UNREAL TALENT 

Mere Mortals brash new album, ‘Mondegreen Dream,’ cements the group’s place as the area’s best unsigned band

BY ALAN K. STOUT
MUSIC ON THE MENU
JANUARY 8, 1999

Out of all the local bands featured each week in this column, the Mere Mortals are clearly the best.

 They write the best songs. Their albums sound the best. They are wonderful musicians and fine live performers. And when listening to “Unreal,” a wonderful track on the band’s new album, “Mondegreen Dream”- one can’t help but be reminded of the group itself. 

 Unreal, without question, is a word I’m quite comfortable in using when talking about this project.

 Recorded at Sound Investments recording studios in Scranton, “Mondegreen Dream” is now available at the group’s shows and at Gallery of Sound stores. Produced by the band, along with Jerry Hludzik of Dakota, the album is the follow-up to the group’s 1996 well-received “Grin” CD. 

Cohesiveness, high production value, big hooks and a sharp musical edge were all goals of the band when they first headed into the studio.

 With “Mondegreen Dream,” they seem to have gotten it all. 

 “It’s a natural progression,” said guitarist and vocalist Eddie Appnel during a recent interview. “If you want to get better at something, you’re going to find a way to do it … I think we’re forcing ourselves to learn more and to get better.”

 “Even from the beginning, when the songs were being written, I think we had a much clearer vision,” adds guitarist Pat Flynn. “We’ve worked extremely hard … Hopefully, we can take it further. Every record’s a learning experience.” 

 Mere Mortals have always been among the area’s elite groups. Their 1992 debut, “In Search of Simple Things” was followed by a Songwriter’s Achievement Award from Billboard Magazine. “Grin” was also met with a rush of critical acclaim. It also sold well and received regional airplay. And at that time, the group was voted one of the area’s favorite bands in the Times Leader’s “Sound Choice” readers’ poll. 

 With “Mondegreen Dreams,” the group has released its most ambitious work. Throughout the stirring 12-track collection, there are fine harmonies and melodies, smart lyrics, plus elements of rock, funk, jazz, reggae, country and even a little techno. 

 “We haven’t shied away from any style,” says Appnel. “Our plan was to make the best record that we could … 

 “This has much more of a cohesiveness to it from beginning to end,” offers drummer Marko Marcincko, a talented and schooled musician who joined the group two years ago. “The music is much more orchestrated and formed.” 

 Appnel, who pens all of the band’s lyrics, says the group is also pleased with what producer Hludzik brought to the project. 

 “He helped us with the structuring of the songs - making sure we got those choruses to keep people hooked,” he says. “For me, he spent a lot of time with the vocals and the backing vocals … making sure the delivery and the pitch were right.” 

 “He did what we hoped he was going to do,” adds Flynn. “If he felt differently about something, he would say he didn’t agree, but I think he left us to our own devices.” 

 Appnel has a John Lennon-like quality, not only in his writing, but also occasionally in his demeanor. 

 “A donut and a small coffee,” he quips, when asked what Marcinko has brought to the table since joining the band. 

 (A few minutes earlier, Marcinko joined us at the table in a Pittston restaurant with a donut and a small coffee). 

 “He more or less upped the ante for us as musicians,” says Appnel, turning serious. “He’s a human clock, timing wise. It sets him off immediately if something isn’t just right. He’s not just the drummer, he’s the ultimate musician. You name the instrument and he knows how it operates.” 

 “Marko - with his arrangements and work with the horn sections - he’s made the three of us work a lot harder and be better musicians,” offers bassist Mark Kiesinger, whose own work is prominent on the recording. 

 Interestingly, three tracks on the album which first appeared on “Grin” - “Killing Me,” “Funny Animals (The Blast)” and “Mountainslide” - have been re-recorded. Appnel says the band always liked the songs, but saw room for improvement. 

 “The structuring of the songs and the arrangements fit more in that pop vein now than they did before,” he says. “We may have been on the tail end of the grunge-thing the last time we did those songs. With so many new melodic bands coming out, it’s good to be hooky and poppy and have those things working for you.” 

Most of the other tracks, said Appnel, have been written over the past three years. A self-described “pack rat,” Appnel says he keeps little notes and lines for lyric ideas in notebooks, hoping they may later blossom into songs. 

 “We have a really good relationship when it comes to writing,” says Flynn. “Eddie’s better at starting, I’m better at finishing.” 

 Appnel agrees. 

 “Sometimes I’ll have two verses and a chorus,” he says. “I’ll sit down with Pat for an hour and the next thing you know, it turns into full song. “To go in to the room in the early stages and have these three guys go to work on something … it’s not something that I usually envision at first,” he adds. “To see it happen just gives me a huge lift.” 

 Particularly noteworthy throughout “Mondegreen Dream” is Flynn’s guitar work. On tracks such as “Fat White Dawg,” “Feeling You” and “Killing Me,” the guitars both bite and burn with energy and force, yet never overstep the songs. The leads are fiery yet compact and even the fills seem to carry a sense of purpose. With this record, Flynn has cemented his place as the area’s top rock guitarist. 

 “I’m always trying to push and keep learning as much as I can,” he says, embarrassed by the compliment. “For the most part, I’m happy. I think it’s the next step toward where I want to be. It was definitely a conscious effort to bring it up a notch.” 

 As for the future, the band hopes “Mondegreen Dream” will get some regional airplay and garner national attention. Even without a national recording contract, they already have plans for national distribution. They’ve also shot a top-notch video for “Unreal,” which they’ll include in any promo packages sent to record labels. And they’ll also attend a national music convention in Los Angeles next month which will feature up and coming bands. For now, however, the band should take comfort in knowing they’ve recorded the best regionally released indie rock record in years. 

 “It sounds like Mere Motals,” says Appnel, “and I think we’ve gotten even better at that.” 

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

 

 The title of the Mere Mortals new album, “Mondegreen Dream,” is a play on the word Mondegreen. The term first originated in the 1950’s and is used to describe song lyrics that are misinterpreted. One of the most famous Mondegreens is associated with Jimi Hendix’s “Purple Haze,” when Hendrix sings the line “Excuse me while I kiss the sky.” The song is often heard being sung by unknowing admirers as “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.”

Columnist Sylvia Wright came up with the name after hearing the Scottish folk song, “The Bonny Earl of Morray.” She wrote that when she first heard the lyric, “Oh, they have slain Earl o’ Morray and laid him on the green” she heard it as “Oh, they have slain the Earl ‘o Morray and Lady Mondegreen.”

 Pete Palladino of the Badlees once joked that some people thought he was singing “Grease landing in Italy” on the band’s 1995 hit “Angeline is Coming Home.” The words were “resplendent in dignity.”

“In a way, it’s kind of the highest form of compliment you can get from someone - to have them misinterpret your lyrics,” jokes Mere Mortals vocalist Eddie Appnel, explaining the new album’s title. “To have them singing the most absolute wrong thing … it turns out funny sometimes. It’s kind of a personal innuendo.” - Alan K. Stout