Merving On Up!

 Please give a warm welcome to Dave House and Henry Carrington-Jones! Contrary to what the prestigious connotation of their names would suggest these two aren’t a duo of royal members but rather the rock ’n’ roll royalties of Western Australia. 

Hailing out of Kojonup, a town a few hours south of Perth, the pair have grown up as best friends since the age of five. From concerting their farm’s stable into a ‘jam space’ these fellas have made a name for themselves and gone from playing ‘stable sessions’ to sell-out shows!

Like us, you might be wondering where the name ‘Old Mervs’ came from. 

“We’re pretty humble people and like to be unique. If you think about it it actually doesn’t make grammatical sense.” Paying tribute to their late childhood canine friend, named Merv, the name is different from anything out there and creates intrigue and curiosity. They say anything can be an album cover, and Dave and Henry are proof that anything can also be a band name. 

My dream is to be in a Rolling Stones Tribute Band.”

Would they ever consider changing their name as they get bigger? We chucked around a few options for them, like ‘The Even Older Mervs’… or 'Young Mervs’. Henry doesn’t know about a name change but he expects a change in their sound. He hopes that one day when he’s “old and decrypted” he’ll be in a “blues, rock and roll band playing covers of the Rolling Stones ACDC.”  

Two’s company, three’s a crowd, and four’s a quarter of your revenue...

As there are pros and cons to everything in life there are good and bad reasons for having a band of two members; “Having two members is really good ‘cause you split the money in half… half of bugger all still isn’t much but better than splitting it four ways.” When it comes to creativity and writing music Henry thinks more minds would make more civil meetings. “Two is hard because I’m stubborn and Dave has more accreditation in the creative realm so we always put heads… our producer has his work cut out for him.” 

While in Aotearoa Henry had the “duties of being the dad” and the lead vocalist and guitarist was a “pain in the backside.” Henry claimed his night out in Ōtautahi ended in bed at 2 am. Meanwhile, his “mates ended up at a random house in what can only be described as the world’s most lukewarm spa.”

The public has voted and Old Mervs is hotter than ‘it girl’ Zendaya.

Triple J’s annual music listener poll ‘The Hottest 100 Songs’ of 2022 claimed that Old Mervs’s hit ‘Where I Go’ took out the 123rd spot. Four spots higher than Zendaya. We asked Henry how it feels to be hotter than Zendaya and in their modest nature he replied “Zendaya definitely has us backed not a corner.”

Under The Radar claimed Old Mervs is ‘Leading the Surf-Rock renaissance.’

The boys hope that they “aren’t leading it down a dark rabbit hole.” What started as “taking the Mickey” has turned into a “job that doesn’t feel at all like a job.” The boys want to take the Surf-Rock “raucous vibe to a less garage, tinny sound.”

“We just want to play to as many people as possible… we just love what we do.”Henry and Dave are eager for “natural progression.” Take it from us, Old Mervs have a positive trajectory in the music scene.” They are hyped to “meet cool people and keep doing cool things, just like coming to New Zealand. 

Speaking of New Zealand we spoke to the band during May, Aotearoa’s Music Month. What do they think of this?

“I love this. I love that New Zealand is such a community. You guys are definitely more laid back here and everybody is really friendly - as well as you guys.” 

Thanks, Old Mervs - we love our Waves Whānau and are glad you are a part of it! Make sure you hop across the ditch again soon!

Ngā Mihi!