I would gladly argue that the Weird Weeds are one of the most excellent bands in
Austin nowadays, and to tell the truth, I'm surprised that they aren't a little
more popular around town. Their experimental folk-pop seems like it would fit
right in with the post-Slacker crowd of 21st century Austin,
but who knows … Linklater's Austin was a long time ago, and Sixth Street likes
to party. In any case, I went to see Aaron (guitar), Nick (drums, vocals), and
Sandy (guitar, vocals) play at the Cactus Club with Baby Dee and Jonathan
Meiburg of Shearwater. All three acts played great shows, Baby Dee got a
standing ovation, and, well, I got to ask the Weird Weeds some rather normal
questions.
How did you meet?
Sandy: I met you guys at Heather's going-away party. Heather's a pedal-steel
player, but she moved to Scotland.
Nick: It was the first things I did in Austin.
Sandy: It was one of the first things I did in Austin.
Aaron: It was my first show in Austin. So how about that?
My first weekend in Austin I saw your show with Xiu Xiu at Ballet Austin but
there was a pretty drunk guy in the audience.
Nick: Yeah, there was. He was sitting right next to me. (laughs) It seems like
every time Xiu Xiu plays there's some drunk asshole in the crowd who won't stop
yelling at them.
Yeah, I heard that people threw cigarettes at them during their show before that
in Austin.
Nick: We were just talking about that.
Aaron: They got screamed at by the staff at Emo's.
Nick: Every time they play here it seems like something horrible happens to
them.
“If you don't have
anything to sell, then don't come to the sales convention.”
-Aaron
How do you guys write?
Nick: It varies. For a long time, we were making songs out of this big backlog
of guitar music that Aaron had written where we were just adding things to it.
In the last six months, it's become a little more collaborative where Sandy and
I sometimes write the bases for songs.
Now you have the Hold Me album and the This Is Not What You Want
EP?
Sandy: On the internet.
And they aren't copy-righted?
Nick: It's under Creative Commons.
Actually, our album is too. You can download it as long as you don't use it for
anything commercial.
Where did you find out about that?
Sandy: Boing Boing (laughs).
Aaron: It's pretty well known. I just sort of encountered that on the internet.
I used to run a Linux computer system … it's like the same kind of crowd might
be involved in that kind of thing. It's like the early adopters.
Nick: Music downloading guys … like the really nerdy Torrent people.
Aaron: I actually made up my own Creative Commons license a few years ago.
How many bands have you been in before this?
Aaron: Yeah, innumerable bands.
Sandy: One.
Nick: Yeah, I've been in many also. Not as many as Aaron.
Aaron: Well, it's just a factor of being old.
Nick: Yeah, you've got a ten year head start on me.
Sandy: (To Aaron) What's been your favorite band? Besides us.
Aaron: The Cherry Blossoms. It's like a folk group.
Nick: They're incredible.
Aaron: I'm still nominally a member. We were applying to play at SXSW but … it's
just like they're not trying to get ahead.
Nick: That's why they didn't get it.
Aaron: That's why they didn't get it. I mean, that's not their aesthetic.
Nick: So you can't play at the tradeshow.
Aaron: I guess that's how it seems. If you don't have anything to sell, then
don't come to the sales convention.
How was your tour? Was it the first big tour?
Nick: No, it was our third tour, the second larger one, and our first time on
the west coast. It was great overall, but there were some really unusual moments
mostly involving anything in the Rocky Mountains. Just, don't play there. Except
Denver and Littles Paia (sp?).
How did you find out about Baby Dee?
Nick: The Mountain Goats played a song by her, and it was just an incredible
song. So I looked her up on the internet, and I was just blown away by her
songs. I wrote a review of one her albums, and she contacted me. I half-jokingly
suggested that she should play a show in Texas. And here she is.
What kind of stuff have you been listening to?
Sandy: I like the Beach Boys.
Nick: I listen to Lungfish.
Aaron: I listen to the same records over and over again.
Nick: Sun City Girls.
Aaron: I'm not a real obsessive music fan. I listen to the same Nick Drake
record a couple times a week. I really like Greg Ginn, but I only have three
Black Flag records. I also listen to a lot of old blues. Skip James.
