Building a Giant Machine with the 54

Named after the all Black regiment who fought in the civil war, The 54 is a new band from Atlanta with a unique heavy rock sound. The band is getting ready for a busy near year in 2011 with their debut disc coming out and a tour of the US to follow. I caught up with bassist Mercury Jackson and he let me know what kind of "giant machine" the 54 hope to build.

David Carr: How long has the band been together and how did you all come together to form The 54?

Mercury Jackson: We have been together for about four years now. We all met at Morehouse College. I actually met our lead singer on Facebook. We started writing together in the dorms. We recorded an acoustic cd together and then we all got electric guitars for Christmas!

David Carr: Where is the band originally from?

Mercury Jackson: Our home base is Atlanta.

David Carr: It seems like Atlanta is a hub of great forward thinking, diverse artists. Why is that? What's going on over there? Is it something in the water?

Mercury Jackson: I think we have a lot of creative minds working together, bouncing great ideas off of each other -- and it's something in the water! I mean, we met Janelle Monae at a charity event. We started talking, we kept in touch with her and before you knew it, we were doing shows with her. There's a real sense of community in the Atlanta music scene.

David Carr: So is your debut disc already out now?

Mercury Jackson: The disc we have out now is more of a demo. It's a pre-release because our fans in Atlanta wanted something! We are finishing up our full length disc "Building A Giant Machine" right now. We are writing some things, adding some things and working on the production. The finished product will be out sometime in 2011.

David Carr: Will you be touring to support the disc next year?

Mercury Jackson: We will be doing a tour early in 2011 to build awareness about the band and about the disc coming out. We will also tour in support of the disc when it is officially released. Touring for us is very important. We are ready to just pile in the van and go! I think our van reminds people of The A-Team van! It's black and red with our logo on it, HA! Our feeling is, if you are not touring then you are not a real band!

David Carr: You played the Afro-Punk Festival this past summer. What was that like?

Mercury Jackson: It was a very, very interesting show for us. Coming out of the South, out of the AUC (Atlanta University Center) it was really interesting for us to see so many Black fans at a rock show. It was interesting to see so many African Americans/Blacks into rock and into our music.

David Carr: What was it like to put together a rock band at Morehouse College? Has race been an issue for the band?

Mercury Jackson: We weren't the only rock band at Morehouse. There was another rock band there and a jazz band. There are actually a lot of great, diverse artists coming out of Morehouse who have just not gotten their due. Race has not been an issue for us. We practiced on campus at Morehouse. When we could not get a practice room, we would play/rehearse in this open space on campus. Sometimes we would have 300 people there watching us. Sometimes when we played, it was just us. We just play what we want to play. If you like it, great! If you don't, no worries.

David Carr: Many young bands envision themselves touring with other bands. Who would you like to go on the road with?

Mercury Jackson: I would love to do a show with Deftones next year. Of course we would love to play more shows with Janelle Monae. If Lenny Kravitz tours we would be into playing shows with him also.

David Carr: You mentioned on your Facebook page that you might be playing a show with Living Colour and 24-7 Spyz. Is that going to happen?

Mercury Jackson: I hope so! We are trying to figure it out now. We try to be very up front with our fans when it comes to communication. We are constantly on Facebook getting advice from our fans, chatting with them and updating them on what we are up to.

David Carr: It sounds like 2011 will be a big year for The 54.

Mercury Jackson: Our disc will be finished, it will be available to everyone and we will be on the road!

Check out all of the big things on the horizon next year for The 54.