Former Coal Chamber Bassist Nadja Peulen Resurfaces with Vera Mesmer
Former Coal Chamber bassist Nadja Peulen has resurfaced with a new project dubbed Vera Mesmer. The band is a departure from her previous work, that's for sure.
The band consists of the bassist, who goes by Nadja Mesmer in this project, as well as vocalist/guitarist/pianist Christopher Mesmer (formerly of Reveille) and drummer Bones Elias (Julien K, formerly of Dead by Sunrise). Vera Mesmer formed in late 2010 when the trio began recording with Christopher engineering and producing. The music from those sessions will be split into two gothy, moody, and memorable EPs.
The first will be a six-song theatrical alt-rock storytelling-focused album with a series of videos and short stories to accompany the tales within the songs. The first of video is for 'Back From the Dead' is viewable here. It was shot in January 2011 by Industrialism Films. The first EP also includes several special guests will be available this Spring 2011.
Before getting into the nuts and bolts of Vera Mesmer, Nadja noted that she doesn't think there will ever be a Coal Chamber reunion. "I am not sure if there will ever be a reunion. There have been talks in the past but at this time I am solely focused on Vera Mesmer," she said. "I live and breathe this band 24/7 as we are an independent band with no label support carrying the weight of launching this all by ourselves. It's been nice to have the freedom to write, record, and produce our songs how we want them [and] have complete control [over] all artwork and presentation."
You can sense the passion that Nadja has for her new creative outlet. As a result, she isn't sharing her attention with any other bands. "I have no other projects in the works. I don't really believe in spreading yourself too thin," she said. "You just can't put your heart and commitment into two places at one time. As an artist, I like to immerse myself 100% in what I am doing. It becomes my existence and I am very passionate about it. It took me many years to find a band that I could believe in and this is the one for me. Join us at www.fanbridge.com/veramesmer and be part of our odd little musical art project."
The bassist added, "Working with Chris has been truly a transformation for me. I've learned and am still learning a lot from him songwriting and recording/production-wise. He's been pushing me musically and making me tap into unfamiliar territory such as singing. We have this strange musical connection and it's very easy to work together as we have the same taste, ideas, and thoughts. This sort of partnership doesn't come around often, as I have been looking for it for about eight years. He's brought me back from the dead, no pun intended, as it is the name of our first single and video. But the song is actually not about that."
The pair views Vera Mesmer as more of an art project as opposed to a traditional band, which allows them even more artistic freedom. "We're constantly brainstorming and creating. We've completely let go of templates and we don't stick to the genre game," Nadja said. "We encompass all music styles while still undeniably retaining that Vera Mesmer sound. We've been fortunate to have had such talented friends around us that we can invite to be part of a song, art[work], or film. Our friend, French DJ Miss Kittin, lent her voice to a song as well as a few others. These are all very exciting things and I look forward to bringing future guests into creating with Vera Mesmer."
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