Mercyland came along during a time when Athens music was breaking from its original foundations. By late 1985, R.E.M. was approaching areana status, but Pylon was gone. Love Tractor still sold out Friday nights at the 40 Watt, but the Method Actors had faded away. The next wave of musicians were less influenced by Alex Chilton, Dick Dale, and PiL than they were by Scratch Acid, Butthole Surfers, Husker Du and The Replacements. More punk rock, less art school. As opposed to the people like 40 Watt club co-founder and Pylon drummer Curtis Crowe, most of the new kids enrolling at the University of Georgia had a ready made club scene to step into. People like David Barbe, Arthur Johnson, Brooks Carter, and Vic Chesnutt didn't create the scene; they inherited it. Hovever, they were the ones making the most of it.
