They don’t care about fame, groupies, or money – Mexican Elvis simply wants free beer and loud all-night parties.
Four ordinary guys with day-jobs living in Jersey City and Hoboken are making heavy noise while enjoying themselves playing at Hudson County venues like Maxwell’s and Love Sexy. Last summer they came out with the album You Smelt It. We Dealt It. on their label Cold Beer Records. The album was engineered by Hobokenite Michael Moebius.
You Smelt It is a terrific post-punk compilation of feel-good songs that will have listeners moshing to the beats. With more than a dozen hard rock original tunes about drinking, partying and having a good time, Mexican Elvis has become one of the area’s most popular small bands. The album has catchy tunes like "Mr. Awesome" and "Passed Out," but it also delivers well-crafted hard tracks like "Rock Injury" and "War of the Worlds."
"The songs were all written over the course of the seven or so years that we’ve been playing together," said lead guitarist Thom Egan. "It’s funny; people are always impressed when they hear that there are 19 songs on the album. Then we tell them that we’ve been playing for seven years and that half of them are two minutes long. The recording of the album was done on nights and weekends over the course of two or three weeks. Then we spent a few weeks mixing, again on nights and weekends."
To promote the record, the quartet will play several area dates this month. On Jan. 3 they play Uncle Joe’s in Jersey City, Jan. 10 they play at Love Sexy in Secaucus, and Jan. 15 they play the Whiskey Bar in Hoboken.
Yet, despite their newfound notoriety and cult following, Egan said he is not with the band to become a famous rock star. Egan, like the other members, wants to enjoy himself during the band’s live performances and "get as much free beer as possible."
"We play simply because it’s fun. There’s nothing more fun than being on stage playing songs," Egan said. "We’re not great musicians who are breaking any kind of new ground here. We’re not good at being profound and meaningful. We’re good at partying and making idiots out of ourselves."
Like Egan, lead singer Matt Wilcox puts more emphasis on the group’s live shows than studio recordings. The high-energy always-on-the-edge Wilcox, who is a self-described equestrian champion and a fan of Egyptian poetry, is the band’s charismatic frontman, leading the way to on-stage mayhem. The guys have worn diapers and helmets while performing. They also encourage fans to throw non-sharp objects at them while they jam. Most fans throw beer, which Wilcox admits is "a good thing because I can lick it off the floor."
"Our fans are mostly jokers who like to pour beer on us while we play and insult us in between songs. They give us a lot of beers, though, so this really makes them the best fans we could ever ask for," Egan said.
Rounding up the group are bassist John McNamara and drummer Dave Noel. McNamara is the crazy one in Mexican Elvis, according to the band. In addition to playing a mean bass guitar, he contributes with the not-so-complex songwriting process and has a carefree attitude on stage.
"If you are looking for profound lyrics and meaningful music, we’re not the band for you," McNamara said. "We’re not out to ride any new trends or anything, just show people a good time. While I’m not playing I like to listen to a lot of heavy music, drink beer and have a few laughs with my friends, so I think that’s pretty much what we convey with our music."
Rutgers University
The boys met in the mid-’90s at Rutgers University. They became friends and banged on their instruments regularly in their dorms. Eventually, while partying one night, Wilcox and the gang decided to form a band. While brainstorming ideas for a name, somebody suggested Mexican Elvis. Despite not playing Elvis Presley songs, they decided to keep the name. Mexican Elvis began its amateur rock journey playing at local clubs in Central Jersey. After several years of fooling around on stage, they added Noel and began to take their music a little more seriously. For the past two years they have played all the hotspots in Hudson County, released a CD and they are currently pondering touring the Northeast. The band is also focusing on venues in New York City.
"Playing Bowery Ballroom will be our dream come true," Wilcox said.
The future looks bright for the Mexican Elvis party animals. According to Egan, the band wants to improve their live shows and avoid injuries while recording in the studio.
"Our plan for the future is to hang out, drink and play guitar," Egan said.
"If it wasn’t for our laziness, we would probably be much more successful," Wilcox said. "We go out there and sometimes shock people. I don’t play an instrument, so I sing stupid lyrics."
McNamara added he wants people to have as much fun as the band does during their live shows.
"There’s nothing worse than going to see a band, spending your hard earned cash and leaving disappointed," McNamara said. "We all put everything into our live show because we know what it’s like. It’s the same with the album. We didn’t want to put out some piece of crap. We wanted it to rock, and I think it does."
For more information on Mexican Elvis, visit www.mexican-elvis.com or call (201) 433-5153. On Jan. 3, the band plays at Uncle Joe’s at 154 First St. in Jersey City. For information on the show call (201) 659-6999. q