Local band aims to play Texas festival
By Erinn Connor
Posted: 2/5/07, 9:37 PM EST Section: Feature
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Syracuse-area rock band, Merit, is hoping its big break will come at this year's South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.
The band is competing in a contest on music Web site ReverbNation.com, where people sign up to become fans for their favorite bands. Two of the top 50 bands with the most fans will be chosen by prestigious music industry representatives to play in South by Southwest.
Merit, which has been a part of the Syracuse rock scene for five years this May, hopes Syracuse fans will band together to send the group to the festival in March.
"South by Southwest is one of the most well-attended music conferences in North America," said Brenna Merritt, vocalist and guitarist for the band. "It's a huge opportunity to gain exposure and get contacts. Everyone in the music industry will be there."
Merit has steadily been creating a name for itself in Central New York, after the band's members got together during their senior years at Syracuse University. After months of practice and about a year after bassist Wil Mecum wrote his e-mail address on a one dollar bill and gave it to local Syracuse label Aux Records owner Ulf Oesterle, Merit signed to Aux.
"When we first started, we would do anything to get people to listen to us," said Jeff Nelson, the band's drummer. "We passed out like 150 burned CDs outside of an Eve 6 show, and when people would ask us what we sounded like, we'd say 'we sound just like Eve 6!' As an artist, sometimes the only way you'll get people to listen to your music is if you shove it down their throats. We've fought like hell to get where we are right now."
Merit released its debut album, "When We Fight," in 2004, and received support from K-Rock (WKRL), and began to tour the East Coast.
"We wouldn't trade touring for anything," Merritt said. "Touring is like boot camp for musicians. All bands go through it before they can get to bigger things, like eating peanut butter and jelly and water for days."
Merit's latest release was a self-titled electric and acoustic split EP that was released in May.
"Looking back, the EP was a really big turning point for us," Nelson said. "We needed to take risks and record to figure out what we were going to be. If you want to be a band, you need to figure out who you are."
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