Thirsty Merc

A Short History Three members of Thirsty Merc – Karl Robertson, Matthew Baker and Phil Stack – played small gigs together in Dubbo, NSW. In 2002, they teamed up with Rai Thistlethwayte who lived in Sydney. They all moved to Sydney and changed their band’s name from Thirsty to Thirsty Merc.

Music Style Don’t like being confined to a specific style Classified by others as a pop-rock band Strong, distinguished drum beats Accented, continuous guitar strumming Piano chord riffs Sing about a range of subjects and themes

Musical Influences Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock and Heavy Metal were all popular for Rai Thistlethwayte (primary songwriter) as a child and a range of styles and artists now influence his music. The Beach Boys (rock) Buddy Holly (rock) Jimmy Hendrix (rock) Prince (pop) Claude Debussy (classical)

Distinguishing Features Casual clothing style Leather Jackets Faded Jeans Often wear brown suits at photo-shoots

Key Musical Focus

‘Tommy and Krista’ "Tommy, I'm with someone else" "Tommy, I'm with someone else" Chorus V3: Well Tommy never turned to aggression nor fear, Instead he started working in the New Year, But at nights she’d invade his thoughts and his dreams, He can’t keep his mind away from Krista it seems, And so cold, but funny enough – Krista and her boyfriend were broken up, But until they meet again and the time feels right, This is how it is tonight. Chorus x2 V1: Well Tommy met Krista at the age of nineteen, The prettiest girl that he'd ever seen And there was not a lot of waiting - they started dating, They used to hang out at the coffee shop there, The weather was nice and the stakes were quite high, But one day Tommy made Krista cry A little mix-up, screw-up, started a fight, And Krista went and said goodbye. Chorus: She used to be in love with me, And now she’s gone and taken all the love away, She used to be in love with me, And now I’m just a memory. V2: Well a couple years on, he was out with his friends, When Tommy walked into a room and saw Krista again. Crazy thing was it was all still there, Tommy said "Hey you wanna drive somewhere?" They drove to the city where the lights shine low, And Tommy had a feeling that his heart could regrow, But in a second he was down as something she said -

Instruments Piano – Chord progression riff with rich tone, also used for small fills Male Vocals – single tenor voice, high for a male, extensive range, powerful Synthetic Clapping – Rhythm in first verse, lead in to drums, Drum Kit – consistent rhythm throughout the song, transition between verses and chorus Electric Guitar – Single note riff with same notes as piano, grungy distortion, two-note filler with distortion in last chorus Backing Vocals – Female choir, harmony, octave higher, last chorus only

Meaning The lyrics tell the story of a young man who is still in love with his ex-girlfriend even though she has moved on. Piano has a light yet melancholy tone colour Vocals sound reminiscent, sad, honest Other instruments add to the tone colour and give a fuller sound

Structure Intro -> Verse 1 -> Chorus -> Verse 2 -> Chorus -> Verse 3 -> Chorus (x2) -> Fade out -> Outro 4/4 (Common) Time Intro – 4 bars Verses – 8 bars Chorus – 8 bars Outro – 5 bars

Why was it successful? Many people can relate to the topic Evokes sympathy People want to sing along Catchy, tuneful riffs