy lead guitar, a drum and bass combo that would make a boulder bleed, and a rhythm player as tight as his trousers are.

As far as we see it, Rock 'n' Roll's about having an open mind, a clenched fist, and a willingness to take a risk at your own peril. We're sick to the back teeth of stiff, self concious indie bands, wallowing in their own self obsessed, petty issues! We're driven by this sheer hatred, and our love for those who live and die for their art, Hendrix, AC/DC, The Stones,

Lady Mercedes are musical hookers, you book us, we'll put on sumthin tight, a line of make up, have a few glasses of wine, fix our hair, then proceed to get you off!

So run, run, get your gun, We gonna start a revolution!

Lady Mercedes + IamChemist + Stroszek

Maggie Mays, 62 Trongate, Glagow

Saturday 24th November, 8pm

We'll see you down the front! LM x

This is a story that was featured in a local Aberdeen newspaper last week. The media love a story involving having a dig at the council, and we were more than happy to help! LM x

Aberdeen Favourites, "Lady Mercedes" have been on a never ending tour since early

2006, stamping down their unique vibe of raw edged, funky rock and roll on

lucrative venues all across the UK. Having enrolled in journeys through

Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cambridge and London. They have covered some

of the national Hot Spots in the live music circuit, most notably, a handful

of headline shows in Camden Town, London. The band consist of, Brett

McIntosh - Vocals, Leigh Collingbourne - Guitar, Ray Evans - Bass, Kris

Harris - Guitar, and Phil Collingbourne - Drums.

Lady Mercedes thrive on coming home to the Granite City and playing with

other local bands, and are more than keen to see how the music scene is

developing. More often than not, the band are left disappointed...Not with

the bands, and certainly not with the crowds, but with the lack of interest

from the local media, and city council.

"Having seen other live music communities first hand, and having worked with

them in depth", guitarist, Kris Harris stated. "The condition of the

Aberdeen scene has been a shambles for a number of years now. There is an

incredible array of talent on show in Aberdeen, and I cannot fault the

efforts of anyone connected to the scene, and that goes from the bands, to

the promoters and venues, and even the gig-goers. Everyone is doing there

bit to contribute, except from the council, and the local media. The lack of

interest from these sources must be highlighted to the people of Aberdeen,

as a buzzing live music scene, is equally as important as any tourist

attraction in the city, and it's evident that this is being overlooked, and

has been for as long as we can remember. The people involved within the

scene have the right tools to place Aberdeen firmly on the Live Music map

and make something great happen, but a helping hand from the people who

effectively run the city, wouldn't go a miss. Bands like ourselves, are

being forced to leave Aberdeen, in order to fulfill our goals. Obviously,

being in a band and touring, go hand in hand, but there is no valid

explanation as to why we can't achieve our goals by residing in Aberdeen,

other than the simple reason, that the stalwarts of the music industry do

not find the city to be a place of interest...and who can blame them. Our

local bands do not receive any media attention whatsoever. The local media

seem to be blinkered by the movement of unimportant manufactured acts such

as the Macdonald Brothers, and almost every other one hit wonder plaguing

our national charts at the moment. It's sickening to think that just an hour

away in Dundee, their music scene is on top form. With bands such as "The

View" arising, Dundee can do no wrong, and its scene is placed firmly in the

public eye. You ask yourself what Dundee have, that Aberdeen lack, and the

only answer that springs to mind is "unity". The bands are not any better

down there, and Aberdeen have far superior music facilities, but they all

work together collectively in Dundee, and receive a great deal of support

from both the media and the city council. If the Aberdeen music scene

received the same amount of interest, it could potentially be up amongst the

best.

Since their rise in Aberdeen in 2003, the band have gone from strength to

strength. The people of the granite city quickly caught on to the momentum

of the band, and Lady Mercedes were fast becoming the main attraction on the

local scene, before a brief split. The band then reformed in 2006 Since

then, they have attracted fans from up and down the country, and have

their status of being "Urban Legends" in Aberdeen by some of their

younger fans. "The last few times we have played in Aberdeen, we have all

noticed an increase in fans, particularly of a younger generation. When we

first started out in 2004, these kids would have still been at school.

They've obviously heard of Lady Mercedes and know all the songs, and

although we are still young ourselves, its important for us to keep in touch

with the up and coming bands and fans in the city. I think they admire the

fact that Lady Mercedes speak up for them, and we're certainly not afraid to

get something of our chest"

Lady Mercedes play The Tunnels on 27th October 07. Please visit http://www.ladymercedes.co.uk for all the latest info

Filmed on a Digital Camera, none the less..You still get the effect..!

Performing: "This Is Life"

Album Review " Red Light Fever" - 17/8/07

http://www.bluesbunny.com/

"Bluesbunny likes it loud - its a feature not a defect. Lady Mercedes do not let us down with this fine party album"

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that Aberdeen had a swamp; there is no
other place that Lady Mercedes could have been born. Starting well with
a groove and riff vaguely reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and a voice that Steve Tyler would be proud of, these guys slither their way out of your speakers and demand that you shake that thang!

The relaxed strut of "Shotgun Revolution", with its stumbling riffing, breaks down into a simple down-home southern blues guitar riff with some truly righteous harp playing. Showing that these guys aren't a one trick pony, "Hey Lady Hey" has beautifully simple four-to-the-floor percussion and an acoustic riff straight out of the Stones' hey-day.

The interplay of two loose rhythm guitars combined with a naturally grooving, melodic bass built on a solid back beat makes this a band to pay attention to. Harking more from English seventies' rock and psychedelia than the Black Crowes did and although far more funky than the Quireboys, it is a shame that these guys weren't around 18 years ago when that kinda retro cool reared its head. Mind you, everything comes in cycles, so let's hope these muthas are ahead of the game this time 'round!

The only let down are the somewhat puerile lyrics that make a Kevin Smith script seem like Shakespeare. While this Bluesbunny has never thought that rock & roll and poetry mix, I did find stereotypical lyrics like "She loves the cock, she wolfs it up" and "I sampled her flower for roughly an hour, but I said no to a golden shower" which pepper the CD, a bit of a let down.

This is an album full of filthy, funky rock & roll harking back to the days when the Twins were still Toxic and Rod Stewart wasn't trying to reinvent himself as the new Sinatra. Get some beers, some gumbo, stick this CD into your player and have a party!