Low Cut Connie perform in The Current studio
by Mac Wilson
February 26, 2016
Adam Weiner of the band Low Cut Connie had two reasons he was happy he didn't have to bring his own piano to The Current's studio. "Shondra is the name of my piano, and she needed a break," Weiner says. "I feel very blessed to be able to play not just a gorgeous Steinway and Sons piano, but one that has been played and autographed by one of my heroes, Ian McLagan."
Low Cut Connie — comprising Weiner on piano and vocals, Dan Finnemore on guitar, James Everhart on guitar, Larry Scotton on bass and Will Donnelly on drums — were recently in the Twin Cities for a show at the Turf Club in St. Paul. During their visit, they stopped at The Current for a session hosted by Mac Wilson.
The band's single, "Boozophilia," has been enjoying airplay on The Current, and it also carries the distinction of being on President Barack Obama's summer 2015 Spotify playlist. "Having interacted a little bit with some of the folks that work with the President, I think that it was a very organic thing," Weiner says of the playlist inclusion. "It was clearly [President Obama's] choices and his music, and I think that's very interesting and very rare."
On their most recent album, Hi Honey, Low Cut Connie collaborated with Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner of tUnE-yArDs. Weiner explains that he, Garbus and Brenner enjoy a long friendship. "We worked at an arts-and-music camp in New Jersey, on a farm, in 2005, so we're talking 11 years ago," Weiner says. "We've always just stayed in touch and encouraged each other in our music and our careers and in life and all the craziness that being a professional musician in America these days brings with it. And I'm just very proud that 10-plus years later, we were able to get together on a song and still be playing music."
To close out their session at The Current, Low Cut Connie decided to pay tribute to Lou Reed and to David Bowie with a medley of covers. "They're kind of luminous in the work that they did in rock n roll, and I think that their esteem will just grow and grow and grow and grow," Weiner says about Reed and Bowie. "It's a pleasure to be able to come in here today, in a beautiful studio like this, and have a platform to honor them and to put our little stamp on their music."
Listen to the complete session to hear more from Low Cut Connie, including how they move "Shondra" around while on tour, and about what music makes the best jukebox selections while eating a hamburger.
Songs Performed
"Boozophilia"
Medley: "Foggy Notion" (Velvet Underground cover) / "Suffragette City" (David Bowie cover)
First track appears on Low Cut Connie's 2012 self-released album, Call Me Sylvia. The band's latest, Hi Honey, was released in 2015 and is available on Daptone Records.
Hosted by Mac Wilson
Produced by Anna Reed
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Images by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor
