{image1} Put your hands together (and your lips) as The Mercy Kiss lands at the Mad Planet on Sunday, April 17.
The Mercy Kiss, a rock band trio from Milwaukee now living in the land of musical opportunity in Los Angeles, is excited to make a stop back home.
"We're so happy to be playing in Milwaukee," says Bay Dariz, who plays the bass, keyboards, percussion and provides vocals. "It was our best show last tour."
Dariz doesn't just play music; he does just about everything for the band. To him, if you want quality, you have to put in the effort yourself and not let someone else handle your success.
"Everything is in-house," Dariz adds. "I pretty much edited, produced, mixed and recorded the music for our new EP."
Conveniently titled "EP002," the disc came out April 2 and features a strong vocal performance with solid instrumental accompaniment as guitars provide memorable melodies that stick like Velcro. With hints of punk and pop, The Mercy Kiss has produced a sound that is hard to weigh against another band.
"I don't think we really sound like anybody," Dariz says. "When people ask who do we sound like I say, 'like The Mercy Kiss.'"
The band struggled to be a four-piece for a while, but, in the end, three wasn't a crowd, it was the charm. All the band members are very close, according to Dariz.
"We rehearse every day, and we live together," he says. "This EP is a product of who we are at this point in time."
And taking their sound on the road is Dariz's favorite part.
"Touring and seeing different cities is great. We stay with people at their houses. They cook for us. It's kinda weird, but cool at the same time," he says.
Even when the band's vehicle broke down for two days in the middle of nowhere while on tour, they stayed positive and enjoyed the experience, for the most part.
"We broke down in this dinky town in Nebraska," says Dariz. "By the third day, we all made a suicide pact that we'd hang ourselves if we didn't get out."
The Mercy Kiss tour started April 2 and runs through May 29.
"We want to sound great on record, but we're even better live," Dariz says. "We've added keyboards, and it's a ridiculous live show." Ridiculous as in good, of course.
The Mercy Kiss performs at Mad Planet, 533 E. Center St., on April 17. An all-ages show is at 5 p.m., and a 21-and-up show follows at 9 p.m.
For more information on the band and its music, visit themercykiss.com.
