5 Questions with Rick Mersel
by Dwight Easter
DE- Hi Rick, Thanks for doing this. What brought you into the music industry?
RM- In 1977 (yes 1977) I walked into Tracks Records and Tapes at Wards Corner with my still sealed, and obviously re-gifted, copy of the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Carolina Dreams” which I had received for my birthday from a not so close friend. I had never purchased an album before, and I was determined to return this gem of Southern Rock for an album all my own. My Father strictly listened to Jazz. In his oversized Cadillac, through the haze of Dutch Master cigar smoke, it was George Shearing or Dave Brubeck. My Mother only listened to Pop radio. My brother, who was six years older than me, listened to The Grateful Dead, The Doobie Brothers, The Doors, and Frank Zappa. “Where is MY music”? Then I saw it. Four guys in ripped jeans, t-shirts, leather jackets that all kind of looked like kids from my little league team with their scruffy, unkempt hair. It was just four guys standing around looking bored like me, so I picked this record up and flipped it around to check out some of the songs. Gimme Shock Treatment?, Pinhead? Sheena is A Punk Rocker? But the one that really sold it for me was Suzy is A Headbanger (my Mom’s name is Susie, close enough for me). So I exchanged Marshall Tucker for The Ramones “Leave Home” and hurried back home to check out this treasure.
The needle dropped on the first song and “in a moment of passion I got glory like Charles Manson”. I had no idea who Charles Manson was, but The Ramones were getting glory like this guy so how bad could he be? Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy accepted me as one of their own (listen to the song) and I was forever a Ramones Fan.
It was my first Ramones show in 1985 at The Boathouse. I couldn’t wait until I turned 18 so I could be welcomed into the chicken wire ensconced, adult promised land of The Boathouse. For now I settled on being with the under aged and what I found out in a moment was a tornado of true punks and punk fans ready to risk their lives to bang into each other to the chorus of Blitzkrieg Bop. Hey Ho Let’s Go! In the middle of an old wooden, bait cutting shack, scared to death of the out of control whirlwind of pain erupting in front of me. I just didn’t get it. My favorite band was on stage and I couldn’t understand a single word or song. This wasn’t the millions of dollars in production like the Stones or even the crystal-clear acoustic melody of Rocky Mountain High. This was much different, darker, and not necessarily about what was on stage. I looked around to see the reaction of other people. Were they as stunned as me? Not only were they not astonished by the swarm of energy, but gleeful to be an ingredient in this stew of writhing humanity. What was I missing? I should be a part of this. I would set out on a journey to understand why being packed in a dark, sweaty room with inaudible noise brought such exuberance and joy to so many people. Years later August 28th, 2000 The NorVa opened.
DE- Who was one of your favorite performers to host, and why?
RM- The haze was extra thick with a murky mist spewing from several fog machines placed in strategic locations throughout the venue. We had to make certain that the Fire Marshall monitored the fire alarms in the building to assure us that errant bells did not interrupt the chorus to Interstate Love Song. Standing on stage with his leg propped up on one the monitors was the silhouette of the perfect Rock God. Scott Weiland, posing on stage shirtless and clenching a megaphone, with his band Stone Temple Pilots bashed and hammered their way to one of the best shows I had ever seen and undoubtedly one of the top shows in the history of The NorVa.
DE- I’m sure you’ve gotten the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the legends that have appeared at the Norva. What’s a great band story from your time in the business?
RM- In High School, I was at Bennigan’s gnawing on a juicy hamburger, when a girl asked me if I had ever heard of the Violent Femmes? The Violent Femmes, The Femmes? of course I had heard of them. She became a bit more attentive as I had obviously won some cool points, but it was all a lie. I had never heard of the Violent Femmes. I was not cool then and definitely not cool now, but my “vast” knowledge of this unknown band, The Violent Femmes, somehow made me more beguiling. That’s it, I was hooked. Music, bands, they were my ticket (literally and figuratively). Jump forward to 2004 and I shyly crept into the dressing room where The Violent Femmes were getting ready to perform their first show at The NorVa. I semi-confidently let them know that I was the promoter and one of the owners of NorVa Productions. Well, you would have thought that each member was a long-lost cousin. They immediately engaged in telling me how special they thought that The NorVa was and how they appreciated our amenities. I took this as my opportunity to let them know that much of that was due to my lack of knowledge of their music that began my musical quest. We all shared a huge laugh, sat in a circle and partook in some intoxicating substances. The NorVa brought me full circle on my journey.
DE- There were a couple of questions regarding the impact of COVID-19, self-isolation, and the impact this would have on the music industry. Rick respectfully was unable to share his insights on the recovery of the business due to his position and current policy within AEG.
Rick did provide an extensive list of performers and dates played at the NorVa. Pretty fun to go through and see the amount of talent that has taken the stage and blessed our area with exceptional live music.
RM- Legends
James Brown 4/28/00
Joe Cocker 10/6/03
Justin Timberlake 10/14/03
Kanye West 3/17/04
Lou Reed 4/25/08
Prince 4/17/01
Ringo Starr 5/26/00
Alice Cooper 10/10/00
B.B. King 5/17/05
Billy Idol 4/8/01
Bob Dylan 6/4/04
Elvis Costello 4/26/05
George Clinton 3/6/00
Gregg Allman 10/27/00
Iggy Pop 10/31/01
Steve Winwood 10/10/06
Willie Nelson 5/17/02
Bob Weir 11/22/00
Beach Boys 03/02/03
RIck Mersel 1/19/18
Country Superstars
Jason Aldean 10/13/05
Little Big Town 4/27/06
Luke Bryan 2/3/10
Miranda Lambert 7/12/05
Billy Currington 1/20/05
Dierks Bentley 3/4/05
Dwight Yoakam 9/20/01
Eric Church 11/20/09
Florida Georgia Line 2/2/13
Chase Rice 10/9/14
Kacey Musgraves 2/12/15
Sturgill Simpson 9/15/15
Dustin Lynch 11/15/15
Jon Pardi 3/24/16
Cole Swindell 11/11/16
Brett Young 11/5/17
Kane Brown 11/17/17
Kip Moore 11/30/17
Blake Shelton 4/5/06
Classic Rock
Jefferson Airplane 6/6/00
Jethro Tull 4/27/02
Melissa Etheridge 5/6/04
Neville Brothers 9/14/00
New York Dolls 6/16/09
Pat Benatar 6/17/06
REO Speedwagon 10/19/03
Charlie Daniels 7/19/01
Cheap Trick 6/13/03
George Thorogood 10/8/00
Stephen Stills 5/14/06
Todd Rundgren 9/5/04
Rap / R&B Stars
Kedrick Lamar 9/7/12
Lauryn Hill 2/12/11
Method Man 3/25/04
NAS 5/4/07
NE-YO 5/31/07
N.E.R.D. (Pharrell Williams) 5/30/02
Public Enemy 9/9/10
The Roots 6/25/05
Snoop Dogg 4/10/01
2 Chainz 8/30/12
A$AP Rocky 9/25/12
Boys II Men 12/15/07
Busta Rhymes 3/11/09
DMX 6/14/12
Future 6/7/12
J. Cole 10/27/10
Jadakiss 7/25/04
Timbaland 1/15/10
Tyler The Creator 3/17/13
Wiz Khalifa 6/12/10
Wu Tang Clan 1/19/08
Jeezy 10/24/14
Travis Scott 3/16/15
D'Angelo 5/20/15
Kevin Gates 7/31/15
Mac Miller 12/11/15
Anderson Paak 5/5/16
T.I. 6/11/16
Lil Uzi Vert 6/25/16
D.R.A.M. 1/15/17
Run The Jewels 1/18/17
SZA 2/12/18
H.E.R. 12/6/17
21 Savage 5/2/17
80's-90's Alternative
Live 5/13/08
Matchbox 20 5/15/00
Moby 11/4/05
Alice In Chains 10/22/06
Blues Traveler 3/11/00
Cake 11/19/01
Collective Soul 6/14/05
Concrete Blond 12/4/02
Dinosaur Jr. 9/7/05
Echo & The Bunnymen 6/24/06
English Beat 1/13/01
Garbage 1/5/02
Goo Goo Dolls 4/21/10
Hole 6/26/10
Stone Temple Pilots 6/26/00
Wallflowers 6/16/05
Third Eye Blind 2/6/03
Toad The Wet Sprocket 9/3/03
Morrissey 9/7/07
Tears For Fears 9/4/10
The Cult 7/16/01
Violent Femmes 2/10/04
Adam Ant 10/3/12
2 Skinnee J's 5/31/03
Black Crowes 5/19/05
Blondie 8/24/04
Pretenders 1/30/03
Psychedelic Furs 2/7/00
The Offspring 5/2/15
The Pixies 5/13/15
Squeeze 10/10/16
Bush 12/28/16
Smashing Pumpkins 7/15/10
Barenaked Ladies 12/16/06
Metal
Lamb of God 3/28/07
Marilyn Manson 10/7/01
Megadeth 12/21/01
Motorhead 7/5/03
Nickelback 8/31/00
Papa Roach 3/3/03
A Perfect Circle 2/25/01
Queensryche 10/3/03
Rob Zombie 3/25/06
Shinedown 12/14/04
Slash 9/18/10
Slayer 4/11/01
Slipknot 8/4/04
3 Doors Down 8/20/14
Bullet for My Valentine 1/5/07
Avenged Sevenfold 10/19/05
Chevelle 5/23/03
Danzig 4/3/05
Daughtry 4/6/07
Deftones 7/19/00
Disturbed 9/24/00
Evanescence 4/14/03
Godsmack 3/11/04
GWAR 1/16/02
Halestorm 1/25/13
Staind 5/30/01
Stone Sour 10/16/02
Tesla 7/4/01
Three Days Grace 11/25/03
Whitesnake 7/8/05
Breaking Benjamin 8/18/15
Bring Me The Horizon 5/7/16
Ghost 5/8/17
Five Finger Death Punch 10/9/17
Americana
Ryan Adams 5/6/05
Brandi Carlile 6/5/10
Indigo Girls 6/3/04
Susan Tedeschi 9/4/03
Lumineers 12/16/12
Wilco 9/27/04
Lucinda Williams 10/3/15
Leon Bridges 12/12/15
Shakey Graves 7/27/16
Revivalists 11/3/16
The Head and The Heart 12/17/16
Nathaniel Rateliff 5/16/18
Reggae Stars
Jimmy Cliff 11/3/05
Matisyahu 11/6/08
Beres Hammond 8/22/03
Buju Banton 7/9/01
Burning Spear 11/10/31
Damian Marley 3/29/02
Eek A Mouse 4/5/01
Steel Pulse 8/2/05
Toots & The Maytals 6/14/00
The Wailers 1/6/00
Ziggy Marley 8/6/03
SOJA 12/29/15
Pop Stars
Jason Mraz 4/29/03
John Legend 6/23/05
John Mayer 10/11/01
Jonas Brothers 9/27/06
Pentatonix 7/27/13
Pitbull 6/16/10
Adam Lambert 6/30/10
X Ambassadors 1/26/13
Cody Simpson 2/21/12
Colbie Caillat 7/12/07
David Gray 9/27/00
Edwin McCain 2/22/02
Fitz and The Tantrums 5/11/14
Gavin Degraw 1/11/04
Hanson 10/23/11
Hilary Duff 11/30/03
Jack Johnson 7/11/01
Sugar Ray 4/9/03
Train 7/29/03
G-Eazy 1/21/15
Fifth Harmony 3/11/15
Vance Joy 5/11/15
Tori Kelly 4/22/16
Post Malone 9/30/16
Nelly Furtado 3/10/2002
Jon Bellion 10/26/17
Walk The Moon 2/6/19
Billie Eilish 10/4/18
Bebe Rexha 11/15/14
Lindsey Stirling 5/26/14
Backstreet Boys 04/18/05
Alternative / Indie
Kings of Leon 12/8/05
Modest Mouse 7/21/03
My Chemical Romance 1/12/06
O.A.R. 7/18/01
Panic! At The Disco 6/25/06
Paramore 8/18/06
Phoenix 4/27/10
Portugal The Man 5/13/14
Queens of The Stone Age 3/24/03
Snow Patrol 8/9/04
30 Seconds to Mars 3/19/06
All Time Low 10/9/08
Band of Horses 1/21/08
Arctic Monkeys 11/6/06
Black Keys 8/11/06
Bright Eyes 1/30/05
Cage The Elephant 6/20/14
Death Cab For Cutie 10/11/06
Fall Out Boy 12/4/05
Flaming Lips 4/18/03
TV On The Radio 4/17/07
The 1975 6/4/14
Decemberists 1/4/07
The Killers 1/10/04
The Raconteurs 9/22/06
The Shins 6/15/04
The Strokes 11/28/01
Twenty One Pilots 5/14/13
Interpol 3/22/05
Young The Giant 10/27/15
Of Monsters and Men 12/3/15
Franz Ferdinand 5/26/17
Foster The People 9/15/17
Bon Iver 12/4/17
Punk
Misfits 2/11/01
NOFX 12/3/02
Rancid 6/23/13
Rise Against 8/18/05
Social Distortion 2/28/05
Bad Religion 8/3/02
Dead Kennedys 2/16/02
Dropkick Murphys 9/10/03
Flogging Molly 9/25/04
Good Charlotte 2/18/01
Suicidal Tendencies 12/7/08
Sum 41 11/10/01
Jimmy Eat World 10/21/14
EDM
Bassnectar 3/6/09
Crystal Method 4/9/01
AOKI 3/20/15
The Chainsmokers 10/28/15
Marshmellow 10/13/16
Illenium 12/3/17
About Dwight Easter: Digital folk artist, family man and bread merchant. Some of the best moments in my life are experiencing the power and influence of great art. I came up in the Norfolk era of the M80’s, Buttsteak, and Antic Hay.