ROBERT MERCURIO

Robert Mercurio was born in 1972. He grew up in the Washington D.C. area, listening to mostly DC Punk Rock and later got into funk, jazz, and r & b. He started playing bass when he was 13 , joining his first band—the Skitzmatics (with Galactic guitarist Jeff Raines). When it was time to pick a college to attend, the city the school was in was very important. He wanted to continue playing music but also attend school. He ended up moving and currently living in New Orleans in 1990. "We heard about the Meters and were familiar with scene, but didn’t know how intense of a scene it was" Mercurio says. Robert ended up at Tulane University, but the real classes were conducted in the city’s music clubs.. "I fell in love with the city and its culture." It was places like Benny’s and Tipitina’s that kept Mercurio in New Orleans during his tenure at Tulane, and is what keeps him there to this day! He started Galactic (with Jeff Raines) in 1994 and has continually toured all over the world and recorded albums. "I remember when I was a freshman in college going to shows at Tipitina’s that were totally packed and thinking to myself ’Maybe someday I’ll play here.’ Looking up at that Professor Longhair banner… imagining what it would look like from the stage, instead of from the audience. We never intended for [Galactic] to be this successful. I never thought I’d really be making a living off of music. But I can’t say I’m not happy about it.”