The Power and the Glory of Mercy Seat

Probably the biggest of the many misconceptions surrounding gospel-rock band the Mercy Seat is that singer-guitarist Gordon Gano formed the group as a side project to his regular band, Violent Femmes.

That notion is corrected faster than you can say Zena Von Heppinstall .

That’s the name of the Mercy Seat’s songwriter and lead singer--and the person who put the band together. “It’s something I dreamed up, I imagined,” she said. “I chose the music and the type of music, out of my own personal experience.”

That personal experience is directly responsible for the unusual musical path that Mercy Seat (which performs tonight at the Roxy and Saturday at Night Moves in Huntington Beach) has followed since coming together in 1984.

The group’s music defies neat categorization, but most often has been labeled gospel rock or punk gospel. And the band’s recent debut album on Slash Records, “The Mercy Seat,” carries a few tunes that might be called speed gospel .

Von Heppinstall’s earliest musical experiences wouldn’t have tipped anyone off to some of the wild and woolly stuff she’d be concocting in the Mercy Seat. The singer, who wouldn’t reveal her age (“I like to keep a little air of mystery”), grew up in Manhattan listening almost exclusively to her mother’s gospel records.

“I would say 85% was gospel,” she said of her early musical diet. “The other 15% was Aretha Franklin, R&B-type; of things, Ray Charles, a lot of soulful types of things. . . .”

About eight years ago, her tastes and listening habits changed--drastically. “Yeah, I went overboard,” she said with the warm, easy laugh that punctuated many of her responses.

“That was so strange. That happened when someone took me to (New York rock club) CBGB’s and I saw Blondie. And it was an experience that swept me away. I felt like my body was buzzing, from the sound and energy. That was the initial experience. After that, I was totally gone. I found out about the Sex Pistols--thought they were one of the greatest bands that ever was, and still feel that way.”

So it was by-by gospel, hello Hell--punk singer Richard Hell and his band became No. 1 on her club-going hit parade.

“Richard Hell & the Voidoids were my favorite band to go see,” she said. “If they were playing anywhere, I would go--I’d stand outside in line, in a drizzle, to see Richard Hell.”

And when not indulging her new passion at local nightspots, she was listening at home to records by such outfits as the Dead Boys and the Cramps--much to the chagrin of Von Heppinstall’s mother, Elsie. “She’d always say how powerful gospel music is and I’d say, ‘Well, punk rock is really powerful.’ She didn’t like punk rock. She used to tease me about it, but in a very loving way.”

Despite this tussle over tastes, there is little question that the mother-daughter relationship emerged intact. Perhaps stronger. The Mercy Seat record jacket bears the notation: “This album is lovingly dedicated to Elsie Von Heppinstall.”

But Zena never completely turned her back on gospel. On the contrary, when she first considered forming a band, she tested her pipes by singing along to all kinds of records--and it was her mother’s gospel albums that convinced her to go ahead.

“When I was singing the gospel material,” she said, “I would feel a very intense sort of feeling that I think came from the lyrical content. Because at the time I was going through increased spiritual awareness, putting spirituality and Christianity in a physical practice, in a day-to-day way--not in some kind of ethereal idea of what it’s like.

“I think that made singing to the gospel material such an intense experience. And that’s when it hit me that that is what I wanted to do.”

She recruited bassist Patrice Moran, then drummer Fernando Menedez joined, followed by guitarist Gano (whose Violent Femmes is in an uncertain limbo). Although the lineup was set in 1984, Von Heppinstall said, “The exciting part is to hear all the musical experimentation that consistently goes on. We’re never at a place where we say, ‘OK, this is settled--this is the way we do it.’ Because it keeps changing from night to night. I like the fact that that sort of experimental feel remains.”

And Von Heppinstall maintains that the band, and its novel hybrid, clearly catches audiences off guard--before and during performances. “A lot of people have told me that they don’t know what to expect at all. . . . I see a lot of surprise in the audience’s faces. And there’s still the buzz of controversial dialogue after a show.”

Like what?

“Like somebody will come backstage and say, ‘People are arguing about Jesus at the bar.’ Little things like that are a lot of fun.”