I feel that humor plays a large part in Ferd Mert! Why do you choose humorous content rather than say, politics?
We like to have a good time and if we incorporate politics into music it aint gonna be fun for me, so we leave that crap out..

Now I know you have been asked this a whole hell of a lot, but where did you guys come up with the name Ferd Mert?
Ferd Mertz was a guy in the movie REDNECK ZOMBIES its a b-movie released by TROMA good stuff.

How do you describe Ferd Mert's style?
Fast rock punk, melodic vocals.

Give us a short discogrphy to date?
Some demos
94-95 Best Friends EP, self released
96 I Dont Know EP, 206 Records
97 All This And Morons CD, 206 Records
and approximately 15 or so Comps...

Tell us a bit about your newest album "All This And Morons"???
Its released on 206 Records, it has 37 songs, new stuff plus the Best Friends and I Dont Know 7 inches and some other junk we did.

So why the repition of songs like "Hey" on the new album, and why did you put 37 songs on?
We originally recorded Hey and all the other ones with our old drummer and we wanted to do a current representation of the stuff, plus it was never released on a label so we did em again, also to fill up space :)

How do you like 206 Records? Is Ferd Mert thinking about changing labels?
I like 206, I they got a great thing going, I have not shopped to any other labels.

You have toured a bit throughout North America. How was the response on tour?
Response is always cool, we show up act like idiots and people wonder who the hell we are, and then we get up and play and they are like wow that was neato and then they buy our junk and we make lots of friends, so its real fun I love it!

Now Ferd Mert has played some shows in Canada on tour, so what differences are there between the punk scene in the USA and the scene in Canada?
Well the show we played in Canada was with Propagandhi so it was the "pc" punk kids there, and not to mention how bad that trip into Canada was, the show wasnt the best the few kids who talked to us were cool, but the majority of people didnt talk to us and didnt seem to friendly, it was odd..

Do you have any funny tour or show stories to share?
Well besides being inches away from being strip searched going into Canada, nothing too far out from the normal band on the road stories..

What was your greatest tour memory???
Cincinnatti we showed up really late and thought it was too late to play since all the bands but 1 had played but we decided we would, and before we even played we sold all our merchandise, and then the kids went crazy, it was a good time.

Worst memory?
The Canada trip, or Portland when we waited for like 12 bands to play and then when it was our turn the Cops showed up and made us stop before we got to play and the next days drive was like 20 hours we coulda done that day... argh....

How is the scene right now down in Minnesota?
Its really really cold. I really cannot tell you honestly, I am not a scenester so Im not down with all the happenings, but I know there are a lot of good bands here and some new clubs that are trying to get stuff going for all ages punk shows so its good. MN has always had a thriving punk scene, but never anywhere to play thats open very long.

Has the scene changed much since the formation of Ferd Mert, and how?
Again Im not sure about the scene, but we have had constant interest which is good, the scene goes a lot between crusty Thrash/punk and a lot of Ska..

So what's in store for Ferd Mert?
A split cd-ep with a band from Brazil, and a new full length in the spring and a lot of touring.

OK, well thats about all so do you have any last comments for the diehard Ferd Mert fans???
Hang in there we will have some new stuff out soon I promise ( yes I know I have been saying that for a year)Write us letters and buy our junk!
FERD MERT
Pob 7812
St. Paul, MN 55107-0812
www.ferdmert.com
ferdmert@ferdmert.com