All They Have To Do Is Dream

09/07/2001 10:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Rob O'Connor

Going wherever the day takes you can lead to some pretty weird places. Mercury Rev was never a band with a specific mission. Unlike so many rock music careerists, the core of Mercury Rev (Jonathan Donahue, Grasshopper, and Dave Fridmann) began its excursion into sound as a way of chasing a different dream. Not one of money, women, and fame (though, in controlled doses, I don't think any of the members would complain), but that of sound, vision, and transcendence.

But even that is a loaded term. With drummer Jeff Mercel on board, three-quarters of the band reside not far from Woodstock, New York, home to deathless, useless hippie psychedelia. The Rev's Grasshopper isn't putting that down (I am), but he is clear as to where his band stands.

"If you're talking about Captain Beefheart psychedelic, sign me up," says Grasshopper. "If you're talking Phish, no thanks. It's more like what Gram Parsons said about that Cosmic American Music."

The band's latest album All Is Dream serves as the deserving follow-up to 1998's critically acclaimed and surprisingly successful Deserter's Songs. According to Grasshopper, the band has focused on "keeping the momentum going" and when not touring has spent the past few years sticking to a regimen meant to ensure that this loose affiliation of freaks doesn't lose its focus.

"The way we do it is we book, like, 10 days a month at [Dave] Fridmann's studio," says Grasshopper. "So in a way, you feel like you're never resting, because you're always thinking about what you're going to do in two weeks. But there is that time in between to reflect."

They were even all set to record with the legendary Jack Nietzche, whose orchestration work with Phil Spector and Neil Young would've done some wonders for the Rev.

"He was into it and was getting ready to write orchestrations for 'Spiders And Flies' and 'Nite And Fog.' About a week later, he called Jon and said, 'I'm going to Mexico for a few days and when I get back I'm gonna send you this stuff, because I've written some parts out.' And a few days later, he was dead."

The day didn't take Mercury Rev where it wanted to go, so the band headed into the studio with another famed record producer: Tony Visconti, whose seminal work with David Bowie and T. Rex has made him a logical fit. Visconti conducted the orchestra and wrote a few arrangements, adding a few crucial colors to the Rev's panorama of sound.

"The philosophy has always been to push ourselves to make these records that are sort of dreamy soundscapes," explains Grasshopper. "The records I always loved were these records whether they're by Brian Eno or the Velvet Underground. They take you somewhere. Music can be like a drug. It alters your state. Not as escapism, but as reality."

As for changes within the group, only maturity has reared its head.

"You get older--some of your priorities change and your ego isn't so much about playing all the time," admits Grasshopper. "We're more confident now and we have more space. It doesn't have to be fighting over 'I only played two notes on this one.'"