Our story

M.f.h. (Merlis For Hire) independent public relations and consulting firm came into being 20 years ago after music industry veteran Bob Merlis, who had been Senior VP of Worldwide Corporate Communications with Warner Bros. Records, struck out on his own. In the ensuing two decades, the wide-ranging Mfh client roster has included superstars like ZZ Top, John Mellencamp, Alice Cooper, Neil Young, Etta James and Dion. Top Americana artists Carlene Carter and Asleep at the Wheel are part of the Mfh family, as are blues and soul greats Shemekia Copeland, Percy Sledge and Bobby Womack. Projects on behalf of music industry legends Mo Ostin and Joe Smith have been part of the firm’s mission as well. Mfh has also handled such music documentaries as BANG! The Bert Berns Story, Born In Chicago, Take Me To the River and My Name Is Lopez, as well as several book titles like 101 Essential Rock Records by Jeff Gold, Hollywood Eden by Joel Selvin, Billy Gibbons Rock + Roll Gearhead.

Merlis brought a superlative track record to the new endeavor but was admittedly skittish when it came to launching his own shop when his long tenure at Warner Bros. ran its course. “I knew I would be leaving at the end of March 2001 and a month or two before I went up to Vancouver where Chris Isaak was shooting his Showtime sitcom The Chris Isaak Show,” Merlis recalls. “I told him I was leaving Warner Bros., and he said, ‘People will forget you if you don’t get right back into the business.’ I was surprised, but I knew what he meant.”

Isaak, with Minnie Driver on his arm, showed up back in L.A. at the farewell party for Merlis and his longtime colleague Melenie Caldwell. Billboard’s New York-based editor-in-chief Timothy White also flew in for the event and gave it – and the accompanying launch of Mfh – a full-page photo spread in the music industry bible. Merlis recalls, “Tim said I had to start my own PR company and since Billboard kind of already reported it, I had to move forward to fulfill his vision.”

M.f.h. gets in gear

Being a renowned car afficionado, Merlis’s first project at M.f.h. was curating The Cars & Guitars of Rock ‘n’ Roll exhibition for The Petersen Automotive Museum. Cars associated with music clients Billy F Gibbons (CadZZilla), Roy Orbison (his classic Corvette Sting Ray) and Dweezil Zappa (a stunning Aston Martin) were part of the program.

ABKCO enters

“I’d been sharing an office with my friend and fellow indie publicist David Millman when a call came in in from ABKCO Records founder Allen Klein. He said, ‘We think you’re the right person to handle our forthcoming Sam Cooke album Keep Movin’ On and I swooned at the thought of being juxtaposed with the legacy of the greatest singer of all time. I almost fell out of my chair!”

ZZ Top arrives

“That was epochal for me; they were arguably the most successful act with which I was directly associated while at Warner Bros.,” says Merlis, who was always “hands-on” with the Texas trio. He has now been involved with them since the late 1970s. While ABKCO, with its Sam Cooke and Rolling Stones holdings, is a cornerstone of Mfh, Experience Hendrix, the Hendrix family company handling Jimi Hendrix’s intellectual property, brought the legacy of rock’s greatest guitarist on board. The Hendrix endeavor led to another major addition to the Mfh roster, Roy’s Boys. It’s the company formed by Roy Orbison’s sons to administer the legend’s recordings and publishing, etc. and has long been a client.

Dion, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer like ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Orbison Sam Cooke, et. al. continues a relationship that dates back many decades. “We always kept in touch, and I’ve been privileged to be his publicist since he started recording a series of blues albums in the mid-2000s. His recent Blues With Friends is just his latest success.”

Carlene Carter is also a current publicity client who goes back with Merlis to his Warner Bros. days. “I’d always been a fan and advocated on her behalf when she was first signed to Warner Bros. and was backed by The Rumour on her 1978 album debut. Years later I helped her get a contract with Warner-distributed Giant Records.” Carter would have her biggest success at Giant and returned the favor when she enlisted Mfh to publicize a club show in New York and has stayed with the firm ever since.

Merlis was also co-founder, with author David Less, of the independent Memphis International label. The company’s artists which included the likes of Carla Thomas, James Luther Dickinson, Ann Savoy and Tracy Nelson were also publicized through M.f.h..

M.f.h. is hardly a one-person operation

“Melenie is one of the longest-running relationships I’ve had with any human being to whom I’m not directly related,” says Merlis. “She’s been my aide-de-camp since 1976 and I actually pay her to nag me to do things I said I’d do! Aside from kicking my ass, note that she was responsible for booking ZZ Top’s first network TV appearance. They were guests on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and they got to perform two songs backed by Doc Severinsen and the orchestra. That was a triumph!”

“I consider myself Della Street to his Perry Mason,” she adds, citing their mutual love of the original Perry Mason TV series. “But it’s nice working with a clientele that we admire: one thing Bob told me when we started the company was that he wouldn’t bring in projects that he didn’t like or were forced on him. He only wanted artists he had an affinity for, and even now, after we’ve branched into books and films, it’s still all about the music.”

Amy Treco-Block gets on board

While Caldwell’s been “inside my head so long so knows how I work,” Merlis was a little concerned that Amy Treco (now Treco-Block) might find his admittedly scattershot methods less than endearing. “She has a very calm demeanor and has great focus, welcome attributes so much kinetic energy in the atmosphere. Surprisingly, as young as she is, she has an enhanced sense of music history.”

Previously, Amy had worked with a marketing branding company serving corporate clients and music properties associated with the likes of Paul Simon, Blink-182 and Everclear. When Merlis offered her the job, “because of his reputation” she immediately responded in the affirmative. “But he told me to think about it for 24 hours, so I called him the next day and said ‘yes’ – again! I didn’t grow up in the music industry, so it was eye-opening for me to spend time personally with legends like Neil Young, Etta James, John Mellencamp and ZZ Top and to get to understand them and their lives. And to have Bob and Melenie as mentors! They have such a wealth of knowledge and history, making M.f.h. a spectacular place to grow and cultivate my career and skills set.”

Ben Merlis: he speaks music

Unlike Amy, Ben Merlis, of course, did grow up in the music industry. “He actually plays music and speaks the language,” the senior Merlis states. “He knows the music and gear magazines and can easily talk about things I can’t. True, he got the job out of nepotism, but had he not been related he would have still merited it because he’s that good. Even though he’s related to me, he is possessed of a great organizational sense and his writing skills speak for themselves.”

When Ben attended a screening of the 2013 documentary Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train a Comin’, he marveled: “I can’t believe I have anything to do with the greatest guitarist who ever lived!” Looking back now, he relates, “Of course, we had already been working for many years with Experience Hendrix, but the surreality of it struck me on an emotional level at that moment.” Here he follows his father’s lead. “I’m most passionate about connecting with legacies that we’re all so impressed with and influenced by,” says Bob Merlis.

Bob submits a golden career moment with Dion, via a song from his 1976 album Streetheart. “One time we were going to lunch in my ’55 Studebaker, and he started singing, a cappella, ‘Lover Boy Supreme.’ Can you imagine? Dion is singing in the back seat! I can’t believe I’m living this life....”