Hey Mercedes is an alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed after the dissolution of Braid by its former members Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, and Damon Atkinson.
Toward the end of 1999, those members reconvened and formed Hey Mercedes: Bob Nanna, Damon Atkinson, and Todd Bell returned as lead vocalist, drummer, and bassist, respectively.
[1] Long-time connections in the American emo scene enabled the band to tour with the likes of Alkaline Trio, Saves the Day and Jets to Brazil.
[10] On March 2, 2001, the band demoed 15 tracks for potential inclusion on their debut album,[11] and followed this with a brief US tour, with Dashboard Confessional appearing on all dates.
[19] Nanna, Atkinson and Bell eventually grew dissatisfied with Dawursk's presence in the group, and subsequently parted ways with the guitarist.
[21] Atkinson spent some time touring with Saves the Day as their temporary drummer, returning in early March.
[22] Companion EP The Weekend, made up of leftover tracks from the Every Night Fire Works sessions,[23] was released in July.
[5] After finishing the touring cycle for Everynight Fire Works in October, the band spent two weeks in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin writing new material.
[28] In February and March 2003, the band embarked on a headlining US tour with support from Armor for Sleep, Breaking Pangaea and Panic in Detroit.
[30] During that tour, Hey Mercedes revamped their website to promote their second album Loses Control, which was due for release towards the end of the year.
[31] Loses Control was recorded in April and May 2003 at Camp Street Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this time choosing producers Sean Slade and Paul Q.
[41] When one of the other support acts, the Fire Theft, dropped off the tour, Hey Mercedes were given a longer time to perform.
In October, Hey Mercedes went on a tour of Europe, and decided to take time to rest after this string of shows ended.
Outtakes and demos from the album's sessions were released on the Unorchestrated EP in May through independent label Grand Theft Autumn.