Written by Courtney Ludwig on Wednesday, 13 April 2011. Posted in Tucson Music Scene
From Los Angeles, CA - Merle Jagger, the high octane country rock, Americana, instrumental jam band as known to few and their name created to describe just that played The Hut on the famous 4th Ave in Tucson, AZ on March 25, 2011. Mark Christian & Tod Burr met over 20 years ago in a rehearsing studio in LA when Tod was the drummer in a band that Mark Christian happened to be producing, Mark & Steve Andrews met at Mark's Ranch Party Country night in 2005 and Steve & Tod did not meet until Merle Jagger formed and 2 weeks before Tod's first gig with the band in 2009.
The bands music is instrumental and has a lot of energy, however the titles of their songs according to one band member say a lot with a clever twist & sense of humor and occasionally when they plat they will throw a tune or two in there with words depending on the feeling coming from the crowd and to stir things up a bit, I happen to like some country and would have never thought that I would enjoy the instrumentals the band has played.
The first time seeing this band was was downtown at Hotel Congress's 25th Anniversary, although I was not a stranger to all the members in the band as the drummer, Tod Burr, was introduced to me by my boyfriend while they were both drum techs for different bands on the Def Leopard, Cheap Trick & Poison tour of 2009, however it had been a bit since I had seen Tod meeting the rest of the band, taking pictures, as I always do, and conversing was a lot of fun in itself.
The music reminds me of what you would see in the day of The Dukes of Hazard or at a festival in a very country town like Chattanooga or Dunlap, Tennessee, listening to this three piece really made me feel as though that is where I was, all that was missing from either show was some down home country fried chicken & corn.
Merle Jagger consists of Mark Christian - Singer/Guitar/Banjo & Mandolin player, Tod Burr - Drummer & Steve Andrews - Bass player, and some of their influences are Joe Maphis, Jimmy Bryant, The Who, Brandon Goldstein, Buck Owens,Keith Moon, John Bonham, Danny Gatton, John Stanier, Louie Bellson, Neil Pert, Roy Buchanan, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Rich, Willie Cantu, Jeff Beck, Billy Cobham and Mark Christian & Tod Burr have been an influence to their own band mate Steve Andrews.
I was able to get Mark Christian & Tod Burr to answer a few questions for me and this is what they had to say:
Q. When & Why did you start playing?
A. Mark - started playing guitar at 8 years old and was influenced by Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, Johnny Cash & The Rolling Stones
Tod - played in the high school marching band, always watched drummers growing up and besides, there was a cute girl in the band I had my eye on
Steve - 6th grade because I thought it was cool
Q. Being that you perform in public, describe those occasions, how do you handle mistakes? Do you get nervous before a gig?
A. Mark - we try to celebrate our musical influences and heroes, mistakes - laugh & look the other way, a getting nervous before a gig, sometimes
Tod - we enjoy touring & playing different venues every night & meeting new people, mistakes - never stop playing, play through it, sometimes mistakes can be cooler than the correct parts, being nervous - sometimes, only when I feel I have not rehearsed enough
Steve - performing in public, great. mistakes, well it depends, was it Mark or Tod that made the mistake. Usually I get nervous if we haven't played in a few days getting back in the Jagger saddle will make me a little anxious but no nervous, I like to keep playing that is when I feel most comfortable
Q. How often and for how long do you practice?
A. Mark - I practice guitar 2-3 hours a day
Tod - 6-7 days a week, sometimes as much as 7-8 hours
Steve - When I can in general about 3 hrs, I think that is close to the mental limit of being in a room with no windows, not to say after a break there won't be three other rehearsals that day
Q. Where have you played?
A. Mark - North & South West US Tours & opening for name country acts in Hollywood, CA
Tod - I have played almost 60 shows in 18 months
Steve - H.O.B (House of Blues) - Hollywood, CA is pretty awesome, we dig the small stuff too, Yucca Tap Room in Tempe, AZ & Davidson's Distillery in Reno come to mind as great venues
Q. What is your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome those challenges, if so how?
A. Mark - reaching a larger audience, getting closer to overcoming this challenge, viral marketing has been a key factor
Tod - not enough hours in the day for rehearsing & writing new songs, no have not been able to overcome this challenge as of yet
Steve - Scheduling, that is a constant challenge
Q. What are your immediate music career goals?
A. Mark - (next 1 to 3 years) record a new double able CD & vinyl and tour tour tour
Tod - tour the world, make enough money to play another 1-3 years
Steve - I'd like to be playing more festivals & making a simple living with music
The band does have a recorded CD out today and if you can hear their music or ask how to purchase find the band at www.myspace.com/merlejagger
Last words from the band - practice your asses off, learn as many styles of music as possible, don't be influenced by your idols, listen to who they were influenced by, learn to sing, don't get caught up in the "fad" music and autotune is an overused currently fashionable tool, If kids knew what the music business was really like, they would buy records again & Guitar Center would probably go out of business, also viral marketing is a very important key and also having your own original sound.
