Description
Weed Patch Maybe The Brakes Will Fail (Ohgrowupalready Records) Weed Patch is the project of Neal Weiss, a native Angeleno songwriter/strummer/journalist/family man/errand boy/emotional wanderer/left fielder/coffee addict/shooting guard/happy drunk, who finally got his shit together to record an album some 14 years after forming his first real band, and easily three decades since his first bout of adolescent rock 'n' roll ecstasy. Weiss hooked up with studio wizard and multi-instrumentalist Seth Rothschild (from acclaimed indie-pop outfit Gingersol) in a North Hollywood warehouse as time allowed between the summers of 2001 and 2002 to hash out his debut album, Maybe The Brakes Will Fail. Phone calls were made and soon Weiss was surrounded by musicians far more talented than he deserved, including bassist/vocalist Gary Eaton (Continental Drifters, Ringling Sisters), drummer Adam Maples (Earthlings?, Sea Hags, Legal Weapon), the Minibar rhythm section of Sid Jordan and Malcolm Cross, multi-instrumentalist Ben Peeler (Wallflowers, Minibar, Mavericks), Kip Brown (Shock, Little Girls), and solo artist/vocalist, Grey DeLisle. Weiss admits, most pretentiously, gun pointed at head, that Weed Patch aims to mash together indie-rock and Americana in a sound he refers to as 'fucked up folk.' He wishes it recalled later-day Wilco and Sparklehorse, with nods to such personal Jesuses as Dylan, Neil Young, the Velvet Underground and the Replacements. 'I should be so lucky,' he jokes. A lifelong writer, Weiss cracks open the mindset of a semi-adjusted, slightly-off-kilter suburban thirtysomething life with themes of restlessness, rebirth, and love, both lost and found. 'I know I'm not very rock at this point in my life, but that's fine,' he says. 'Maybe this is for the rest of us.' Fast forward to the summer of 2003, and Weed Patch has become a full-fledged, 16-limbed, 40-fingered rock outfit, featuring Weiss (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Brown (guitars, vocals), Robinson (bass, vocals), and Marty Rosamond (drums, percussion). That quartet has lent it's own voice to Patch songs old and new, making for a spirited, sometimes ragged flurry of rock, pop, and Americana under the hot lights and oppressive sound systems of L.A.'s finest and not-so-finest clubs. 'After only a few gigs we realized we had a pretty good thing going on,' Weiss says. 'Often, I forget where I am. That's gotta mean we're doing something right.' PRESS: 'This guttering, swerving record consists of 12 undeniable tracks ranging from breezy country rock (cool) to sheer noisy mayhem (even cooler). The sonic and continuity limitations of recording in a Los Angeles warehouse over the course of a year serve to make this record more disconnected and haunting -- like 5 a.m. jitters.' -- Performing Songwriter 'A full-blooded alt-country opus...' -- CMJ New Music Monthly 'Missing link between early-REM and Wilco...' -- Los Angeles Times 'Like a scuffed-up silver dollar found among last night's trash on Venice Beach, Maybe The Brakes Will Fail is the kind of discovery that can start your day right.' -- All Music Guide.
