How exactly do you smoke a Mercle?

July 29, 2019

How exactly do you smoke a Mercle?

So, unless you've been living under a rock, the name Smokey Mercle has been making waves in the Gauteng scene lately. From Thrashers (Pretoria) to Sundowners (Alberton) these guys have impressed us with their beautiful hair, hard-hitting psychedelic feel and prominent stage presence. They recently introduced our very own André Meyer as their vocalist and if we may say so ourselves it is a perfect fit. Don't let their pretty looks fool you, these boys are flexing for the local scene. Mia had a little chat with Peter and Skeith.

1. Where does the name Smokey Mercle come from?

Peter: We just started the band and we were thinking of what we should name it, when we saw hair from our friend's cat (named Mercle) in the weed we were rolling and we decided to smoke it anyway then we had the idea of naming the band Smoking Mercle which later evolved to Smokey Mercle.

2. How and when did Smokey start?

Peter: The original 3 members (Skeith, Luke and I) went to school together and Skeith and Luke played guitar and I just picked up (the) bass and we decided to start a band cause it seemed fun.

Skeith: Luke peter and I used to jam together for fun, one day in 2017 (not completely sure when) we decided to make something of it and started the band.

3. Name five bands that inspire/influence you?

Peter: Badbadnotgood, Lamb of God, Black Math, Mouse, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Skeith: Black Math, Mouse, Ty Segall, Wand, and Electric Wizard.

4. What do you want people to experience when they're watching a SM set?

Peter: Well our music has a lot of energy but also changes up a lot so we just want the people to go wild and have fun while experiencing the changing moods of the songs with us.

Skeith: I just want people to move, when people move to music it shows that they're really feeling it, and that's exactly what I want, I want people to feel our music.

5. What is the best thing about being in a psych-rock band?

Peter: I guess it would be playing music people aren't too familiar with and also writing trippy songs that sound dope when you're baked.

Skeith: Getting to jam out with my friends on stage in front of more friends.

6. Any exciting stuff happening soon?

Peter: We got some exciting gigs lined up, super stoked for Dystopia Presents: Something Wicked This Way Comes and we have an EP in the works that should be released pretty soon.

7. Who would you say are some of the best local acts you've seen lately?

Peter: Mouse and Taekwondo Sleepover always have crazy good shows, Ruff Majik is also one of the best bands I've heard from South Africa for sure. Other than them I've been recently impressed by Till Terminus, and of course, our mates Double Sun and Jungle of Mischief are killing it too.

Skeith: In my opinion Mouse, Black Math, Taekwondo Sleepover and Nomadic Orchestra.

8. If SM could play any festival in the world which one would it be?

Peter: Thinking big, it would be a dream to play at Austin Psych Fest, but locally it would also be super cool to play at Endless Daze.

Skeith: Probably Endless Daze in Cape town.

9. Do you have any tips for surviving a bad trip?

Peter: I'm not a big tripper so my advice probably isn't worth much but I would say accept the fact that you're already tripping balls and try to make the most of it.

Skeith: Just embrace the good stuff man, your attitude determines where your trip takes you.

10. What are the essentials for starting a band?

Peter: Jamming around with your bandmates is really important. Improvising and fucking around together helps a lot when learning how to play together, so do that rather than trying to strictly learn some songs.

Skeith: Not a bassist (jk we love Peter) on a more serious note, I think you need to have some sort of a connection with the people you're playing with, we started this because were friends just having fun, not business partners trying to earn as many royalties as possible.