DISPOSED - - WEEKENDER / / GLENN VAN DYKE
If Brian Wilson and Bilinda Butcher were to have sex, Tom Anthony would be sandwiched in the middle. Tom Anthony is the guitarist for Weekender, a psych pop band from Philadelphia, and Tom Anthony would undoubtedly be, in his mind, caressing his way into some sort of threesome record book. “Is it weird I came up with Brian Wilson first?”
It’s a rhetorical question, posed after the group unabashedly validates his choices with nods and quiet mutterings of intrigue; “ooo.” When Derek Sheehan, Weekender’s front man and songster answers the same question, [one male and one female musician dead or alive to sleep with] Tom, disapproving of Sheehan’s lackadaisical “...Scarlett Johannson?,”offered up Britney Spears, Adele, and Lady Gaga as potential partners for Sheehan’s hypothetical orgy including Paul Simon who was a shoe-in for Derek. “He’s a cute man,” he says. Despite Anthony’s reservations, Johansson's 2008 album does technically qualify her as a musician, and it’s hard to imagine Paul Simon having a strong opposing opinion, so why not throw her back into the mix? “I think I’d go with Katy Perry,” Nic Sheehan, drummer and Derek’s younger brother, pipes in. “I tried to think of someone funnier or more classic like Stevie Nicks, but...yeah, Katy Perry.” Unrefined honesty is most appreciated in these hypothetical personal exercises, and the brothers Sheehan, as far as I can tell, are top notch humans.
Meanwhile, Emily Cahill (bass) and her boyfriend are discussing the gross logistics behind an orgy with The Strokes, which they both would admittingly regret afterwards. Officially her choices are Hope Sandoval and Axl Rose, but I’m still imagining the courting process with which Cahill and her beau would coerce Julian Casablancas to be naked in the same room with Albert Hammond Jr.
Aside from explicit fantasies, Weekender have plenty to offer. They recently opened for Future Islands down in Savannah, GA. as part of Savannah Stopover, and I would expect to see them continuing that momentum. With their reverb rinsed guitars, soft, airy vocals, flanged up bass lines, and generally dreamy wash, Weekender definitely fall into the psychedelic pool. Structurally though, they’re sitting with the pop kids. I could easily imagine them as the cool band a lonely character would bring his long time crush to see on a first date in the next installment of My So Called Life.
They’ve got bluesy guitar riffs that hook you like Jesus and the Mary Chain and vocal melodies that conjure Brian Jonestown vibes. Check out the spread of photos from our night together and their video for the single ‘Spanish Peaks’ below. Then head over to their bandcamp to listen to the full EP out on Paper Cup Music.
