Tucson teen band Merge releases coronavirus era EP

Things were starting to click big time for the Oro Valley alternative pop band Merge.

They were set to make their debut at Club Congress downtown to open for British post-punk band Shopping in mid-March. They had built a solid following after playing at a number of Tucson restaurants and bars, including Fini’s Landing, Thunder Canyon Brewstillery downtown and House of Bards on East Speedway and had a blast in playing the hipster hangout 191 Toole.

But the highlight of their four years together was coming in May, when the band — high school seniors Carson Miller, Josh Rulney and Catherine Jean Baker from Ironwood Ridge and Jude Gray and Kirby Schrantz from Canyon del Oro — were set to play end-of-the-year concerts at both high schools.

“That honestly would have been super fun,” said Rulney, the bass player. “It would have actually meant something.”

But when the state ordered all schools closed in mid-March and then followed up with a stay-at-home order two weeks ago, those gigs were effectively canceled.

So Merge, whose members like to describe their music as alternative pop with a twang, turned their uncertainty and disappointment into a five-song EP. On Friday, April 10, the band will release “Acoustics of a Neighborhood Bedroom,” which they recorded at Miller’s home studio the week before the band members started online classes.

Since then, their only contact with one another has been through a Zoom meeting to discuss marketing and distribution for the EP.

Merge formed when its members were high school freshmen and started playing paid gigs for a couple hundred bucks a pop within a few months.

Rulney said the band will continue next year after its members go off to college; everyone except Gray is planning to attend the University of Arizona. Gray is headed to Arizona State, which could be a blessing in disguise, Rulney said.

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The band has been itching to expand its fanbase to the Phoenix area and having Gray there might help.

“Our sound is a lot different than what you typically hear from a high school band in Tucson,” Rulney said, noting that the band mixes classic rock, pop, blues and R&B into their sound, staying away from the underground punk that predominates among area high school bands.

“Its just not our type of music. I would say (this band) is a lot more than a high school fling.”

“Acoustics of a Neighborhood Bedroom” is Merge’s second EP; they released “Wimbledon” last fall and also have released a new single available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and most major streaming outlets. Follow the band on Instagram instagram.com/_merge_official.

“Acoustics” is one of several new albums by Tucson artists.

• Paul Opocensky Project is releasing “MMXX” on April 17, an album that singer-songwriter Paul Opocensky describes as one of “pandemic proportions.” The EP is all new songs that Opocensky penned in response to the coronavirus. The album will be available exclusively on POProject.co

• It has been a couple of months since Tucson Jazz Institute released “Orange Colored Sky,” the 11-song album of from the institute’s award-winning Ellington Big Band. The album, under the direction of John Black, features the Duke Ellington classics “Jack the Bear” and “Sunset and the Mockingbird,” along with a tribute to Nat “King” Cole to commemorate Cole’s 100th birthday. Tucson’s celebrated Cole interpreter Joe Bourne lends vocals on Cole’s “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “Nature Boy,” “Unforgettable”and what the institute describes as a “very bouncy version” of the title track “Orange Colored Sky.” The album, released in December, is available through the institute’s website, tucsonjazzinstitute.org.

• Kevin Pakulis and his Band was nailing down its CD release gigs when the coronavirus outbreak became widespread. They also hit some speed bumps in the distribution after CD Baby locked up to ride out the coronavirus pandemic. Pakulis said they are now trying to nail down distribution through Spotify for “Play It Again,” a compilation of fan favorites from their regular gigs. The title song is the album’s only new song. Follow the band on Facebook at facebook.com/KevinPakulisOfficial