880 SOUTH INTERVIEW
For one of The Pier’s first interviews it seems appropriate that we spend some time with a veteran from the scene, 880 South’s front man Weege. First starting as the Floppy Rods way back in 1998, this San Jose band has evolved into the sizzling reggae soul act now known as 880 South. Below is a real personal interview that gives some great insights into 880 South and what is coming up for them on the horizon. At the bottom of the interview is a great announcement of a future treat for 'the Pier' visitors.
The Pier: Hey Weege. For those readers who may be unfamiliar with you guys, can you give our readers a brief run-down on where 880 South grew from and how you evolved from the Floppy Rods? Weege: The name 880 South obviously came from a freeway, but the concept came from my daily struggles. Literally when I left San Jose for Texas, I was struggling big time. I left because I couldn’t find work, couldn’t make a living, and couldn’t get my act together enough to devote to music. I was literally stumped, like writers block, but it was more like a wall. So to remind myself of that, I had thought of the freeway I drove daily to go to work, find a job, go to practice, play shows, visit friends, get drunk and take a taxi cab home and pretty much get me everywhere. That was 880 South. The freeway that unites Oakland to San Jose to Santa Cruz (17).
I used to be an auto parts delivery driver for a while, so I frequently drove down 880 South thinking of some of my best material (City Ditty for example). I thought long and hard about a name and 880 South just fit. It also was the one freeway that united the band, we drove to practice and we had to take 880 South. We all lived in different parts of San Jose & Campbell. 880 was the freeway we drove daily and it gives me the sense that we’re always going somewhere as long as we’re 880 South.
The Floppy Rods was a funk driven rock band, and not only was the style different, but the songwriting formula was different, and the music was pretty much guitar and rhythm section. The vocals in FR were more like the equivalent of a tambourine or a percussionist. I don’t think it’s such a bad thing, but definitely made it hard for someone like myself to write lyrics to.
In the beginning Greg was our songwriter, he wrote the music, thought of a catchy hook, and I came in and supplemented lyrics. The music was fun, energetic, but it was hard to sing to, and at times not as fun for me to sing to. I grew up on soul, mo-town, classic rock, reggae, and hip hop. So the tempo was always a bit more disco than I’d prefer. Everyone had a bit more say than I did in a sense. Even though I wrote lyrics, it just never felt like…my music. I did enjoy it though and it taught me a lot about myself.
By the time 2002 rolled around I was burned out and I felt like things weren’t progressing. So the Floppy Rods movement began to dissipate, and I became a slacker. It was sad because I always felt, the ingredients were right, it was just the recipe was wrong. So by the time I got into writing my own music and lyrics, well…it all came together. I realized I’m a better singer when I’m singing something from the heart and something I experienced firsthand. It was just more personal I guess. So writing my own music was my destiny and this is how 880 South came to be. Even some of the fun party drinkin’ songs are dear to me. I look at 880 South and I feel it’s a lesson to be learned, not a lesson to be given. I can't force people to feel the way I do, but I know they eventually will understand. They are just personal experiences when it comes to the 880 material. Whereas the Floppy Rods material was just fun good times fiction.
The Pier: So how has the response been to your debut album ‘Beware’ that you released last year? Has it met your expectations? Weege: Beware has exceeded my expectations. We knew our music was good, we knew our formula was right, we just didn't know how far our arms reached out. Our feedback and reviews have been great. Our shows have been sellouts, our fans are the best there is. It's amazing that we can reach places like Florida, Philly, Cleveland, Seattle, and Texas without even touring there.
Our only regret was releasing a good vibes summertime album in the winter. Still things worked out great. We can say we were late, but we try and tell ourselves we were a whole year early. Hah! However, thank god for iTunes. It really has helped us pay the bills and progress. People just don’t buy CDs like they used to. Hats off to the digital generation. Even though CD quality is still ten times better.
The Pier: Yeah, give me CDs any day. Your cd is now available in Japan. That must be exciting you are getting exposed to a whole new audience? Weege: I sort of freaked when I saw how much we sold in Japan, and mostly because I dunno how we became popular there. I mean word of mouth works ten times greater in a foreign country I guess. I think our Japan sales are equal to California & Florida sales. I really want to tour there. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan and Australia. So yeah, it's amazing that our music speaks to people in Japan. I just wish they could understand how grateful we are of them. I write emails, but I never get responses. Anybody wanna translate for me? Bob? George? Help!
The Pier: One of my personal favorite songs from Beware is the song ‘Effects of Sunshine’ . At first it sounds like it could be a theme for the Pier, but the underbelly of the song is really about a girl cheating on someone. Is this based on a real story? Weege: My stories are always true. Sometimes I might take personal experiences and mix them with an experience of a friend. Sometimes I might write about more than one girl. Effects of Sunshine is just literally about the typical young love story meeting it’s end every time summer comes around. I say that I'm a story teller, but sometimes I tell more than one story in a song. It seems every summer I would hear about someone getting cheated on. But that was years ago. So I won’t beat around the bush. Yes it was a true story. The first verse is about an X who strung me along, the 2nd is about a club-rat that I almost made my girlfriend. I think the song can work both ways, girls don’t just go crazy in the summertime. It’s a 2-way street man.
The Pier: Nah, guys are perfect. Hahaha, just kidding. You have been in a band longer than MySpace has been around? How has that medium and other like friend sites helped you guys develop a following compared to your early days? Weege: Sweet mother of pearl! I am getting old aren’t I? I started music in 1998. If I had MySpace when we first started the Floppy Rods. We’d probably be way ahead of where we are now. We’re still getting there, but that 2-3 year hiatus has set us back. I mean we headlined over a lot of bands who right now headline over us. It took a minute to get used to, but those bands worked hard and deserve it.
MySpace has been HUGE for us. Even though lately I’ve noticed a decline, possibly from all the advertisement spam, and all the fake profiles. It’s kind of annoying. My favorite thing to see on MySpace is bands who have 10,000 plus “friends” on their profile. I’ve gandered from time to time. Not out of jealousy, just curiosity. And for the most part, some of these bands are dope. But I’ve also played with some of these bands. A lot of them, don’t have a draw. So clearly somebody went a little crazy with the “add me” button one night or 26 nights in a row it seems.
All I know is, 880 South is genuine. You might find some fake profiles in our friends list, other people promoting their asses off, but 80 something % of our friends added us. I can’t prove it though, but I know it in my heart. That’s why I say, we have the dopest fans in the world. I truly feel like anytime we play a show I can have logic, honest conversations with our fans, cause they’re like family to us. They get us, they get the music, they get what 880 South is all about... Roots. So even in this technological world we're living in, we definitely feel MySpace and our website (880south.com) has been a major benefit to our careers. It's especially great for any independent musician.
The Pier: Yeah, hopefully MySpace will help The Pier build interest in our site. I hear you have started recording for a new release? What can you tell me about it as this stage? Weege: This is now my 4th time recording professionally. It’s hard work. It’s fun, but it’s harder than most people would think. We’re about 60% completed, but we still have tons to do. We are hoping for a September release. We don’t want to release another CD in the winter. So we’re pushing hard.
I had to write a lot of new material which has been a lot of fun, because I’ve been trying to expand my songwriting beyond girls and drinking. Which I think I accomplished on a smaller scale with “Beware”. Still love is a big part of my life, and I am always gonna sing and write about heartbreak, fallin’ in love, and making love. I also write about living, dying, working, and dreaming big. I haven’t really written anything political before, I have, but none of it has made it to 880 South yet. I haven’t figured out why, maybe it’s because I’m not a very political person. Politics let me down, no matter what side you’re on.
I tried to bring back some old material I never thought would work for 880 South. But after we jammed them out, I couldn’t believe I didn’t push these songs earlier on. So the new stuff is gonna level ya. We also did bring back 2 old Floppy Rods songs that we regularly play live "Sex On the Beach" and "Amigos Borrachos", just to keep the party vibe in there somewhere.
I did do a blog on 880south.com about the recording process back on June 28th (check it out here). I think a lot of folks would dig that read, it’s pretty detailed and informative about how we get our music on disc. I think it’s especially helpful to the people who aren’t musicians or haven’t been around a recording studio. Since I don’t speak like the average musician, I think I translate it well. Check it out if you get a chance.
The Pier: You heard the man check it out. So how does an 880 South song usually take shape? Is the writing process usually fairly smooth or does it ever get a little heated? Weege: This is from my personal blog on 880 South. "It goes something like this. I strum somethin’ on my guitar at home, I play it for Greg and Steve. We fool and fiddle with the tempo and vibe of the song. Aaron gets the groove goin’, plays his ideas, we go back and forth. Greg noodles with his bass-line for a bit. I nag at Steve for changin’ it too much, he swears at me with a Russian accent, Greg gets dirty looks from Aaron, Aaron throws a stick. I give up on the song. 5 minutes later, we try it again. All of the sudden, it's magic. It all comes together.
Seriously, we just jam shit out till we're happy, we go back and forth. Try different tempos and different feels. I try and give them my idea of what the song should sound like so they can nail it down. Obviously that changes, and sometimes I might go, nah, that's not good for reggae, let’s try it more hip hop or more soul and pop vibe. Shit like that is what makes us versatile. I basically bring a very basic version of my song to them. They work it out to be a musical masterpiece. Haha! When Greg writes he pretty much has an idea of what he wants before hand and we get around 90% close to what he envisioned. It varies. He hasn't written as many songs as he did in the past. So a lot of his songs are months in the works, but they are crowd pleasers."
It never gets heated, not like it used to. In the days of FR, we would argue in a sense, but we wouldn't do it with our mouths, we'd just annoy each other, or be stubborn and play what we wanted hah! I think between Greg who I had known the longest and Aaron who was always like the big brother in the band. It was tough for me to express what I thought. Not to mention I wasn't as talented as any of them were, so I felt like I shouldn't express myself. That was a huge mistake on my behalf. I should have spoken up from the get go.
FR wasn't all bad, we had some great moments, but we bottled our feelings up a lot! We fixed that the day we got together at a local Campbell bar called 'Boswell's'. Steve's jazz band was playin’. We decided, hey look, we're adults, and we should respect each other this time around. So we agreed, no more pussy footin’ around with our words, no more walking on eggshells, no more bottling up. So now when we write, we say what we want and nobody gets their feelings hurt because we all know ahead of time we're not saying shit to offend each other. We're just expressing our feelings. People might get the vibe that I'm this ego-maniac who controls the band, but I'd like to think I'm pretty fair about the songwriting process. I know what I want, but I don't close my ears to suggestions.
The Pier: So is there any new sounds or directions you are experimenting with at the moment that might make the new album? Weege: We always bring the reggae vibe, but this album definitely has more reggae than ever. We obviously love funk and soul. However, we've infused a few new ingredients as of late. Bossanova, Blues, Latin, a tinge of Folk, Jazz Elements, we even wrote a Reggae jam in lullaby form. Very simple and very sweet. I think it's titled "Trust In Me", but I might change that. I think that's a 2pac song. I can't remember. So far my favorite new songs are "Out to Sea", "It's Too Easy", "Apartment 28", and Greg's song "You Can Feel It Huh?".
The Pier: I can’t wait to hear it. Now is it true you and Greg are/or about to be proud fathers? How do you think this new responsibility may impact on the music you write? Weege: I think the two of us already write some awesome material because we have so much background and history. It can only get better if you ask me. Who knows maybe our 3rd album will be a double album. That’d be nice.
I definitely think being fathers will change our perspective, but I'm pretty sure it won't change our personalities and outlooks on life. Greg will still drink Bud Light, and I will still drink Hefeweizen. Even though I went and bought a mini-van. I still blast the stereo and my daughter is gonna eat, sleep, and poop rock n' roll. After all, her name is Marley. With her mama's looks, and my voice, she might be ten times better than her daddy. I hope at least.
The Pier: Ok that kid is going to have one of the coolest names at school. How have the shows been this year? Any favorites? Weege: I enjoy all of our shows, even the crappy occasional dive bar gig. We've done some of the most interesting private parties. One was a Mexican wedding and I shit you not, it was in the middle of a bull ring. It was dope.
I think bringin’ the Expendables back in March was my fav thus far. It was nice to get them back in our hometown. They have helped 880 South so much in the last few years. A lot of bands wouldn’t return our calls from the Floppy Rods days. You really find out who your friends are when your band breaks up. I think all of our best shows have been with the Expendables in the last 2 years anyway.
We did have one of the weirdest but coolest shows at a frat party. I'm talkin’ 1,000 kids dressed up like cowboys and cowgirls in some back yard, lasted about 2 hours before the cops came, but it was an awesome party. Took me back to when I dropped out of college. Hah! I would like to play more with WhoGAS, Whiskey Avengers and there are a few bands we're yet to play with from the Bay Area.
I'd love to tour the East Coast all together. We just aren't financially ready. We are working hard with our new manager and sponsor Left Coast Boardwear. Things will pick up this year, I'm sure of it. I think this last year we were just a little sidetracked with weddings, babies, and life in general. Also the CD did way better nationally than we expected. So the timing to plan a tour was kinda snug. Not to mention we had to make a little money to start spendin’ money. Did you know it costs us $250 to drive back and forth to LA? I wish the venues we play at would take that into consideration.
The Pier: Damn those petrol prices, yeah it all adds up. What other bands do you enjoy playing shows with? Weege: Back in the Floppy Rods days we loved playing with Salmon, MIRV, Fishbone, Slightly Stoopid, DubCat, Bargain Music, the Ziggens and Frank Jordan.
In the 880 South era? Definitely love playing with the Expendables, Fishbone, WhoGAS and Whiskey Avengers. I'll tell you why. We're competitive, and it's not because we wanna beat anyone out, or we wanna be the best performer that night…. ok maybe we do, but we feel when we play with kickass bands, they make us play ten times better. When we play with newcomers and folks with less stage experience, it doesn't feel so challenging. Kinda cocky of us huh? It's just our nature. I think its fun for us cause we compliment any of these bands and make for a better show all together.
The Pier: So for those folk who haven’t caught an 880 South show how would you describe it? Weege: Explicit Amazing Joyful Orchestrated Chaos.
A slight chance of nakedness. Hold the mayo. Seriously, our crowd varies. You might see the teensters on one side, folks in their 20s up in the middle, and folks in their 30s on the other, you ALWAYS see good lookin’ women at our show (The Pier edior - I’m already there). I know I'm corny for saying that, but it's not just a way for me to market our shows, we seriously have good looking "women" at our shows of all ages. Always.
We don't do many all ages shows, but when we do, the build-up is in so much demand it makes for a really huge audience. We would do more All Ages shows, but there aren't enough venues in the South Bay. As for the music, expect a blend of everything we do in the past and the present. We always try and bring something new, throw in a good classic rock cover, sometimes we'll crank out a Marley tune or a Sublime tune. We showcase ourselves, but we also try and interact with our audience. So you will hear us crackin’ on each other on stage and we love to make people laugh.
The Pier: So can you be a ‘good-time’ band and be taken seriously too? Weege: Absolutely. I love this subject. We had a radio showcase at KSCU.org (103.3 FM) and the subject of Downtown San Jose bands (which we are not one of if you ask me) and their material. How most of it is about drinkin’ and partying. The topic was about how the San Jose scene, especially the reggae rock scene is about drinking, pussy and parties.
The DJ asked, ‘is the material written because the crowd is generally a drinking crowd or is that all San Jose has to offer?’ I won’t speak for any other bands, as I respect any artist trying to get their music heard. Do we write about these things? Absolutely. Is that all we write about? Absolutely not. In fact when you think of songs like “C20H25N3o”, which is clearly about LSD. I'm not praising it, I'm not trying to get people to drop acid. I'm telling folks how incredibly insane I was, and in a sense clueless. Did I have a good time? Hell yes. Would I do it again? Well...not now, but I wouldn't take it back.
"Drinks Are On Me", I know for a fact this song pumps people up to drink Jaeger bombs and Jameson shots. I didnt' write to influence it, but...I was telling a story, about young men turning 21. We all go through a phase in life, this was one that happened to be a lot of fun. Music to me, should be honest, and it should be about experiences and memories. From beginning to end, every song on "Beware" is about either a crazy, amazing, or touching moment in my life. I'm not a poet, I'm a story teller. I happen to like to make fun of myself, and I like to talk about my family, and my friends. I'm like a stand up comic, just not as funny.
880 South is about growing up. I think that's why 880 South fans are so tight, because we are all growing up together. At the same time, even the youngsters can relate. As a new father, I now realize how important it is to be completely honest with our children, teens, and families. I've been given a lot of grief from people about my material. 5 years ago I would have let it effect me, now I realize. I can only be myself and if folks don't accept it, they don't have to listen to me. I'm not trying to get their kids in trouble. I'm just telling stories that might seem like I'm glorifying some stupid crazy times in my life, but in reality I'm raggin’ on myself for being so naive. Laughing at myself in a sense.
I think people get a little carried away with the seriousness in music. I love bands like Strata, they rock, but I don't always feel the way they do. I just think 880 South is a perfect blend of positive vibes and stimulating and encouraging verbal nourishment for the heartbroken, drunk, and sad. Smile damn you! I command thee!
The Pier: Right on. Everyone has to grow up in their own way. Now for a completely different non-music question. What’s your favorite beach that you like to go to and why? Weege: Pleasure Point for peace and quiet & Capitola when I was young (lots of hot women). I'm not really picky. Hidden Beach was a hilarious moment for me, it is the beach that inspired the FR song "Sex On the Beach". Those are just Santa Cruz beaches off the top of my head. Black Beach is nice too. I also enjoyed the Texas beaches down in South Padre Island, very peaceful, long, and lots of cool nature to check out. Sea Turtles come their once a year to lay eggs, I've only seen pictures, but one day I'll catch it.
I also love Ocean Beach in San Diego, we played Winston's a long time ago and I spent most of the day leading up to the show on the beach. Growin’ up we'd hit up places like Ensenada Beach in Mexico and do some ATV ridin’. That was a lot of fun. I also enjoy lakes, dirty as they are, it's fun going out and boating, fishing, drinkin’...ooh good combo huh? Here comes the hate mail. "You're a bad influence on my kid!" Ok so I only heard that 2 times in my life.
Great stuff. The Pier would like to thank Weege for his time.
For more 880 South info check out:
Beware can be purchased online here
Super exciting announcement - Now since Weege is such a great guy he has volunteered his time to write an advice column for up-and-coming new bands exclusive to The Pier. Look out for the first one shortly. In the meantime e-mail any questions you may have to: askWeege@thepier.org