Does anyone remember a few months back, when I expressed confusion about the name of "Roger from Stylie's" new band? Well, it's several months later, and vocalist Roger has another, more permanent band. They are called Lord Have Mercy. I caught up with them after a gig opening for Eek – A – Mouse at the Apocalypse on Sunday June 7th.

"The band you use to write up," Roger tells me, "was called After Forever". "I came out of Stylie a year ago, and I've worked with 5 different projects since." I've worked with a bunch of different people, and we all gelled together eventually through a place called The House Of Pain," a now defunct location where Lord Have Mercy used to practice. "It was October, 1991 that Lord Have Mercy started as a full band."

The bands line – up includes Daniel Todd Carter on Drums and Percussion, David Aaron on guitars ("and other guitars"), and Sean McGregor on Bass. I asked Roger to describe Lord Have Mercy's sound. "Rastamosh is a term we use. Reggae / Trash, conscious rock…I love Reggae. It's beautiful music. But the roots Reggae doesn't get played anymore. Dance Hall does. But we have the heavy edge, too. I love Hardcore. It's got energy."

Lord Have Mercy are currently touring under the banner "Hemp for Life." I asked Roger to explain the relevance of this title. "We all know what Hemp is. People like to call it Marijuana. And you know what Life is; that's when you live. There's Hemp in my life, and there's Hemp in a lot of people's lives. Marijuana is a very misunderstood thing." It's been in prohibition for over 50 years," Sean points out. Roger goes on, "The name Marijuana itself is derived from the government, meaning the Devil's weed. So what we're trying to do is bring it back into context by calling it Hemp, it's God given name."

I asked what Lord Have Mercy is about. It's obvious that they're concerned with more than just rocking us (although they are certainly very good at that). Daniel says, "There's so much negativity going on in the world today. We just want to teach positivity and awareness." "Drug awareness." Roger interjects. "Be conscious of what's around you. Ignorance is the seed of fear and that's what keeps people down, isn't it?" Getting into the political side of things, everyone agrees that we should all register to vote, and that the legalization of cannabis is an important issue.

From this point we began to discuss the future of Lord Have Mercy. Daniel explained what the direction the band would be taking. "We're going to be disappearing into the studio soon to record an album. And then we'll be going right back out on the road and tour all over the northeast and New England in the fall all over the place to support this disc," Lord Have Mercy's self titled debut. "We're also going to be writing a whole new show of completely brand new material and we will be opening up the musical spectrum a little more. More space music and Dub and progressive influences," Roger adds. "Kind of Psychedelic."

Roger goes on to talk about the new album. "We're going to manufacture it, release it and distribute it ourselves. We're accelerating the whole process. Everyone knows all about the whole corporate rock scene, and how long it takes, and even the indies have become like corporates now. We've already got a good local scene, so why not now?" I asked the band members to express their opinions on the Connecticut scene. "The scene is strangled right now," Roger says. "The promoters in Connecticut don't work together, and the two scenes (Norwalk and New Haven) are separated. Unity is the key."

Roger does see hope, however. He had this message to give to the people; "Get your fucking asses out of your fucking stupid beds, and out of your lame ass little boob – tubes, and go see something real, instead of just being sedate behind your dumb – ass Nintendo's." He also adds that, "We've had a lot of success with the younger people, but the older people – our age – I don't see them coming out."

The members of Lord Have Mercy do "Their version of the Seattle sound." The guys remembered this with great fondness,("Not!"), David says, "There were five bands on the same bill that night, and the guy who composed the article also did the flyer; this is a Seattle band, etc." "What a dumb – ass," David adds. Daniel goes on to elaborate more, "Although there are a lot of really good bands coming out of Seattle right now, it's basically a tag. They're always going to try and pigeon – hole you." He adds, "Hopefully the next spot for happening bands to come out of is right around here. First it was L.A, then Seattle…why not Connecticut next?"

That, then, is the story of Lord Have Mercy. If you like any kind of music that challenges you, rocks really hard and totally makes you think, you just might want to check out their next show. (They're playing with HR at the Apocalypse on Friday, July 31st, 1992; KNOW IT!) And give their new CD a chance when it comes out in the Fall. Do unto your local scene as you would have done unto you. If you wish to contact Lord Have Mercy, you can reach them through their recording engineer Scott Robertson at The Garage Recording Studio in Stamford, CT. They can be reached at (203) 323 – 6331. Thanks for reading and peace to you all.

Like a loaded freight train rattling fiercely through a midnight mist, the powerful playing style of Norwalk band Bellydancer hits one's soul and sends it flying into the night. Fronted by seasoned Norwalk resident and former Stylie and Lord Have Mercy vocalist Roger Guimond, the five member group, which started in Norwalk three years ago and plays locally in and around the New York City and tri – state area, performs a style the band coined as "Country Vampire Rock."

"It's a moniker we use because it has a bit of country, a bit of rock and a bit of seduction to it," said Mr. Guimond, who compared the band's seductive style to that of Led Zeppelin. "We thought we would give it a little flavor." Aside from Mr. Guimond, Bellydancer is rounded out by guitarist Tim Arevalo and bassist Curtis Miles Long, both of Norwalk, and drummer (sound animator) Daniel Todd Carter of Stamford, CT and back – up vocalist Rebecca Koetting of Paramus, NJ. The thunderous voice of Mr. Guimond, which , filled the large hall of Shenanigans in SoNo from floor to ceiling and then some during a December 13th gig with Electric Hill from Stamford, debuted in 1989 as the lead voice for the Reggae band "Stylie." During his two years with "Stylie," Mr. Guimond, 32, toured up and down the east coast, opening up for big acts such as the Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Bad Brains, Buster Poindexter and Run DMC amongst others. In late 1991, after Stylie, Mr. Guimond went on to form another successful though unfortunately very short lived band called Lord Have Mercy with his now current drummer (sound animator) Daniel Todd Carter. The both of them then continued to proceed to tour all over New England and continue to open up for more big name acts such as Eek – A – Mouse and Human Rights amongst others. Mr. Guimond also continued his vocal career as the lead singer for Flowerland of New Haven from 1991 through part of 1997, during which time the band released three CD's under their own label "Kick Us When We're Down" Records. They then released under the same label a compilation called "Flowerland Box Set 1991 – 1997, which includes previously unreleased tracks he and fellow Flowerland original Stephen Christofor recorded in New York City during the summer of 1996. Following the disbanding of the group in 1997, Roger and Stephen formed the present group Bellydancer. Soon thereafter, Mr. Guimond put out Bellydancer's first self – titled CD. Produced under the "Kick Us When We're Down" label, the release offers two songs written by Mr. Guimond, one of which reflects upon his travels through Canada called "Moonshine on the Dewline."

In addition to putting together the Flowerland box set and the recording entitled "Bellydancer," Mr. Guimond co – produced and sang on "Waiting for Daybreak" an Energy records release by the New York City based band, Larva, featuring Todd Youth. In addition, he recently produced an album by Ms. Koetting in Austin, Texas. Entitled "Austin Sessions," the album, which contains 11 originals by Ms. Koetting, came about as a result of her meeting Mr. Guimond last year through a friend while she was living in Stamford, CT working as a magazine editor.

"When Roger was down in Charleston, S.C., with Flowerland, he met a friend of mine who was writing an article on the band," said Ms. Koetting, a New Jersey native. "Roger told him he was looking for a back – up singer, so that's how we met." Recognizing her talent as a musician and songwriter, Mr. Guimond, who knew of some exceptional musicians in Austin, suggested they head to Texas to lay down some tracks. "Roger asked ‘You want to go down to Austin?'", said Ms. Koetting. "Next thing you know, we made three trips down there and it's at the manufacturer's now as we speak, and it will be coming out in January, 2001." For more information on Bellydancer and Mr. Guimond's label, you can surf to www.kickus-down.com and when you get a chance, it might be refreshing for you to go out on the town next time Bellydancer is playing to absorb some "Country Vampire Rock" and check out an intriguing band of excellent musicians. Keep an eye out for them.