Everynight Fire Works

In June 1999, Braid announced they would be breaking up, and played their final shows in August. Guitarist Chris Broach focused his efforts on the Firebird Band, while the other members of Braid spent time at home. After auditioning two people, The members lived in separate cities between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Nanna had to travel from Chicago to Milwaukee to practice during weekdays, only to return home the following morning for work. In spite of this, the band worked on material. which was followed by the release of the self-titled EP the following month through Polyvinyl. It showcased a mix of the syncopated drum parts of Braid with a more melodic structure, spotlight by Nanna's vocals. Nanna told the label that "if there was an excellent sounding album to be made," they only required two weeks to record it and two weeks to mix it, which they subsequently greenlit. ==Production==

Hey Mercedes recorded their debut album with Burning Airlines member J. Robbins as the producer. He handled the recording with assistance from Neil Weir and Bruce Templeton. Unlike that release, which was only recorded and mixed in five days, the band had more time and a bigger budget to work on Everynight Fire Works. to Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Drums were then recorded for "Let's Go Blue", "Save a Life", "That's Right I Said It" and "What You Are Up Against". The band spent April 19 re-listening to all of the drum tracks recorded up to that point, before Bell recorded bass on "Save a Life" and Nanna did guitar for "The Frowning of a Lifetime". The following day, Nanna then re-worked his guitar parts for 11 of the tracks, and added guitar to "What You're Up Against" and "The Promise". On April 21, Dawursk tracked guitars for "The Slightest Idea" and "Let's Go Blue", Haines mixed the recordings between May 1 and 15 at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, The recordings were then mastered by Scott Hull at Classic Sounds, Inc. ==Composition==

. Musically, the sound of Everynight Fire Works has been described as alternative rock, emo, "Que Shiraz" is a power ballad; its name being a play on the phrase "que sera", with the latter word being swapped for the Australian wine name Shiraz. The breakdown during the song features Bell and Atkinson's instruments synching up, with the latter playing 16th notes on his hi-hat and the former playing sparse bass notes that synch with the kick drum. Nanna said this part was influenced by Jimmy Eat World. During the mixing stage, they found one note Nanna sung was out of key, and fixed it with Auto-Tune. The intro to "Our Weekend Starts on Wednesday" starts in the 6/4 time signature; the song incorporates punk rock and thrash metal influences. "What You're Up Against" talks about frustration and working. The closing track "Let's Go Blue" was reminiscent of "Never Surrender" by Corey Hart. It sees a guitar riff being played over a larger chord progression with bass and drum breakdowns, which Nanna said Dawursk or Bell came up with. ==Release==

On May 16, 2001, Everynight Fire Works was announced for release two months' time. To promote an upcoming tour, the label asked the band if they would forego the release of a single, in return for their debut being released soon, which they agreed to. Around this time, the members quit their day jobs to focus entirely on the band. On August 8, 2001, the band announced that the album would be delayed "due to production issues and legal issues" on the label's side. Vagrant were in legal trouble with another label of the same name who attempted to trademark "Vagrant", resulting in their website being taken down. On September 16, 2001, the band said the album was delayed to late October 2001, citing distribution problems; Universal stopped distributing the label's releases, which were now being handled by TVT Records. Everynight Fire Works was eventually released on October 23, 2001, through Vagrant Records. Designer Gregg Bernstein and photographer Christopher Strong worked together to come up with the artwork concept after discussing with the rest of the band. In November and December 2001, the group went on tour with Saves the Day and Thursday. Nanna, Atkinson and Bell felt that having Dawursk in the group "wasn't the best thing", and subsequently let him go. Nanna said Dawursk and the rest of the band seemed to be on "different pages – not really even musically, but just kind of everything else". he was temporarily replaced by Sean O'Brien, who previously played with Nanna in Orwell. Atkinson spent some time touring with Saves the Day as their temporary drummer, before returning to Hey Mercedes in early March 2002. They played the occasional US show throughout the month, with one date in Japan in the middle. The companion EP The Weekend was released in July 2002. The band were due to film a music video for "Our Weekend Starts on Wednesday" during the same month, however, the shoot was cancelled three days prior to filming. The band recorded an alternative version of the song that was meant to appear in the video; it was later posted on their website. In July and August 2002, the group went on a US tour with Piebald, Audio Learning Center, and Koufax; Piebald had to drop off a few of the shows due to a throat illness, and were replaced by Schatzi. The band had planned to appear on the Vagrant America arena tour, alongside other Vagrant Records bands, until the trek was pushed back to early 2003. In October 2002, the band performed at the Grand Rapids Skate Fest. In November and December 2002, the band toured across the US with Avail and the Curse; Planes Mistaken for Stars and the Reunion Show appeared on select dates. Hey Mercedes embarked on a celebratory tour for the album in July and August 2016. Everynight Fire Works was reissued to coincide with the stint. ==Reception==

Everynight Fire Works received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. CMJ New Music Report writer Nicole Keiper said fans of Braid would like the release a lot, from Nanna's "pleading yelps and stop-start guitar breaks" to Atkinson's "neck-snapping snare smashes". ==Track listing==

Track listing per booklet. ==Personnel==

Personnel per booklet. Hey Mercedes • Damon Atkinsondrums • Todd Bellvocals, bass • Mark Dawurskvocals, guitar • Bob Nannalead vocals, guitar Additional musicians • J. Robbinsextra vocals, percussion • Christine Lubarskyextra vocals, percussion Production • J. Robbinsproducer, recording • Hey Mercedesproducer • Neil Weirassistant • Bruce Templetonassistant • Mark Hainesmixing • Scott Hullmastering • Christopher Strongphotography • Gregg Bernsteinart direction, design ==References==