WE COULD SEE IT IN THE DISTANCE
Jim Thomas – Guitar
Martyn Jones – Drums
Jennifer Burnes – Bass
2017
Recorded and mixed by Jim Thomas at Pleasure Point Recording, (The Mermen’s studio), in Santa Cruz, CA
Album Design by Denise
About the Original Art; A couple of years ago Jim and Jennifer moved into a house on North Polo street in Aptos, CA. On the day we moved we saw this beautiful painting of a mermaid with a guitar in the waves, with Santa Cruz’s Lane’s Lighthouse in the background, painted on the electric box at the top of our new street. We thought, WOW! this must be the place we are supposed to be. Strange coincidence. The painting is called, ‘MERMAID WITH SIX STRINGS’ by Ket Tom-Conway, local Santa Cruz artist and music teacher. This artwork resonates The Mermen’s inspiration from our local coastal life.
GUITAR. BASS. DRUMS. The basic elements of rock and roll. The new 2017 instrumental recording and 10th album by the The Mermen, ‘WE COULD SEE IT IN THE DISTANCE’ is about the essentials. The stripped down production on this new album is organic in nature: no samplers, no synthesizers, no big production values, few overdubs, only some songs with spare use of rhythm guitar— most of the cuts performed in one take. Here we have a trio performance fine-tuned after 30 years of the Mermen playing together.
The music is rooted in the kind of instrumental “surf” music made by the Ventures, Dick Dale and Link Wray. But the Mermen are more like the Modern Jazz Quartet of Surf Music with a diverse repertoire spanning over 100 original instrumental compositions. These songs run the gamut of expression. During live shows the songs may morph into lengthy improvised variations on a theme a la the Grateful Dead. Mermen songs can be short (2 minutes) or very long (20 minutes or more). Mermen music dips into a realm of symphonic form where the movements are parts of a bigger sonic picture. Words to describe Mermen music: melodic, ethereal, earthy, dreamy, dramatic, pretty, hypnotic, muscular, oceanic, sad, happy— from whisper quiet slow motion, beautiful to punk, speedy and loud. Here is a diverse and expansive music, music with ebb and flow, nuance and dynamics. It is music that is echoes the moods of the ocean itself— variable and unpredictable. There has never been a setlist.
The music on ‘WE COULD SEE IT IN THE DISTANCE’ exhibits many influences. The song ‘BOUND FOR A STAR WITH FIERY SEAS’ is “Ennio Morricone meets Crazy Horse”. ‘WE COULD SEE IT IN THE DISTANCE’, ‘RIDE THE BLUE HORSE’ are Neil Young-inspired. With the song ‘BIG BIRD BACKSTEP’, Jim takes a cue from his favorite guitarist, Clarence White, (of the Byrds, Kentucky Colonels). Jim played bluegrass flatpick guitar in his early days. (He competed in the National Bluegrass Flatpicking Championships in Winfield, Kansas in 1977). ‘LAST FOREVER’ is the sound of New Jersey and a nod to Bruce Springsteen, (Jim is originally from New Jersey and was born Sept 23, same day as Springsteen). Jim spent many years on the Jersey Shore surfing the coast around Asbury Park and going to local clubs at night. WILL has a taste of Wes Montgomery. ‘SHOOTING COLORS ALL AROUND’, The Rolling Stones. ‘THREE THIRTY THREE’ is a nod to Dick Dale, 60s surf music, and legendary SF Bay Area guitarist, John Cipollina (of Quicksilver Messenger Service).