Mercury Rev Artistfacts

1989-
Jonathan DonahueVocals, guitars1989-
Sean "Grasshopper" MackowiakGuitars, clarinet1989-
David BakerVocals1989-1994
Dave FridmannBass1989-1993
Suzanne ThorpeFlute1989-1998
Jimy ChambersDrums1989-1998
Jesse ChandlerFlute, woodwind, piano2015-
Mercury Rev is an American psychedelic pop-rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York. The band's leaders, Jonathan Donahue and Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak, first met at Buffalo's Continental club when they were 18. "We both loved the same stuff: Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, The Psychedelic Furs," Grasshopper told Uncut magazine. "We just started playing together."
The band name came along during Mercury Rev's early days when they'd record at the University at Buffalo's studio. According to Mercury Rev Unofficial FAQ, the name means nothing in particular. "We just liked the juxtaposition of the two words," said Grasshopper. "Mercury as in the planet or alchemy or also a US-made automobile... and rev as in 'reving' or stepping on the accelerator of a car. Also, in French, 'rev' means dreams, or 'rev' as short for 'revolution' (spinning in circles). So it has many different meanings on many levels, as do many of our lyrics."
For their second show, Mercury Rev got to support Bob Dylan at Yale University in 1991. "We had the same booking agent and Bob Dylan wanted younger bands to open up shows," Grasshopper told Uncut. "I think he got more than he bargained for! I remember that our set was pretty shambolic and crazy."
The other founding members were Dave Fridmann, David Baker, Suzanne Thorpe and Jimy Chambers. Fridmann gave up his role as a touring member of the band in 1993 to concentrate on producing other artists. His resumé includes production work for Weezer, Mogwai, MGMT and most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. In August 2001, Fridmann joined the band again on stage for a pair of shows in Japan, marking his first live appearance with them since 1993.
Mercury Rev's first three albums offered experimental psychedelic rock, but with the release of 1998's Deserter's Songs, they shifted to a more melodic, chamber-pop sound.
Deserter's Songs spawned three UK top 40 singles and was NME's album of the year for 1998.

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