The New Mendicants

The New Mendicants are a Canadian-based indie rock supergroup, consisting of singer-songwriters Joe Pernice and Norman Blake, and drummer Mike Belitsky.^[1]

Pernice and Blake, the bandleaders, are both expatriate musicians currently living in Canada after marrying Canadian women; Pernice, from the United States, is best known for his work with Scud Mountain Boys and Pernice Brothers, while Blake, from Scotland, is associated with the band Teenage Fanclub.^[1] The duo first met in 2000 when their primary bands played a show together in London, England,^[1] and began collaborating as The New Mendicants after Blake's move to Canada.^[1] Belitsky, a Canadian musician best known as a member of The Sadies, has frequently performed as a drummer on Pernice's band and solo projects.^[1]

The band's first live performance was a show at Toronto, Ontario's Dakota Tavern.^[1] They have also undertaken tours of Australia^[2] and Spain.^[1] In concert, the band performs both its own material and alternate renditions of both Pernice Brothers and Teenage Fanclub songs.^[1]

The band recorded a tour-only EP, Australia 2013 E.P., in 2013,^[3] and followed up with the full-length album Into the Lime in 2014.^[2] Into the Lime consists partly of songs that Blake and Pernice wrote for the upcoming film adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel A Long Way Down, but which were rejected by the film's producers.^[1]

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