Mercyland Photo courtesy of Propeller Sound Recordings and Mike White/Deadly Designs
As a member of iconic indie rocker acts Mercyland and Sugar, as well as a cog in the wheel of bands such as Drive By Truckers, Son Volt, and many more, David Barbe has certainly done his part to shape the music scene over the last 40 some odd years.
While many look toward Sugar as his finest hour, it’s Mercyland that contains some of Barbe’s most enduring compositions. To that end, the veteran indie rocker is unleashing a long-locked away record, We’ve Never Lost a Single Game, for wide release. After collecting dust since Mercyland’s 1990 end, We’ve Never Lost a Single Game features many of the long-lost group’s classic touches, with subtly updated production for the modern era.
And so, if you’re a fan of Mercyland, Sugar, or the Athens, GA, indie rock scene, give We’ve Never Lost a Single Game a try, and find out what we’ve all been missing since its initial shelving.
David Barbe dialed in with ClassicRockHistory.com to recount the origins of Mercyland, his days in Sugar, working with Drive By Truckers, and why he decided to finally release We’ve Never Lost a Single Game now.
Let’s start with We’ve Never Lost a Single Game. What led to this being shelved in 1990?
Mostly a lack of opportunity. By mid-1990, we knew we were going to break up. We just didn’t tell anybody. We played shows, sold our van, and then took all the money and recorded an album, even though we knew it was pretty unlikely that anyone was going to release an album by an indie band that was about to break up.
Remember, in those days, it was even more important that bands tour to support records. Touring, college radio, and fanzines. We knew that when we made it, so we just made the record we wanted to make, a thing that was representative of what we were at that time. A true portrayal of our collective thing. When we did it, we were really happy with it.
With no album release in sight, we agreed to release a 4-song 7” on Planned Obsolescence called Enter the Crafty Bear. The week of Valentine’s Day 1991, we announced the EP, our breakup, and our final show, and that was that. Crafty Bear got the best reviews of anything we had ever released. It felt good. We felt like we ended on a high note and moved on.
At the time of the recording, was there ever a thought that this would go unrelated for 33 years?
It’s funny, but frankly, I don’t think I thought about what would happen with it. It was just time to move on. Over the years, all of the songs came out on a hodgepodge of 7”s and compilations. None of it was available on streaming services or anything. It was something you had to know about.
What was the progression from No Feet on the Cowling?
Between the recording of No Feet and We Never Lost a Single Game, we seemed to be moving away from being influenced by things outside of the three of us. By 1990, we had been touring a ton, trying to move up the rock ‘n’ roll ladder. We had a great agent who was ready to book us as soon as we got a real record deal. We had several near misses with both significant indies and major labels, but they were just that. Things never lined up. I am not suggesting that if it had that, we would have been wildly popular or anything of the sort. I don’t buy any of that. What happens happens. What doesn’t doesn’t.
Those experiences may have been disappointing as far as signing to a label goes, but in other ways, it seemed to steel our resolve that we would do what felt great to us, and if someone else liked it, fantastic. If not, so be it. Fly it up the flagpole and see who salutes. Once we crossed a threshold of not worrying about impressing anyone else, I think we felt even freer to just let it all hang out, so to speak.
Mercyland was formed amongst the vibrant and legendary Athens indie rock scene. Walk me through the origins.
In 1985, I was a free agent. I wasn’t in a band, but I was writing a lot of songs. There were two guys in other bands whose playing I really loved – Harry Joiner, the drummer with Fashionbattery, and Mark Craig, guitarist with Kilkenny Cats. They both quit their bands right around that time, and I asked them to join my new band, Mercyland.
We played our first show in October 1985 at the Uptown Lounge. We opened for Is Ought Gap. Good crowd, went well. A month later, we played our third show opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and it kind of built up from there. By the time we were making records, Mark and Harry had both moved on to attend grad school, and Andrew Donaldson and Joel Suttles were on board as the permanent lineup.
What went into the decision to put Mercyland to rest all those years ago?
Over the years, I resisted re-releasing it. I am generally more interested in moving forwards than looking back. I have never counted, but I think I have worked on 300-400 albums. Regardless, in 2021, I had multiple offers to release Mercyland records. I decided to hear out everyone. Jay and Jefferson with Propeller are just huge music fans; it felt right to do this with them.
From Mercyland, you formed Buzz Hungry, right?
Yep. As usual, I kept on moving to the next thing. Forwards is always my favorite direction.
How did you first meet Bob Mould and Malcolm Travis?
I knew Bob when I was in Mercyland through mutual friends. We’d both seen each other play, and I was a big Husker Du fan. Bob introduced me to Malcolm.
Take me through the progression from Buzz Hungry to Sugar.
I was doing both at the same time. I would do Buzz Hungry stuff when Sugar was not working.
Do you recall the band’s first show?
The first Buzz Hungry show was a party in the basement of an auto repair shop where we sold cassettes of our first album. The first Sugar show was at the 40 Watt before we recorded Copper Blue.
I wanted to hit on your production work with Drive By Truckers and Son Volt. How did you enter that space?
I started recording my own bands going back to grade school. It was a natural progression to recording other bands on a 4-track cassette, then advancing to working in real studios. I absolutely love being in the studio. Now 35 years and hundreds of projects into this, I never get tired of it.
How is your approach best reflected in Drive By Truckers and Son Volts music?
My role with any band is to be a conduit for their creativity.
You also worked with R.E.M., right? In what capacity?
We’ve done lots of sessions for various things over the years – compilations, singles, and one-offs. I never engineered any of their albums.
That begs the question: how integral were you from a production standpoint for Mercyland and Sugar?
Mercyland, very much so. I produced the records and have remixed everything for re-releases and been involved in the mastering. Sugar was very much the artistic vision of Bob Mould. It was a great part of my own creative development to work with him for a few years.
Given the iconic nature of Mercyland and Sugar, do you ever feel a bit starcrossed or wonder on what might have been had the bands stayed together?
Not too much. I loved playing in both bands, and the experiences shaped my life. If I had stayed in Mercyland, I wouldn’t have been in Sugar, so that takes care of that. If I had stayed in Sugar, I might not have had other opportunities that I have embraced since then.
I don’t mind that my career is not associated with one band, but being willing to move toward new things all of the time has allowed me to work with not only Mercyland and Sugar but Son Volt, Drive-By Truckers, The Glands, Deerhunter, Bettye LaVette, Kevn Kinney, Bloodkin, and hundreds of others. Variety is the spice of life. I’m lucky.
David Barbe of Mercyland & Sugar: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
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