Esma Orgeron
July 2, 2007
NSU business college dean elected to state CPA board
July 4, 2007
Baton Rouge-based rock band Meriwether talked about the music industry, the local music scene and torturing recording industry representatives over a plate of two grilled cheese sandwiches served hors d’voure-style, cut into 32 squares and stabbed with toothpicks, at their hometown hangout, the Caterie.
They’ve shared stages with bands 30 Seconds to Mars and My Chemical Romance, and will be performing at the one of their favorite venues, Brickhouse Tavern in Houma, on July 7.
“It’s a good show,” said Steve Bergeron (guitar). “It’s one of the best crowds we’ve ever played for. Everybody’s really amped up and the crowd’s really, really responsive. It doesn’t matter the size of the crowd, when you’ve got a crowd that responds like that. It just makes it more fun for you and when you’re having fun you play better and put on a better show.”
The band members all take pride in their Pelican State roots. Three of the band’s four members even have tattoos of the state’s flower, the magnolia.
“In lieu of all the bull—- that encompasses Los Angeles and New York, having a level head is what’s going to keep you sane and allow you to make the best decisions. That’s why we like being in the South so much. It allows us to remember our roots and where we come from, which is important to all of us,” said Drew Reilley (vocals, guitar).
“I’m a country boy. I grew up on the bayou,” said Brett Schexnayder (drums), who grew up in Donaldsonville.
“It’s a cool state. It’s full of everything you need. It’s got awesome trees,” said Bergeron. “I was driving down the street the other day and was like, wow, these are beautiful trees.”
The local music scene in the state is also important to the group. Reilley said they try to go out to as many shows as they can to catch new bands.
“As much as we’re away from home, we’re trying to keep up with the scene,” he explained.
They were surprised with how much the local scene has grown and changed, even during the time they were away recording their new album, which should be released toward the end of the year.
“I think it’s totally different now than it was six years ago. Six years ago it was nothing but cover bands,” said Schexnayder.
To them it seems like, now, when a band breaks up, two new bands just spawn out of it.
Part of the reason for the change, Meriwether believes, is the shift away from cover bands.
“I think people finally realized you can actually do good and make money off of playing your own stuff instead of just covering what everybody else is playing,” said Josh “Lazor” Barbier (bass). “You could go to three different bars and watch three different bands playing the exact same song.”
They did admit there are some exceptions, the most notable being the legendary ’80s cover band, Werewolf.
“They’re entertainers,” said Reilley. “They actually write and rehearse and practice their a—es off.”
Bergeron also loves Werewolf’s stage and lights, calling them phenomenal. And he loves production in general.
“I love it. I love it. That’s rock ‘n’ roll,” said Bergeron. “I want lasers, smoke machines and strobe lights.”
There was also talk of hearts, rainbows, bubbles and bubbles filled with smoke.
The band signed with the indie label GvE records about 2 1/2 years ago to release their first album, “Make Your Move,” which will soon be re-released. Last summer, they signed with Suretone/Interscope Records to record their new album.
They wouldn’t let the new album’s title slip, as they haven’t quite decided. But they did indicate they have a pretty good idea of what it will be if it isn’t called “Magic the Gathering” or “Use Your Illusion IV.”
The recording of the new album was delayed for several reasons ranging from scheduling problems to holidays to illness. Reilley was actually sick for five weeks, needing minor surgery.
“The surgery … was more the doctor prodding me with scalpels in the inside without giving me medication for it,” he said. “It was the worst thing ever in my entire life.”
Reilley recently had his tonsils removed and has been recovering. As a result, he had to give up smoking.
“My voice feels pretty strong,” said Reilley. “It’s pretty good, though. I lost about 15 pounds, quit smoking and won’t get sick anymore. It’s pretty righteous in the end.”
The band also released Bergeron’s project, “The Damage DVD,” which features three hours of footage of the band’s performances and interviews. It captures milestones like the band’s first road trip and first gig with a big hometown show being the band’s focus.
“It was a lot of fun, because it was about 80-something hours of footage that we had to sack down into three hours of DVD,” said Bergeron. “It’s fun man. And I think anybody who watches knows after watching it there was a lot of stuff we left out, because you can’t pack that much fun into one DVD. We care about our fans. We don’t want to blow their minds.”
Almost a year ago, the band won a spot on the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 10 compilation CD with their track, “New Orleans, RIP.” They were one band in a field of 12,000 other unsigned bands competing for a spot on the CD.
Reilley talked about the track as Cream’s “White Room” hummed in the background.
He wrote “New Orleans, RIP,” while the band was on tour during Katrina. He said they were at a Hooters in Dallas when the storm hit, and were still scheduled to go further west for the tour. They weren’t able to return home until after Rita.
“From our standpoint, I guess it was a totally different situation for us because we weren’t here. And it’s like, I guess, we wished we could have been here to help our friends and families, but they wouldn’t have ever asked us to come home and leave tour,” said Reilley. “They know we were doing what we love and making headway.”
He explained that it was because of the band’s displacement and inability to communicate with friends and family that led to the song’s unique outlook.
“There’s a few different point of views in the song, but a lot of it is from the perspective of whatever higher power you believe in and consequential actions and stuff like that, how everything was dealt with. And then there’s also the point of view of the storm itself,” said Reilley.
He explained the line that goes, “This is drowning seen from above,” is also about being underwater and looking up to some sort of hope and rebuilding.
“For us it’s a lot of fun to go play that song, because it’s not a bull—- song. It’s straight to the point. It’s no holds barred,” said Reilley. “We want there to be hope and we want (New Orleans) to be rebuilt, but we’re not going to sing some sappy, sad song about it.”
They played the song for the first time at their first show back in the Big Easy.
“Man, it was, I don’t want to say electric, because that’s really cheesy, but it was unbelievable how people reacted to that and how fans came to talk to you, after, about the song. It was wild, man. It’s my favorite song,” said Bergeron.
And yes, the band does make recording industry A&R people eat alligator, as well as a lot of other wild stuff.
“We make them do all kinds of terrible stuff when they come down here,” said Barbier.
Bergeron said their A&R guy was freaked out when he first saw them.
They picked him up at the airport in June in their van, which didn’t have air conditioning, and went straight to Mike Anderson’s, where Bergeron had never even been before.
“It was like three or four in the afternoon. It was like, it’s Patrone time. And I don’t even drink that stuff, but we had to do it. You had to show the record label you rock and they don’t,” said Bergeron.
And then they drove to Houma from Baton Rouge.
“The windshield was covered with fried mosquitoes. You couldn’t even hardly see out of it, dude, it was great,” said Schexnayder. “We were cranking, we had 98.1 (FM), we had the Eagle going down the road. I was like driving, screaming and swerving. We were having a good time.”
They also took the guy to a wedding reception, where they performed two songs, impromptu, wasted and with their shirts off.
“He loved it,” said Reilley.
“He made out with that chick with the baby,” said Barbier.
“And then he signed us and gave us a lot of money that we spent real quick,” said Reilley.
“Real quick… on alligator, actually,” said Bergeron.
“Alligator suits,” said Reilley.
Their list of victims include their lawyer, their publishing guy and a few other record labels that have been down to meet with them.
“We were kind of sweet on our booking guy, though. I kind of feel weird about that one,” said Bergeron. “We let him off easy.”
They just went with him to Zippy’s and ate nachos.
“We didn’t force Jaeger bombs down his throat or gator,” said Reilley.
“He had one with me, but see, that’s too light,” said Bergeron. “We can’t be doing that.”
