The Weathered Heads
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The Weathered Heads

Winona, Minnesota, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF

Winona, Minnesota, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2012
Band Rock Pop

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Mid West Music Fest 2014: An Abundance of Riches"

"Over at the Eagles Club, jam band the Weathered Heads played a well-rehearsed set accented by great saxophone and a tight rhythm section for an age-diverse crowd; they had a computer set up in the corner for fans to take selfies." - The Current


"Weathered Heads Review"

“With a sound that exudes sincerity, The Weathered Heads have a classic feel with just the right amount of creative edge that makes them familiar yet unique. Folk, soul, rock n roll, this band hits the nail on the head of each of these genres, effortlessly blending them or expressing them in their purest forms. Craig’s crisp voice dances above the band’s tight playing and fantastic instrumentation, and always gets the crowd on the floor, with even the most critical club goers bobbing their heads in approval. Whenever they approach me to book a gig, my answer is always, emphatically, ‘hell yeah!’.” - Ed Hoffman - owner and manager of Eds (no name) Bar in Winona, MN


"The Weathered Heads rock in the shadow of Sugar Loaf"

On one of the last cold nights of January, three members of the Weathered Heads unwound on a blue leather couch in their rehearsal space in Winona. Lead vocalist Craig Weatherhead explained that the band were recovering from a weekend of traveling between Minneapolis for a show at the Cabooze and Duluth for a show at the Redstar Lounge. The Weathered Heads have been playing songs from their new album, The Sinner, to be released on Saturday.

The band have been a favorite at Ed’s No Name Bar in Winona, known for bringing large crowds and an explosion of energy to each show. With the band’s grooves, brotherly banter, and an occasional beard stroke from bass player Andy Bauer, the group are as entertaining to watch as they are engaging to hear.

“We love our music and we love each other. Wherever we go, we like to be the life of the party,” said Weatherhead. “We’re always doing goofy stuff on the stage—especially during solos, we’re playing off of each other.”

“If we’re enjoying playing it, we’re doing something right,” agreed drummer Nick Novotny. “Oh man! In Duluth, Jonathan lost his mind in that solo! I’ve never heard him do that solo so well. You can tell when he’s getting really into it,” Novotny laughed, “because there’s that one vein that just pops out of his head.”

“When we’re performing, I’m having the time of my life. I’ll get so into it that I’ll let out a sort of primal scream,” laughed Bauer.

The music began over four years ago with Weatherhead scribbling ideas for songs in his bedroom, and in 2012 the Weathered Heads were born. Initially the band included Weatherhead’s high school friends, the so-called “Winona kids,” including Chris Bullard on lead guitar and Jonathan Birdsall on saxophone. Eventually, they expanded the band to a few students associated with Saint Mary’s University when they met Bauer and keyboardist Trevor Woggon.

A year ago, Novotny joined the Weathered Heads on drums. As the most recent member and the youngest of the Weathered Heads by a few years, Novotny has been given the nickname “Little Baby Nick” by the rest of the band. He seems to relish in his role in a band that the members describe as very familial. Their playful friendship is evident when they perform.

“There’s such an interesting overlap in instruments. Craig starts out with the skeleton of the song, and nowadays, the three of us will write together,” said Bauer. “Then we we’ll work it out with the rest of the band.”

The Weathered Heads struggle to define their sound. They describe themselves as a combination of rock, pop, and jam. “When it comes down to it, I think we are rock and roll, or eclectic rock,” said Bauer. “Our style has become very organic for us. We know each other and each other’s strengths.” Most members of the Weathered Heads have some experience with jazz and improvisation, which influences their style.

“We struggle to define our sound a lot. Dave Matthews is a comparison we get a lot. I mean, it’s clearly there, but we are influenced by a lot of musicians. We all bring in different influences,” said Weatherhead.

The Weathered Heads say that their audience spans all ages, but they’re particularly popular among college students and 20-somethings. “We love our audience, and we love to see people genuinely raging,” said Weatherhead. “I just love looking out and seeing these guys get amped.”

The six members of the Weathered Heads look forward to performing at their album release party on Saturday at Ed’s. The show will be a celebration of their album as well as Novotny’s (Little Baby Nick’s) one-year anniversary with the band. General B and the Wiz will open, as will Ruben. - The Current


"The Weathered Heads: Sinners, Saints & Schydes"

How many college-aged dudes does it take to plug in a light bulb? Well, I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know it takes roughly six in the case of The Weathered Heads to plug into the ideal jam pop outfit. They offer a seamless blend of unpretentious rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, jam, soul, and pop. While six members may seem superfluous to some, it is certainly not where these guys are concerned. You will find no frivolous use of the tambourine or sexy background singer eye candy here. Each member brings a unique piece and critical function to the group and they’re somehow all doing something that gets noticed. Whether it be Woggon’s keyboard mastery, Andy Bauer’s soulful grooves, Bullard’s scorchers, Nick Novotny’s commanding back beat, Birdsall’s reinforcing sax riffs, or Craig Weatherhead’s adept songwriting and musicianship—you’ll be drawn from one to the next at different points in the show. It’s basically like how the Power Rangers were pretty tough individually, but you knew they were going to be way better when they teamed up and became Megazord. See them this Saturday at Ed’s (no name) Bar for the release of their debut album, “The Sinner”.


The Interview Part:

You guys formed in Winona, correct? When was that and how did it happen?

Yeah we formed in Winona. Originally it was myself, Johnny, and Chris playing together and we formed back in 2012. So we’ve been playing together for quite a while, figuring out each other’s styles, learning how each other operates, and so on. We went to get some pricing quotes on recording a demo back in 2012 with Brett Huus over at Soundstrations in La Crosse, WI. Andy was actually interning for him at the time—we didn’t know him at this point. We didn’t have the funds at the time to go through Brett, and we got a message from Andy later asking if we’d be interested in having him record for us. So after the demo is recorded, I find out he plays bass. At this point, we don’t have a bass player, and Andy is an awesome guy so we ask him to join. Andy introduced us to Trevor. Andy and Trev introduced us to Little Baby Nick. Andy, Trevor, and Nick all go/went to school over at Saint Mary’s University. Chris, Jonathan, and I are all townies and went to Winona Senior High School.

This Saturday is the release of your debut album, The Sinner. What is the title referring to—pent up Catholic school guilt?

Haha, the title comes from one of the tracks off the album called “The Sinner”. Basically I think it’s fairly catchy, and we just love that song. We try not to get too involved with serious matters like religion, but I suppose by naming the album that we are asking for it. We like to let people interpret song lyrics on their own, because a song may mean something to a person, and something completely different to another person, and we like that as opposed to telling people exactly what they should be thinking of while listening.

Ok, so what are you guys giving up for Lent then?

For lent we’ll be giving up The Dirty Thirty at MC’s (forever known as Schydes). Also, Inter-band communication. Our only means of communication will be YouTube videos that are responses. For example, if Trevor wants his pillow we would respond with a YouTube video of Arwen from Lord of the Rings saying “if you want him, come and claim him”.

Where and how was The Sinner recorded and who will be producing it?

We did everything ourselves. Andy recorded and mixed everything at 4th and Kansas (his house). We tracked some drums at Saint Mary’s, but a huge majority was done at Andy’s house. Over the summer, Nick also lived there so on top of recording it was just the spot to be so it really became everyone’s second home. Our buddy Camden Webster from C-Side Productions mastered it. He’s great at what he does and is so easy to work with.

I assume the band name the Weathered Heads comes from Craig’s last name which is Weatherhead. What would you have named the group had Craig’s last name been Radiohead?

See now the name wasn’t something that came about right away. For a couple years we were known as Black Magic and then we changed it when we added Andy, Trev, and Nick…and also because we’re not an 80s metal band haha. We threw around tons of ideas for new names, and I think it was Andy that actually came up with the one that stuck (The Weathered Heads) because it fit with my last name and some of the other options that we were throwing around. If my last name was Radiohead, I think we’d probably have to disregard everything though and go with the Walter Cronkite Tribute Band, Larry Birds and The Eagle, or Meeser Tucker and The Dawgs. Or maybe Wizard dinner.

I’m sure having 6 people in a band can be trying at times, just as it can be a lot of fun. Briefly define each member of the band’s personality with a different cinematic character. For example, our bassist Andy is Ash from Evil Dead because…

We actually need to go between cinematic films and television characters to get some accurate descriptions:

Jonathan – Dr. Shepard (McDreamy) from Grey’s Anatomy or Lone Starr from Spaceballs because most people think he’s very handsome and also because he thinks he’s #sick

Chris – Wall-E or HAL 9000 (the robot from 2001: a space odyssey) because Chris is a robot and you never know what you’re going to get, but every once in a while you get feelings from him and he makes you feel things.

Nick – Dug (the dog) from UP because if you have a problem with Nick Novotny you have a problem with life.

Craig – Admiral Adama from Battlestar Galactica. An amicable leader who is not afraid to buckle down and make the hard choices when needed. Trevor picked that one for me. Anything from BSG is full nerd status, but I’m a nerd so I’m fine with it. That’s how you get fans right? Battlestar Galactica references?

Andy – Walter from The Big Lebowski and Gimli from Lord of the Rings because he is cantankerous and will ALWAYS have the dude’s back, no matter what.

Trevor – Del Griffith from Planes Trains and Automobiles and Dennis Ledry from Jurassic Park. No explanation necessary.

Any plans to tour now that the album is finished or any upcoming gigs you’re excited about besides the big Ed’s album release party?

Nick is still in school. Chris is in med school in Duluth. Jonathan works and is prepping for med school in Iowa City. The rest of us work around here. Needless to say, scheduling is a nightmare for us, so no full blown tours at the moment though it’s something I know we all really want to tackle. Next weekend on 2/27 we’ll be playing at 331 Club with Ruben and Church Dads to have an album celebration in Minneapolis. Other than that, we’re got plans to hit up Minneapolis, Duluth, Rochester, La Crosse, the Chicago area, and a coupe festivals come April and May. - The Noisy Neighbor


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

Photos

Bio

"The Weathered Heads offer a seamless blend of unpretentious rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, jam, soul, and pop. While six members may seem
superfluous to some, it is certainly not where these guys are
concerned. You will find no frivolous use of the tambourine or sexy
background singer eye candy here. Each member brings a unique piece and
critical function to the group and they’re somehow all doing something
that gets noticed. Whether it be Woggon’s keyboard mastery, Andy Bauer’s
soulful grooves, Bullard’s scorchers, Nick Novotny’s commanding back
beat, Birdsall’s reinforcing sax riffs, or Craig Weatherhead’s adept
songwriting and musicianship—you’ll be drawn from one to the next at
different points in the show. It’s basically like how the Power Rangers
were pretty tough individually, but you knew they were going to be way
better when they teamed up and became Megazord." - Todd Hanson, The
Noisy Neighbor

Band Members