Prairie Prince, 1998–present (alt) Randy Clark, 1999-2000 Mike Silverman, 1999-2000 The Mermen are an American instrumental rock band from San Francisco, California formed in 1989.
The group's sound was originally rooted in surf and psychedelic rock music of the 1960s, although they have made "sincere attempts to get away from the surf music label"[4] and currently delve into many genres, mainly driven by the melodic visions of the band's founder, songwriter, and guitarist Jim Thomas.
They were featured in the soundtrack of the Sony PlayStation video game Road Rash 3D and have contributed music for films as well.
Thomas also fronts The Shitones, an associated band that features some of the same personnel (Jennifer Burnes on bass, and Shigemi Komiyama on drums prior to his 2014 death.
[5]) While Mermen feature Thomas's original compositions almost exclusively, the Shitones are a cover band that emphasizes instrumental rock hits of the 1950s and '60s by the likes of Link Wray and The Ventures, along with instrumental versions of songs by Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix and others.