Merschman finds her weirdos

FORT MADISON - Authenticity does not always fall into place; sometimes it must be created. Nico Merschman began singing before she could even speak. According to her mother, Nico would tag along for church choir practice and sing parodies of church hymns on the way home about being sleepy. Today, she is a rock star.
Merschman looks like a rock star. Her “uniform” includes bright red hair, tattoos, alternative clothes, and “gothic” makeup. She radiates genuinely cool energy and is authentic to herself. She didn’t always feel comfortable expressing herself. There can be a strong discomfort in growing up in a town where differences are not always celebrated. “At best, I always felt like if I could just blend in with the walls, if I could just be invisible, that would be the best-case scenario for me,” said Merschman.
Merschman said going to college was her chance to start over and establish who she wanted to be rather than who people saw her as. She started feeling more confident, dressing the way she wanted to. Working on her mental health helped her become stronger. Merschman began putting herself out there through karaoke and supporting the local (music) scene. She said, “(I had) the realization that if people don't appreciate you for who you are, then those aren't the people you need to be around…. Eventually, the people that you need to be around will find you.” Through her karaoke experiences, and later as a DJ running the show, Merschman said, “I found my outcasts; I found my weirdos.”
For Merschman, it was an adjustment getting comfortable on the microphone, first singing and then later announcing karaoke: “To me, now it’s easy. I do that three times a week…, but when I first started, that was horrifying. That was absolutely terrifying.”
After Merschman started DJing, she found herself at more local shows, forming connections she needed to start her band, Little Evil. “[The band started] because I finally got confident enough to go around asking musicians, ‘Hey, please do things with me...pretty please do things with me,’” she said.
At the time of the band’s formation, she was working with kids who had extreme behavior problems. One of the band’s songs, “Little Devil,” is dedicated to those kids–young kids–who were stuck in the system. The band’s name originated from a misunderstanding. A former member mistakenly called the song “Little Evil,” but the members loved the way it sounded, especially tied to the meaning behind the song.
Little Evil features Nico Merschman (vocals), Bryer Meierotto (guitar), Alex Bentzinger (bass), and Tim Wardlow (drums). Their new song “Down,” written by Bentzinger, comes out on July 19. Upcoming performances are at Vinnie’s on Sept. 6 and at Porchstock on Sept. 20.
Merschman still feels very anxious before every show, but the moment she steps on stage, she’s completely in her element: “In the town as a whole, it's been a really weird shift to adjust to having people look at me in a positive light in the way that a lot of people do now. It's not something I ever would have seen coming.” She wants to continue making music. It brings her more joy than anything else in this world. Driven by her passion to always help people,

Merschman works by day as a crisis direct support professional. Merschman knows that there are cities out there with more opportunities and people who act and dress as she does. “I think that is all the more reason for me to still be here…because I want other people like me to feel welcomed here. And I've wanted to leave before, but at the end of the day, this is my home and this is my community, and I want other people like me to feel at home here.”
Merschman doesn’t want to give up on Fort Madison: “I care a lot about (it). It's important to me that people in this community have the resources they need. We are losing mental health resources in our area, and something needs to be done to combat that.” Nico is currently organizing a mental health fundraiser concert, showcasing Little Evil and another local band, Yote, aiming to raise awareness and support in the community. Said Merschman, “I reached a point where I no longer felt like that was an option, more a necessity, and I just felt like I needed to do something. I think it's really, really important.”
The “Unseen Scream: Music for Mental Health” fundraiser is on Oct. 25 at the Cornerstone Event Center in Burlington. Tickets will be $10. All profits will go to Elevate’s Mobile Crisis and Assertive Community Treatment programs in Southeast Iowa. Little Evil and Yote will be performing, but Merschman intends to add one or two more acts. Merschman encourages all to attend.
Merschman’s authenticity and dedication to supporting mental health in her community is deeply inspiring. Her extensive experience in the field makes her a dependable source of advice and empathy.
“I think it's really important to keep in mind that no matter how well you think you know someone, [or what they’re going through], there might be something more to every story,” she shared. “Always try to treat people with kindness. It can have a huge impact on people’s mental well-being. Individually and as a community, we need to look out for each other. Listen to people when they talk to you and offer to listen if it looks like they need someone to listen.”
I had my own experience with listening recently. A high-school student in Bent Oak Books excitedly told me about her reading list. She paused in our conversation, and I sensed hesitancy from her. She needed a little encouragement to finally tell me how much she loved anime. Other students at school mock her for this interest of hers, and she just wanted someone with whom to talk about it. Although I don’t personally get into anime, I can appreciate the art and storytelling that goes into the genre. She had a spark in her eyes, getting to tell a stranger about something she loved.
Merschman offered advice to youth: “I would tell kids the same thing I would tell anybody. If you are your authentic self, then you will find your people and your way eventually. It might be hard for a little bit, and it might suck for a little bit, but you will attract the people that you are supposed to attract for being your authentic self. I think that is worth anything you have to go through.”
Despite past discomfort, Merschman has found a way to show up as her authentic self, a way that is committed to making a difference in our community. It took me a long time to feel comfortable in my own skin, and authenticity remains an ongoing journey. Whatever your passion is, whether it’s rock music or anime, we should celebrate it and not shy away from it.