There is always that one tour, that one venue and that one stage in which everything can start happening for a band.

Syracuse-area rock band, Merit, is hoping its big break will come at this year’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

The band is competing in a contest on music Web site ReverbNation.com, where people sign up to become fans for their favorite bands. Two of the top 50 bands with the most fans will be chosen by prestigious music industry representatives to play in South by Southwest.

Merit, which has been a part of the Syracuse rock scene for five years this May, hopes Syracuse fans will band together to send the group to the festival in March.

‘South by Southwest is one of the most well-attended music conferences in North America,’ said Brenna Merritt, vocalist and guitarist for the band. ‘It’s a huge opportunity to gain exposure and get contacts. Everyone in the music industry will be there.’

Merit has steadily been creating a name for itself in Central New York, after the band’s members got together during their senior years at Syracuse University. After months of practice and about a year after bassist Wil Mecum wrote his e-mail address on a one dollar bill and gave it to local Syracuse label Aux Records owner Ulf Oesterle, Merit signed to Aux.

‘When we first started, we would do anything to get people to listen to us,’ said Jeff Nelson, the band’s drummer. ‘We passed out like 150 burned CDs outside of an Eve 6 show, and when people would ask us what we sounded like, we’d say ‘we sound just like Eve 6!’ As an artist, sometimes the only way you’ll get people to listen to your music is if you shove it down their throats. We’ve fought like hell to get where we are right now.’

Merit released its debut album, ‘When We Fight,’ in 2004, and received support from K-Rock (WKRL), and began to tour the East Coast.

‘We wouldn’t trade touring for anything,’ Merritt said. ‘Touring is like boot camp for musicians. All bands go through it before they can get to bigger things, like eating peanut butter and jelly and water for days.’

Merit’s latest release was a self-titled electric and acoustic split EP that was released in May.

‘Looking back, the EP was a really big turning point for us,’ Nelson said. ‘We needed to take risks and record to figure out what we were going to be. If you want to be a band, you need to figure out who you are.’

After the EP release, the band got the chance to play on the 2006 Warped Tour in Buffalo, N.Y., and continued touring into Canada.

‘We’ve had some pretty crazy experiences touring,’ Mecum said. ‘We’ve slept on the stage that we played in Toronto. And we slept in a place that was a renovated funeral home, in the room where they used to do visitations and stuff.’

Although all of the band members are SU alumni, the last time they played at SU was when they opened for Liz Phair in 2004.

‘Syracuse is one of the birthplaces of hardcore, and it has a great blues and jazz scene too,’ Merritt said. ‘Aux Records is really all there is for rock. We’re trying to be proactive and help the rock scene develop and bring it back to life here in Syracuse.’

The closing of bigger to midsize venues in Syracuse also helped local bands like Merit. Since Planet 505 on Westcott Street closed, there are only a few smaller venues in downtown Syracuse that cater to the local scene.

‘There are pockets of fans from all different scenes in Syracuse,’ Nelson said. ‘It’s tough to bring them all together to come and see bands live.’

The band suffered a blow when local station K-Rock discontinued its three-hour local band radio show after giving Merit a year of heavy support.

‘You could hear a ton of local bands on K-Rock,’ Mecum said. ‘All the songs had smoking production and were so good because the bands knew they could be on the radio with an audience. It was really heartbreaking when they stopped doing the show.’

Merit already began work on its third full-length album, and is doing a February tour that goes down the coast to Georgia.

‘Our first album was kind of eclectic, and the second one was a lot more focused,’ Merritt said. ‘We’ve been writing non-stop for the third album, and we’re really excited about the material on this one. There’s a lot more cohesion, and it’s almost thematic.’

The band’s latest split EP is available for free download at ReverbNation.com/Merit, in conjunction with the South by Southwest contest. By clicking the ‘Become a Fan’ button on the Web site, the band gains points toward being eligible for judging by the industry panel.

‘This contest is really an opportunity for the city and students to experience Merit without having to go out and spend money on the album,’ said Oesterle. ‘If fans can get Merit to South by Southwest, I think it would be something special, and let Syracuse be proud of the music that comes out of here.’

The contest runs on ReverbNation until Feb. 20, and the Merit’s free downloads will be available for the duration of the contest. Getting to Texas and having the chance to play in front of all kinds of industry people would be huge, Nelson said.

‘To be put in a place where everyone is there just to hear music, that would mean a lot to all of us,’ said Merritt.

On Wednesday at 9 p.m., Merit is playing a free acoustic show at Funk ‘n Waffles, where fans can sign up for the South by Southwest contest on ReverbNation and hear the bands’ latest songs live.

‘Free music and waffles – it doesn’t get much better,’ said Nelson.

If You Vote:

What: For a band to go to the South by Southwest Music Festival

Where: Reverbnation.com

When: Through February 20

If You Go:What: MeritWhere: Funk ‘n WafflesWhen: Wednesday, 9 p.m.How much: Free

SIDEBAR

What Merit is listening to

Brenna Merritt – The Shins: Wincing the Night Away Band of Horses: Everything All the TimeHal Appleby – Army of Anyone: Self-TitledJeff Nelson – My Chemical Romance: The Black Parade Gatsby’s American Dream: Self-TitledWil Mecum – Pearl Jam: Self-Titled 30 Seconds to Mars: A Beautiful Lie

Published on February 5, 2007 at 12:00 pm