Michael Dawson – Hand of Mercy “The Final Interview” (audio interview)

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Paul 'Browny' Brown

When a band collectively decides that they’re going to call it a day, emotions run wild not only for the members, but also their fans who have been dedicating their time, money and lives to following and supporting their favourite act either from the start, middle or towards the end of their career. I’ve unluckily found myself at the rear end of Hand of Mercy‘s career and just as I start getting into these guys and loving what they’ve put out, BOOM, they announce they’re ending the band and their last few shows will be supporting Buried in Verona across the country… or so we thought.

The Sydney hardcore act who impressively released three stand out albums in such a short amount of time accumulated a large following not only in Australia, but overseas too which saw them having to postpone recording their last album so they could hit the road overseas for a few months, only to jump straight back into touring Australia on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour, which goes to show just how in demand these boys were and still are) at the peak of their careers. So together after discussing their options, that’s what they wanted to be remembered for, going out at the top of their career when they feel as if they’ve achieved most of what they wanted to as a band. And it makes sense, there’s bands that trash themselves and milk their success for all it’s worth only to become stale and boring towards the end of their time, as for Hand of Mercy, they feel like it was the right time, but judging by the fans who turned out to see them one last time, they could have definitely continued on for a little longer.

Bassist Michael “Dawson” Dawson and I sat down for a chat and to reflect on the years he’s been touring the world and playing shows in one of the best hardcore acts Australia had to offer and by all accounts there is no bad blood between the members (former and present), it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Reflecting back on what they achieved in such a short amount of time, it’ easy to see these guys are appreciative of all the help they’ve received along the way, but there comes a time when you have to weigh up the options of what’s viable and where you see yourself in the future. Yes kids, being an adult sucks because you have to decide what is best for you in the long run and not what you want right now, so sometimes sacrifices have to be made and unfortunately in this case, we’re losing another great Australian band.

But don’t fear as Dawson stated with us:

“We’re not gonna do a John Farnham reunion within the next year, but in the same token if we wanted to play a show or a party or jam together, there’s no reason why we wouldn’t do it.

After this tour wraps we will do a final Sydney show, but aside from that, that’s all the plans we have at this stage.”

So in the Aussie spirit of things (and with bands such as Grinspoon, Skyway and the trend setter himself Farnsey all going back on their ending word) there could be a time in the future where these boys will get back together, given the circumstances. It’s not over until the fat lady sings as they say, so keep your ears peeled, collect the whole back catalogue of tunes and get planning your road trip to catch these boys one last time (for now) as you will be regretting it if you miss them.

Rest In Peace Hand of Mercy.