The re-emergence of Miracle Legion — a legendary New Haven band formed in 1983 by vocalist Mark Mulcahy and guitarist Mr. Ray Neal that hasn’t performed together in two decades — should provoke from longtime CT music fans a mixed response of nostalgia and excitement.
Nostalgia for guitars, drums and college rock, for a time when concise songwriting, strong vocals, relentless touring and a sense of place mattered (arguably, they still do). And nostalgia for a time when it seemed Connecticut music would compete nationally and internationally, with the likes of R.E.M. and the Smiths — artistically, if not commercially (arguably, it still does).
The exciting part? Mulcahy and Neal are alive and well, proud of their past accomplishments and ready to dive into Miracle Legion’s next chapter. The band, with longtime members Dave McCaffrey (bass) and drummer Scott Boutier (drums), opens for Guided By Voices at College Street Music Hall in New Haven on Tuesday, July 12, then headlines a stop at the Ballroom at the Outer Space in Hamden on Saturday, July 16, on its summer tour.
We talked with Mr. Ray from his home in Scotland about reuniting with Mulcahy, understanding the legacy of Miracle Legion and what the future holds.
Q: We’ve all been following what’s going on with Brexit in the U.K. That must just be crazy to be experiencing it there.
A: Actually, it directly affected the band. We were supposed to have been on this show called the “Andrew Marr Show,” which is like a Sunday morning news show, but they have a band. The morning we went to film it — they still filmed it, and it’s going to be shown on July 10 on the BBC — they bumped us because Boris Johnson and John Major, the ex-prime minister, were on the show, and they wanted all the time for them. So Brexit bumped us.
Q: I think readers would really like to get the story of how Miracle Legion got back together. How did it really go down from your perspective, from Mark’s perspective, from the other guys?
A: We hadn’t been very close in a while, which is unfortunate because we shared a lot. But we just started talking about the possibility of [a reunion], and so we had our manager guy take a look around and see if anyone would want us to play. I had no idea if anyone would care, and they seemed to. It just kind of went from there. We started to get a little bit of press, especially here in Britain — they’ve always been great to us. Actually, there was just a thing in Mojo that came out today about the “Me and Mr. Ray” album. Those things made it seem like, ‘OK, we’ll try it.’ And then we got gigs.
So, the first step is to go out and play these shows and see how that goes. As far as the future, I don’t really know, but I’d love to make a record.
Q: What have the rehearsals been like so far? How long had it been since you guys have been in the same room playing music together?
A: May was the first time in 20 years that we played a gig as a band. We played a gig in New York, and then Mark came over here in June and we played three shows in England, just the two of us. … But it all seemed amazingly like no time had passed at all. The fact that we still communicated in the way we did without having to say anything … that thing when you’re playing music and it’s all connected, and it’s still there. So far it’s been amazing, and I think it’ll be the same with the band.
Q: The time you and Mark performed as a duo (1989-92): You, in particular, had to kind of do everything musically. What did you take away from that? Were there things you figured out about playing or arranging? How did it change music going forward?
A: Yes, it’s a lot of work. You can never stop. I’m the only music happening. It’s relentless. For me, when we got back to being a band, I learned that I could back off some. My guitar style, because I didn’t take lessons or anything, when we first started to play I would pick a million notes, because I felt I had to fill in all the spaces. But after having done it as a two-piece, getting the band back made me realize, for the first time, that I could hang back, that I could leave more space. In some ways, it took the pressure off me. It’s still fun to do, but it is a lot of work. The band thing is the preferable way to go, really.
Q: Early on, you and Mark wrote songs with him on the drums and you on guitar, just working up riffs in a room with a four-track recorder. Would you ever go back to that particular kind of songwriting arrangement?
A: I would like to. Obviously, as you get older, other things get in the way. When we started doing the Miracle Legion thing, it was all we did every night. We didn’t have any responsibilities. I do think that is the ideal way for us to write. The thing that hardly anyone knows now is that Mark is a great drummer, a really creative drummer, a musical drummer. He can keep time great, but he also can add another dimension. Adding the drums to my guitar parts would create the groove before we even had a song, and then quite often the lyrics would then dictate where the parts went. It’s a great way for us to do it, and I think we still could.
Q: You wouldn’t have to uproot your life and do all kinds of traveling back and forth. And a lot of artists kind of work that way nowadays. They send each other tracks.
A: And we’ve written in all permutations. I think the ideal one is the whole drum thing, and that’s how we started at the beginning, but we’ve done it every other way too, just jamming or whatever. “The Backyard,” which was kind of our first significant song, was written just on a whim one night in 10 minutes, when we were just standing around. There was no real working out drum parts or rhythms on that one. It can go whichever way.
Q: You’ve talked about having peak experiences in your life, many of which took place on stage with Miracle Legion. Will that happen to you again on this tour?
A: I think so. I’ve felt it starting to happen on the two-piece shows that Mark and I have done so far. That feeling of connectedness with Mark and with the audience, that whole thing where you’re all feeding off the same thing or feeding off each other. … I would assume anyone who comes to see us on this tour is gonna be pretty excited. The sense I’ve gotten so far is they’re very emotional for all of us. There are bits where everyone in the whole place has been singing. How can you not be moved by that? So, yeah, I’m expecting it. I demand it.
Q: Two shows on the tour are in New Haven and Hamden. How does it feel to be playing at home?
A: It feels good, but I could never really get a sense of where we stood in New Haven. I guess, because I’d come out of the scene, I certainly felt like there were some people who probably didn’t like us or thought we were full of ourselves, and we certainly were. We were young and probably were d*cks sometimes. I really had no idea, when the original Hamden show got booked, if anyone would go. I’m amazed and proud that that many people want to see us. It’s going to be a little bit weird, I think, to play in a big venue [College Street Music Hall], but I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’d prefer to play in a little hole in the wall, but we’ll do it.
Q: What’s the lasting fascination with Miracle Legion?
A: One thing that struck me was the first show Mark and I played in 20 years was in New York. The audience was about half younger folks, which amazed me, because we were making jokes about the wheelchair ramp and stuff for our audience. A really good friend of ours who came back after the show said the young kids that were in the audience, they’ve never seen anything like this before. It was just the two of us. We were right among them and going for it. I don’t know that that’s as common anymore. I might be wrong, and I’m not trying to blow our thing up, but I think the music that came out of our time might be the last gasp of a certain kind of … I don’t know, authentic music? I don’t want to put down what’s happening now, because I’m not as in tune with it. But I think there was something certainly real. We weren’t doing it to become rock stars. It was a genuine attempt to just touch other human beings, and I think that must come through in some way.
MIRACLE LEGION opens for Guided By Voices at College Street Music Hall in New Haven on Tuesday, July 12, at 8 p.m. ($25-$35), then headlines at the Ballroom at the Outer Space in Hamden on Saturday, July 16, at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $22, with Winterpills opening. manicproductions.org.
