MERCH is the performing and recording monicker of bandleader/songwriter/vocalist Joe Medina and whatever musicians happen to be playing with him at any given time. The resultant sound is loosely categorized as "cello-rock", only there are also banjos, guitars, drums, keyboards, bells, fiddles, and many other mysterious sounds involved.
Influences
Here is everyone that I'm (Joe Medina) listening to right now (01/09/08):
Django Reinhardt (always), Pet Sounds, El-P and other Definitive Jux stuff, Dillinger Escape Plan, Between The Buried And Me, Mastodon, Wolves In The Throne Room, Little Teeth, Buck Owens, Neko Case, Sleater-Kinney, Beach Boys, The Zombies, Scelsi, Stravinsky, Elliot Carter
Show History (in reverse chronological):
10/07/07 Bottom Of The Hill (headlined for album release show!)
08/03/07 Anno Domini Gallery (San Jose)
7/05/07 The Knockout w/ The Lovely Public
6/23/07 Great American Music Hall @ Mondo Cello Fest
5/20/07 Mission Creek Music Festival w/ Birds & Batteries, The Old Fashioned Way, The Harbours, and The Pillows
4/21/07 Mama Buzz w/ Chords Are Dead + Thundershevitz!
4/9/07 Bottom Of The Hill w/ Pidgeon + Little Teeth
3/28/07 El Rio w/ Chords Are Dead + Little Teeth
3/15/07 The Starry Plough (Berkeley, CA) w/ Me & My Arrow
3/10/07 The Rogue Festival (Fresno, CA)
3/9/07 The Rogue Festival (Fresno, CA)
3/4/07 The Rogue Festival (Fresno, CA)
3/3/07 Muddy H20 (Santa Barbara, CA) w/ Automatic:Automatic
3/2/07 The Rogue Festival (Fresno, CA)
A FEW MONTH BREAK TO RECORD ALBUM AND GET A NEW LINE-UP
11/27/06 The Knockout w/ Disgust Of Us (Chris's last show)
11/15/06 Luna's (Sacramento, CA)
11/14/06 Le Voyeur (Olympia, WA) w/ an awesome band, but I don't remember their name.
11/14/06 KAOS 89.3 Radio 8 Ball (Olympia, WA)
11/12/06 The Red Room (Portland, OR)
11/11/06 The Gadfly (Le Grande, OR)
11/10/06 Luckey's (Eugene, OR) w/ Quiet Countries
11/9/06 Edinburgh Castle w/ The Nods Of Recognition
9/29/06 House Of Shields w/ Red Host
9/23/06 LiPo Lounge w/ LKN
RECONFIGURING AFTER NICOLE LEAVES
7/11/06 15 Street Pub (Vancouver, WA) w/ Minmae + Terrene
7/10/06 El Corazon (Seattle, WA) w/ Dreamdate, Nods Of Recognition, Minmae, and Terrene
7/8/06 Acme (Portland, OR) w/ Minmae, Terrene
6/29/06 Edinburgh Castle w/ Skyscraper
6/25/05 The Knitting Factory (Hollywood, CA)
6/24/06 Portfolio (Long Beach, CA) w/ The Holidays + The Blank Tapes
6/22/06 The Mainzer Theater (Merced, CA) w/ IRA
6/21/06 The Ivy Room (Albany, CA) w/ Skyscraper, Schande
6/20/06 Sweetwater (Mill Valley, CA)
6/18/06 After The Gold Rush Records (Nevada City, CA)
6/17/06 It's A Grind (Lincoln, CA)
6/16/06 Crux Arts Collective (Chico, CA)
6/15/06 The Starry Plough (Berkeley, CA) w/ The Late Night Dates
4/24/06 Bottom Of The Hill
4/3/06 Cafe Du Nord w/ Me & My Arrow + The Nervous Breakdowns
SEARCH FOR NEW CELLIST: ENTER NICOLE CALHOUN
2/??/06 The Utah
2/5/06 The Attic (Santa Cruz, CA) w/ Akron Family
11/27/05 12 Galaxies w/ Schande, LKN
10/23/05 The Hotel Utah w/ El Olio Wolof
9/9/05 Bottom Of The Hill w/ Full Moon Partisans, Abi Yoyos, Cold War
8/31/05 Blake's On Telegraph (Berkeley, CA)
NEW CELLIST HUNT
8/17/05 Mama Buzz (Oakland, CA) w/ Jean Marie + Rainbow Chile
8/9/05 Kimo's
7/27/05 Blake's On Telegraph (Berkeley, CA) w/ The Paranoids
7/8/05 Balazo Gallery w/ The Herms + The Nervous Breakdowns
HIATUS TO FIND A NEW DRUMMER
5/25/05 Blake's On Telegraph (Berkeley, CA)...Dina's last show
5/17/05 The Argus Lounge
5/07/05 The Time Out (Concord, CA)...where we met Eric!
4/22/05 Brainwash Cafe (1st show!)
You can get our 7-inch record ($5) or 3-inch CD single ($3) of "The Modern Hunter (Luck Song)" shipped directly to your front door. Purchases are made through Paypal or send us a message for other arrangements.
"Two artfully infectious lo-fi power pop songs from local trio of guitar, drums, and one rockin' cello. Very catchy songs with quirky lyrics, hummable hooks and back-up vocals. Good stuff, but try to see them live if you can, we're guessing you'll find it pretty hard to keep from dancing."--Aquarius Records
"My favorite cello rock band, and frankly the only one I can think of at the moment. Merch has a fantastic original style, from the rhythmic cello riffs to the rough and relaxed vocals."--The Deli Magazine
Hmm. Must have been a memory mix-up...something about a friend of yours having the runs and you cheering her up with a TP gift. Oh My. Now I'm left wondering who it was that did that then, and why do I remember it? ...or worse, did I make it up? How does it feel to be inaccurately associated with toilet paper FOR YEARS (...in my mind's eye).
Hey, thanks for friending me! I'm just a local who never knew where 2 go so I built this site in my spare time. It's all user generated so I really need some help uploading cool bars and specials. I also made up a place where we can post events too. Check it out and let me know what you think. I am still building it so if you have any suggestions, I can usually put them in right away. The site's address is yourareacode.com. Thanks again!
I've got 37 days clean and sober and that's been my main focus lately. Turned down a Canadian tour to make it a priority. Gonna record some new material soon though. Hey, tell your girlie I dig her vocals, they're very haunting. Cheers!
Thank you for being my friend! I have four Cd's available for download on my page. They are free!! Music is art, so let it be that. Life is way to short to only pursue money. The things you create last much longer than having a big collection of dollar bills.
