Focus On: Lynchburg band Mercutio gearing up for album release Lynchburg-based pop rock band Mercutio started when Michael Chagnon and Geoffrey Osborne went on a three-week tour between college semesters with a group of musicians they randomly threw together. “I was 20,” recalls Osborne. “You guys were like, ‘Geoff, you need to stop shaving or we’re not going to be let into these bars where we’re booked.’” After Chagnon and Osborne graduated from college in 2009, they decided to play music as an acoustic duo. It took them three years to finally put a full band together, but during that time, they established themselves and built up a following playing their original music. Over the years, members have joined and left the band for various reasons, but Chagnon and Osborne have remained. The current lineup includes Charlie Boyd — who joined in 2013 as a last-minute addition after Mercutio’s bassist quit the day the band was leaving for a tour — as well as drummer T.J. Schlener, who, at the time of this interview, was recovering from an illness. Mercutio The guys, accompanied by their trusty toy reptiles Crinshaw and Grandshaw — no joke, but more on them later — travel around in a maroon van and play music. It’s not sketchy at all, we promise. Over the last five years, Mercutio has played at least 800 shows in venues up and down the East Coast, from Vermont to Florida and even Tennessee (which, they note, is technically not on the East Coast.) Between gigs, traveling and recording, the band spends almost half its year on the road. Like many performers, the members of Mercutio have their own rituals to follow. The guys always make sure to rub their good luck charm, Crinshaw, a tiny crocodile figurine, before shows. “He gives us all of our blessings,” Osborne says. “He’s actually a Mardi Gras charm that we found at a venue.” Osborne says that they adopted the ritual of rubbing him after the other members made him stop bringing his candle of the Virgin Mary to shows. Says Chagnon: “It was highly inappropriate.” Along with Crinshaw, Mercutio also has Grandshaw, a larger plastic alligator that watches the van and keeps them safe on the road, they say. Speaking of life on the road, the guys have quite the wealth of stories from their travels; they just won’t divulge many of them. “The thing is, we all signed a contract,” says Osborne. “Look in our glove box, it’s still there.” This contract, they say, binds anyone who rides with them, including band members, roadies and even reporters, from sharing stories of the in-van experiences. “Or it would be a real quiet van ride,” Osborne says. According to Boyd, it’s like Vegas — what happens in the van stays in the van. Although they are protective of their “alone time,” the guys will share some stories from the road, like that time they witnessed a man use a bicycle as a weapon in Boston. They’ve also driven via what they describe as “the least effective manual transmission” (a fancy way of saying they had van trouble) in Albany, New York, and one of them has fought — and lost — a battle with a cat while staying at a friend’s place. Next month, Mercutio will release its new record, “Money Shot” (or “The Money Shot;” apparently they can’t decide). Before the album drops, the guys sat down and talked about life on the road, their interesting choice of cover art and which Disney princess they think they would be — a topic they stumbled upon after a 15-minute debate on the socio-economic principles found in the “The Lion King.” What do you each play? Chagnon: “I play guitar and sing.” Osborne: “I also play guitar and sing.” Boyd: “And I play guitar and sing — no, I play bass and sing.” You all sing? Osborne: “We all switch off.” Boyd: “There’s always at least two people singing per song.” Osborne: “But who? That’s the question.” Chagnon: “We never know.” What is it really like traveling on the road? Chagnon: “It’s a lot more work than people realize. … You just drive and play and drive and play. Everyone’s trying to stay clean, not running out of laundry … focusing on if you have [cell] reception.” Boyd: “That separation from friends and family is so hard. When you’ve got somebody at home and you know they’re just staying up all night waiting to hear if you made it to the next place safe.” So, tell me about this catfight you mentioned? Osborne: “Charlie capsized a futon!” Boyd: “I was balanced precariously on a futon and a [very large] cat was enough to change the balance of what’s safe and what’s not safe. And it tipped over.” Osborne: “He was asleep.” Boyd: “I was so tired. … I slept through the whole thing. But then woke up and [there was] this horribly smug cat just sitting on me.” What have you learned from all these years of touring? Chagnon: “People, probably. Just interacting and learning and appreciating the people.” Boyd: “It’s easy to forget that people are nice and good if you never go anywhere where you’re in that position where someone can help you. It’s kind of humbling." Osborne: “Forget the haters. Shake it off.” How did you come up with the name “Money Shot” for the new album? Chagnon: “Sometimes in big budget films, there literally is a money shot. That’s where they spend the most money. This is the shot that makes the film, makes people come out. That’s what I thought about when I suggested it. I don’t know what everybody thought about when they agreed.” Boyd: “I wanted something obscure, but we compromised. I got a more obscure album cover and you guys got the name you wanted.” Chagnon: “Yeah, the art is going to be different.” What does it look like? Boyd: “For this one, because the dominant color on the last one was red … I went with a blue album that has our magic crocodile Crinshaw. … He sits on a ceremonial pillow and the magic unicorn is holding Crinshaw … wearing a Three Sloth Moon t-shirt. It’s this very ridiculous, sort of meme influenced image, but it’s really cool when it’s placed in front of you.” Last question. Since you brought it up, which Disney princess would you be? Osborne: “Ariel, because she’s half-cold blooded. Like me.” Boyd: “I think I’d be the velociraptor from ‘Jurassic’ — wait that’s not a Disney movie!”