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Except where noted, all original text & art ©2009 Eddie Flowers
 (photo by Valentine) Hey, it's Eddie here. For my personal take on the Meercaz experience, check out the liner notes from the Tic Tac Totally LP, which has just hit the racks. Now dig Meercaz instigator Muslim Delgado in his own words. . . . * * * Who/what is Meercaz? Meercaz is a band that turned into a recording project that turned back into a band, then a recording project. And now it's a real band, not just me. When I Left the the Leaders, I was trying to start back up a band I had called Bunker, but on the poster of our first show they put up Meercaz, and we all thought "fuck it." The accidental change of band name is pretty wild. How'd that happen? By the way, I think it's a better name than Bunker, so fate wins again!
Well, we had a slot to play the Slabtown bender and i told Sam, who run's it, that Meercaz and Bunker would play or one of them. I get the flyer and and he only put Meercaz on it. After Clay texted me some time before that saying he would be fine with Meercaz. I thought I was finished with it [the name Meercaz]. Ha! When/where were you born? Binghamton, NY--1978 What was the first record (or CD or cassette) you bought? First record given to me was a Neil Diamond 45 and a Marvin Gaye 45. First cassette I think was a Talking Heads single--ha ha--maybe some old school rap comp? CD might have been Grand Puba or Mothers at Fillmore East. Nothing hip--ha ha. What was the first live show you attended? My mom took me to see Sun Ra at Binghamton college when I was 12. My stepdad at the time gave me The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra Volume 1. He found it for a quarter in a Goodwill. Changed my life. My rock show experiences were weird. I was real antisocial, not the coolest kid really. I think I saw Karp, the old Olympia band. Beck headlined. It was the One Foot in the Grave period. The current "rock" scene is so broad and fragmented--from arena-rock "punk" stars to geeky kids alone in their bedrooms using whatever semi-functioning technology that's available. Are there any current artists that you relate to? Or just current people you dig a lot? There aren't a lot of current artists I'm into, although some of the stuff out the Bay Area has been good. I dig my friend Rod Meyer's guitar playing a lot. He plays in Eat Skull now, but the stuff he did in his last band [the Hospitals] I like. There is a few others, but I don't want to name too many names, They know who they are. I like The new Hunches, and the Bare Wires are good. What about some musical influences? What really moves you when you put on their music? What was it that first blew your mind?! My influences are a bit broad. They don't make sense--ha ha. I love the early Cleveland stuff, and the Twinkeyz, The early glam and metal stuff. Bubblegum and some soul on top. Lately been rocking Bon Scott-era AC/DC. Don't know why. There are a few albums that blew my mind that made me want to play in front of people, but one that stands out the most to me is the Stooges' Fun House. I heard when I was 16 or 17. My friend's mom had the record, and I always read about them, so I asked if I could borrow it. I took it home and wow! Me and a friend would cruise around Washington in his Trans-Am rocking a tape we made of that. Ah youth! I think it's super cool that you dig bubblegum and AC/DC--early glam and metal too--the whole pre-punk panorama, it seems. Did punk-rock itself hit you as hard? I was just thinking that there was nothing revolutionary about punk by the time you were out and about, so the strength of a band like AC/DC is as obvious as Black Flag. I agree. In the beginning, punk did hit me hard, but in the end a lot of my early influences won out. I just got lucky. Punk did help me get into the great music that was around before and after. The bands I love the most have stayed with me. But some stuff doesn't motivate me as much as other music. Any favorite bubblegum records you'd like to mention? (Hey, Metal Mike's latest heroine is Lady Gaga!) Lady Gaga! No. my faves? Finders Keepers, the 1910 Fruitgum Company album with the black cover. Right now I love this single by this Dutch glam band called Heavy Dwarf. The fuzz on it is so heavy! Boyce & Hart, More of the Monkees--ha ha. Wind is good. Parts of it anyway. The new vinyl version of your album just came out from Tic Tac Totally. Are you stoked on that? How'd I do on the graphics?! HAH!
Yes, I'm VERY stoked! And you did a great job. But you forgot to credit Hailey Poyser for the photos on the sleeve and the design on that side. That was her idea. Love you, Hailey!
It seems like you've been playing more gigs around Portland. How's that going? Any plans for out-of-town shows? We were trying to get you guys for a recent Crawlspace/Saccharine Trust gig.
It's been fun. Every show has been different and been getting better. We hope to get out of town maybe during the spring or summer. Our main goal right now is to finish the recordings we're working on before riding the gravy train.
Got any more recordings happening yet? Yes, we do! We're trying to finish a series of recordings. Four will be on an EP coming out on Tic Tac Totally. I'm real excited about that.
Anything you wanna add?
Stop Faking Music and Fame Is Over! Pick your slogan, Eddie.
* * * SLIPPY TOWN TIMES #3 IN THIS ISSUE: Intro This Week in Slippy Town Meercaz Q&A Paul Revere & the Raiders Watchin' Videos Spinnin' Some Vinyl Comix??? Shout Bamalama! Outro (R.I.P.) Extra! Extra! TRASH #6 With Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer, Metal Mike, Patti Smith, Krazee Ken and Ready Eddie of the Gizmos, etc. |