Marc + Brian · Acoustic duo · Est. 2005
Two guitars.Questionable judgment.
Rock songs, deep cuts, originals, improvised detours and segues that occasionally got completely out of hand. Cheese Merge played bars, ski lodges, country clubs, backyards, weddings and anywhere else willing to tolerate us.
The short version
Cheese Merge happened.
What started as Marc and Brian playing together became a long-running collection of shows, bizarre transitions, original songs, flyers, rough demos, photos and extremely serious journalism. This archive is here because those years mattered. More than a decade of shows, songs, originals, improvised detours, flyers, photos, recordings, inside jokes and stories is worth keeping.
In The Beginning...
The First Merge
It ended with “Porch” and a glass of red wine.
The first night Marc and Brian ever jammed together was in Brian's basement. The last song of the night was their first attempt at Pearl Jam's “Porch.” Somewhere in the process, a glass of red wine went down too. The wine didn't make it. Cheese Merge did.
Featured time capsule
March 27, 2015 · Pats Peak
A three-set night with guests, requests, originals, and the sort of song chains that explain why a normal “setlist page” isn't enough for this band.
Pats Peak · The Sled Pub
One stretch from Set 3
- Creep →
- Coventry
- My Girl →
- Wild Side →
- I Touch Myself →
- My Girl
- Loving Cup →
- Ambient Jam #2 →
- U →
- Midnight Rider →
- Let It Be →
- Loving Cup
Multiple recordings from this show are still in the original Cheese Merge sound archive.
“What a backdrop for a gig.”
Official press coverage
Journalism had standards once.
CHEESE MERGE LIVE @ SULLY'S
MILFORD FREE PRESS · 10/5/08 · Brian Horwitz
Hell yeah!
CHEESE MERGE MELTS FACES
MILFORD FREE PRESS · 9/11/08 · Marc Wydom
After a brief hiatus, Cheese Merge made a triumphant return to Tennessee's BBQ pit. Contemporary reporting ranked it a top-five, possibly top-three Cheese Merge show. We see no reason to question the journalistic independence of the Milford Free Press.