Low Cut Connie mastermind Adam Weiner is the first to admit that he would’ve had a great time during the ‘70s glitter rock era. But that only makes him more determined to have one right now.
“Sometimes I feel like I was born at the wrong time,” Weiner said this week. “But I also feel like I’m here for the perfect moment. I get to be a torch carrier. We have a song called ‘Revolution Rock & Roll,’ where I say that if I don’t preserve it, I don’t deserve it. So many things that came before me were life-sustaining for so many people — and for me, because I found a life through rock and roll and through performance art. This is certainly not something to get into if you want to make a lot of money, or to get into the top echelons of the music business these days. But damn, it is a fun way to live your life.”
On a good night, Low Cut Connie can renew your faith in rock — or even on a good morning. This writer caught them at the New Orleans Jazzfest last May, when they had the no-glory slot of 11 a.m. They delivered a full-throttle performance, with Weiner (the only consistent member of a band that can get up to 12 pieces) throttling his piano, jumping into the crowd and even dusting off a few vintage New Orleans R&B tunes. They’ll be at the Sinclair Thursday to support a new album, “Art Dealers,” which looks back fondly at the cultural freedom of an earlier time.
“I’m fascinated by the music, film and culture from the ‘70s, because I missed it,” he says. (Weiner is in his early 40’s). “There was so much debauchery and sleaze and experimentation, but that was all over by the time I came onto the scene. I moved to New York [from Philadelphia] in 1998 and met people who were part of the punk scene and the adult film world. Many of them were just forgotten, but their spirit was ‘I don’t regret it, I lived through the most amazing time ever’. And in Philadelphia I got to talk to people who were part of the city’s R&B explosion. Most of them don’t get any glory, but they lived it all — and that’s who I wanted to write about.”
Weiner’s most prominent fans include Barack Obama, who included Low Cut Connie on one of his playlists, and Elton John, who’s namechecked the band onstage. “I wouldn’t say those endorsements have had any effect on my career per se. The unfortunate part is that the music industry hasn’t given me much — I never got signed to a label, I had to start my own. And I’ve never been on a single Spotify curated playlist. So when people like Obama, Elton John and Springsteen voice their support for what I’m doing it, really means the world.”
For him it’s still all about what happens onstage. “I’m inspired by a group of the greatest entertainers of all time that came before me — People like Tina Turner, James Brown, Freddie Mercury and my hero, Prince. People who get onstage and become the least boring person you’ve ever seen. I can’t tell you what happens when I’m onstage because my brain turns off and I’m absolutely in the moment. Afterwards people say, ‘I don’t believe you did that.’ Then they show me a video and I don’t believe I did it either.”
