Mercy Rule
Taylor, Ore, and Albertson came together after the breakup of their previous band 13 Nightmares. With Taylor on guitar, Ore on bass and vocals, and Albertson on drums, they went into their basement and started over. In the late 1980s, few touring bands existed in Lincoln. “And we were the meanest, loudest, most obnoxious one,” Taylor said.
Their live performances were awe-inspiring. As Caulfield founder Bernie McGinn put it: “They were abusively, wonderfully loud.” Clean-cut and always sober, Mercy Rule’s image never quite matched up to the wild music they played. “We weren’t trying to be punks,” Taylor said. “We’d just show up and play really loud.”
Mercy Rule self-produced their first album, God Protects Fools, with the help of Caulfield Records. The popularity of the album drew the attention of Relativity Records, who re-released it in 1994. Relativity produced their second album, Providence, before dropping all its rock bands in favor of rap artists. Their third album, The Flat Black Chronicles, was recorded with producer Lou Giordano (who went on to produce the Goo Goo Dolls) and paid for by MCA Records, but MCA scrapped the release. Mercy Rule bought the record back and released it on Caulfield.
The band called it quits around 2000 when parenthood took priority. “We just didn’t have room in the van for the band and two car seats,” Ore said. Albertson headed to New York City, eventually joining disco-punk band Liars alongside fellow Nebraskan Pat Noecker of Opium Taylor.
Members
- Heidi Ore - Bass, Vocals
- Jon Taylor - Guitar, Vocals
- Ron Albertson - Drums
