A Conversation with The Mercy Alliance’s Joe Rathbone – HuffPost 9.3.14

Mike Ragogna: Joe, The Mercy Alliance has a new album, Some Kind Of Beautiful, but first let’s get caught up. What has the band been up to since the last release,Waking Up The Sun?

Joe Rathbone: I reconstitued the band with a new bass player Mike Durham and returned to playing with drummer David Lopez and we met producer Thomas Johansen.

MR: How did you approach Some Kind Of Beautiful differently than Waking Up The Sun?

JR: The sound centered around drummer, ex-Counting Crow Steve Bowman and bassist Brad Jones from Nashville and a great producer with pages of accolades. Thomas put much more care into creating great rhythmic grooves with Steve and UI handled all the singing and guitar playing.

MR: Can you take us on a tour of the songs, such as how they were created and the topics they cover?

JR: Songs range from “Washington” which is about the haves and the have nots in a city like DC. Lots of young people trying to figure out their lives alongside the older regime who have lived their whole lives here. “All for the Love of You” about a long “adventurous” night where I slept “on the hospital grounds…in the town, where I was born” all true. “Angel of Mercy” kinda like a John Lennon meets Paul Westerberg tune with some shoegaze thrown in. “I Can’t do It” is a tune that has a lot to do with my young daughter. She can do just about anything she sets her mind to but likes to pretend she can’t. “Driftin In” is kind of influenced by Joe Henry and his very dark dreamlike lyricism. “This is How they Know” is about people who appear to have reached a contented place in their lives and how they know it. “Save Me” about the confusion of our culture “no place left where I can be myself” and a plea to “save me.” “Libertine” how I feel about naysayers who to me are “creeps” who sicken us all. “Movin in Time” my attempt at a euro dreamlike vibe where you are in trance mode and floating in time.

MR: What is the personal alliance of The Mercy Alliance like these days?

JR: The alliance centers around DC drummer David Lopez and Thomas Johansen on keys with a new bassist as I mentioned. On the record we used my contacts from Nashville Steve and Brad. We often play as a trio locally and all is well on the personal side, I must say Dave and Mike are simply two of the best players and kindest souls you’d ever want to meet, both more personable than myself!

MR: Do you tend to work out the musical arrangements live or in the studio?

JR: For this record Thomas and I really started with very “rough” roughs. If I could get a verse and chorus recorded Thomas would chop it up different ways so we could hear how the puzzle pieces fit together, from there we would set a good tempo and start the recording of the “real” sounds we wanted.

MR: What is the best experience the band has ever had together, personal or musically?

JR: We have had some great recent shows locally in DC playing the new material and sounding great as a simple trio or quartet. There are many tracks on the record as we intended and it’s always daunting figuring out how to deliver your song paired down live but this has been my favorite experience going through this process for these songs. I think it says something about the batch of tunes we chose that they are feeling so fun to play.

MR: What advice do you have for new artists?

JR: My best advice is to make great records no matter what it takes, no matter how rough the business is being to you, no one can take that product away and you owe it to yourself to make excellent music and not settle. Nothing can happen for you ever if you don’t make great records

MR: What was the best advice given to you and did you follow it?

JR: I had a teacher years ago who told me, “Joe, sometimes you just have to know when to shake it loose and move on to new territory.” I would say that I have started finally after many years to follow his advice.

MR: Beyond the album and the tour behind it, what’s in the near future for the band?

JR: We are in the process of “thinking about” a next record. I hope we get a chance based on how this one is received, to start this process which I love. I am hopeful so far…