This Mercury isn’t poisonous

The man whose first two concerts were Neil Diamond and Boyz II Men fronts one of Pittsburgh’s… The man whose first two concerts were Neil Diamond and Boyz II Men fronts one of Pittsburgh’s best-known rock bands: Mercury. Justin Morris pens most of the tunes for the band, and has a knack for making them anthem-like. Take “Out of the Black,” which was used in movie producer Karl Kozak’s film of the same title.

Kozak’s girlfriend at the time also served as the movie’s head publicist. Unbeknownst to the band, she was from Pittsburgh and a huge fan.

“They ran low on budget for the music because they had spent it on having a symphony arrangement, and they needed some filling material for the background music – in a bar or in the car, as if it was on the radio,” Morris said.

Unsigned bands were the obvious choice, because their songs could be used at a lesser price than those of nationally known acts. Kozak’s girlfriend didn’t even have to think about it and mentioned Mercury’s name. He called them up, and the ball was in motion.

“We sent him our song called ‘Out of the Black,’ and it fit really well. He thought it was great,” Morris said. “He actually didn’t even use it in the movie, he used it as the title track and in the credits. The whole song played throughout.”

That was one of the band’s first experiences in the “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” business.

“In this case, it was pure luck, because it was all about who you know, but we didn’t even know the person,” Morris said.

Though the band is going through a lineup change at the moment – lead guitarist Armondo Camillo is no longer with them – they haven’t slowed down. Bassist Eric Gadrix has taken over the lead guitar position, and filling in on bass is Tim Fitzgerald, bassist from another local band, Still Small Voice.

Morris is a Still Small Voice fan, and he enjoys other local bands as well.

“I like different bands for different reasons. Some for their performance, some for their musicianship, some for their song quality, some for their CDs and some for what they’ve done for us, Mercury, as a band,” Morris said.

They have gotten support from The Clarks and played numerous shows with The Buzz Poets, two of the biggest bands in the ‘Burgh.

“Some up-and-coming bands – owensring, Still Small Voice and The Delaneys – we often do some shows with if we have some opening slots,” Morris said. “They’ll be the first bands we call, because we like playing with them for various reasons.”

But it’s the news that Morris’s favorite local band, Grapevine, is getting back together that has him elated.

“We have a lot of people come up and tell us, ‘Oh, you guys are going to be huge; I can’t believe you haven’t made it. I listen to your CD all the time. I can’t stop; I can’t take it out of my CD player.’ It’s the same thing when I would see those guys,” he said. “Every time I see them, I’m a fan for that two hours. And then once I see them downstairs, I start bullshitting with them again and it’s just back to, ‘Hey, what’s up Kevin?’ I think there’s no reason they shouldn’t be big. But we don’t make those calls.”

Morris also got a bit star-struck when Mercury opened up for Live this summer at Chevrolet Amphitheatre.

“It was surreal,” he said. “People were so scared around us and asking us for autographs. The exact same feeling they had to us was the feeling I had standing next to Live backstage as they were eating sandwiches.”

Mercury has played for several charity events, including The Jam on Walnut for Cystic Fibrosis and the Janiene Patterson Benefit. This weekend, they are playing to benefit the Lupus Foundation.

“We like to do as much as we can to help other people who might not necessarily be able to help themselves.” Morris said.

Mercury is playing at the Pittsburgh Brewing Company on Sat., Sept. 13 with Pittsburgh Banjo Club, The Spuds, Strangeway and New Invisible Joy. Mercury performs at 8:30 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show and OompaPalooza-Oktoberfest are $5. For more information, call 1 (800) 800-5776 or visit www.lupuspa.org.