“Car Wash Hair”, Mercury Rev

This way: “Car Wash Hair

Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York. with singer/guitarist Jonathan Donahue and guitarist/clarinetist/sound generator operator Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak as the only constant members. The band's music has incorporated indie rock, psychedelic rock and American roots, amongst other forms. Mercury Rev have been closely associated with The Flaming Lips, and the two bands have shared historical ties.

Mercury Rev was formed in 1989 by students at the University at Buffalo, partially inspired by the drone music of composer/media studies professor Tony Conrad (then working as a teacher at the university, and a strong artistic influence on co-founder Grasshopper). The initial line-up was Donahue, Grasshopper, vocalist David Baker, bass guitarist/in-house producer Dave Fridmann, flute/French horn player Suzanne Thorpe and drummer Jimy Chambers. The band was initially formed to score its members' student films, and had a loose playing and recording existence. The band's initial music was a blend of experimental, psychedelic rock, drone and noise rock, which would gradually shift over time towards a melodic, ornate sound. 

At this early stage, several members also had other musical interests which prevented consistent Mercury Rev activity. Donahue worked as a gig promoter for other bands' concerts in Buffalo, which brought him into contact with The Flaming Lips in 1989: he then toured with them as guitar technician before formally joining as lead guitarist in time to play on their 1990 album In a Priest Driven Ambulance. The latter album was co-produced by Dave Fridman, who went on to co-produce every Flaming Lips studio album to date with the exception of 1993's Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.

Mercury Rev's debut album was 1991's Yerself is Steam, followed by the "Car Wash Hair" single, both of which typified the band's early merging of psychedelic rock and noise rock. During this year, the band had begun to solidify and concentrate on more sustained effort. Yerself is Steam had been completed during Donahue's breaks from Flaming Lips activity in tour and in Oklahoma: following creative disagreements with the band's frontman Wayne Coyne, Donahue left The Flaming Lips in mid-1991, shortly after recording the Hit to Death in the Future Head album. This enabled him to return to Buffalo and concentrate full-time on Mercury Rev.

[Spotify] “Car Wash Hair