Weekend, a term beloved by all and now extra loud. These three boys from Oakland, California make music you might find ranked in the shoegaze or post-punk section among predecessors Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (in 1985) and Pale Saints (in their noisier moments), though these comparisons don’t quite capture the echo in all of their songs. They sound like what I imagine a trip to the moon feels like—losing all bearing of space and time, blasting through star-streaked galactic tunnels, then floored by the deep black expanse. It’s concurrently heavy and light, rough and delicate, and it’s on two albums: full-length Sports and EP Red (both just released in Japan). The boys of Weekend will be in town with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart for three shows next week; but before you skip to the show info (at the bottom), here is some fodder for conversation if you happen to find these fellows face-to-face, brought to you by guitarist Kevin Johnson.
So for those just walking in, how long have you guys been together?
Officially…something just over 2 years?
Those relationship start dates are always tricky. But you and Shaun have been friends, musically tied, from a pretty young age; was Weekend your first project together?
No, our first musical project was playing Green Day and Filter bass lines while the rest of our 6th grade band class followed the teacher. Very avant-garde.
Very. What effect has it had, growing up with a band member?
Shaun and I have been through a lot together, outside of the band. I think that helps put things in perspective when the going gets tough. I also think the longer you know someone the more honest you are with them.
That’s solid best man material, and solid for band stability, too, I’d think. You three really do spend an awful lot of time together—not only touring, but you’re housemates, too. What’s that like?
Yeah, we do, and it actually hasn’t been a problem at all. I was friends with both the guys before we were in a band together. We’re not some Craigslist band that plays together but secretly hates one another, we like hanging out and we have a lot of fun on tour. That being said, we all have escapes; spending time with family or friends, getting outdoors, being alone—all that stuff helps you recharge and come back to the band fresh.
So what’s your escape spot?
I go on long bike rides into the Oakland hills to relax. Going anywhere on a bike is calming for me, I feel in control and connected to my body—cars stress me out. My mom also lives in San Francisco, so I like going to her house and getting fed. We smoke weed together and talk about life.
Man, that makes me miss California. More on home stuff, your band is particularly well known for how loudly you play; does the volume carry over to your home life, or is music more of a detail as you’re cooking dinner? Or maybe I should first ask:
Do you cook? and, Do you listen to a lot of music at home?
As I write this it’s about 1am and our roommate Matt is blasting “Eyes Without a Face” and making breakfast burritos. Abe is actually a pretty good cook and will bust out some good authentic Mexican dishes once and a while. I was vegetarian for 8 years so I got some meatless skills, but Shaun and I are pretty much limited to weird bachelor stir fry concoctions. Music is always playing or being played at our house. I think we are all happy being in a space where music pretty much rules everything. We were having shows at our house for a while which was a lot of fun, but now we have neighbors 
Burritos, stir-fry, constant sounds—an overall pleasant setup. Is there certain music you tend to listen to? Anything forbidden?
We listen to all kinds of stuff. A lot of post punk and hardcore, but also older dance music, pop, baggy, Enya…whatever is good and fits the mood. Abe is big into rap and hates the fact that I don’t vibe with most of it. I mean, I appreciate rap, and I understand its relevance, but never really got into it…except maybe 2 Live Crew and YoungbloodZ.
Ha, Enya mood—you mean Pure Moods. Anyway. You’ve toured the US and Europe, but this’ll be your first time to Japan, and Asia, right?
Yep. This is the first time any of us have been to Asia and it’s super exciting. We won’t be there for long, but I’m already doing research and finding out about cool places that I might be able to get to. Evan from Girls told me the Meiji shrine in Shibuya is a nice walk.
Agreed. How about plans for the nine or so hours in the air it takes to get here?
I don’t think I have ever successfully fallen asleep on a plane, and I can’t really sleep in cars either. I plan on watching 4-5 mediocre films, methodically eating some pre-packaged food, finishing the Jack Spicer poetry collection I’m reading, then staring at the seat in front of me until we land.
A poetry reader! This is a bit of a step down, but language-related: Red and Sports seem to always inspire reviewers to pull out their most aggressive verbs (bleeding, bursting, pounding, screaming). Do you like that association?
Music journalism these days is pretty trite and it can be disappointing to read a number of reviews that are quite literally cut and pastes of each other, you see it in the verbs…Aside from all that, Weekend has always had heavy elements of aggression, noise, and intensity in our music. I’m glad when people are affected by that in some way—hopefully they get a sense of the vulnerability, melody, and beauty as well.
What would you like to tell your Japan-fans to expect (other than the decibel level)?
We don’t really put on a big flashy show. We turn the lights down low, fog it up, don’t stop very often if at all, and treat the set as a start to finish experience that the audience can share with us. We put a lot of consideration into what songs we play, in what order, and the transitions between them. Sometimes it’s really drawn out, slow and dissonant, and other times we’re fully breaking into a shorter song with melodic hooks and choruses.
Meanwhile, what do you expect, playing in Japan? Have you had any words of wisdom shed upon you by anyone who’s played here?
I really don’t know what to expect. Everything I know about Japan and Japanese people is pretty much a stereotype. Sounds cheesy, but I’m just looking forward to meeting some cool people and having some unique experiences. A friend who has toured extensively in Japan told us that usually bands will just take a high-speed train from town to town while someone else drives the van. Not sure if we will have that luxury, but I’m kind of a transportation nerd and would like to see if your trains are really faster than a bullet like they say.
Our trains exceed bullets in every way, I promise you. Any non-music plans or things you want to do while you’re here?
It’s hard to know when exactly you will have time off, so you have to mostly play it by ear…but I dunno, visit the Meiji Shrine, get some sushi, do some karaoke (oops that’s musical), climb Mt. Fuji, watch a Keirin bike race, see a UFO.
Ah, that list looks familiar. Given your earlier Filter reference, I imagine you in the karaoke box singing “Take a Picture” (did they do anything else?), but realistically your go-to karaoke song must be something else.
What about “Hey Man Nice Shot”!? That was definitely the bass line we were playing in band class…To sing it at karaoke would be suicide though, unless you could nail that yell/scream during the chorus, which would be amazing. I have really only sung karaoke a handful of times, and probably my best recital was “Close to Me” by The Cure…to sound like Robert Smith you just have to strain your vocal cords a bunch, while kind of holding your breath and throwing a fake English accent. It helped that the DJ busted out the song’s sax solo flawlessly which got people pumped.
You’ll sound like a star here, I’ve no doubt. Any stops after Japan before returning home?
Waiting on our booking agent, but there is a possibility we will get some dates in South East Asia which would be great.
How about some final words for your Japanese readers?
We are really excited to come meet you all and play some of the music we have been working on over here for you! Take us somewhere cool! Also, our LP just came out in Japan on BIG NOTHING, with our EP as bonus tracks, so pick that up!!! GET EXCITED!!!
皆さんに会って、僕たちが最近作曲した曲を披露できるのをチョウ楽しみにしてます。どこかクールなところに案内して！それから僕らのLPが日本でBIG NOTHINGから発売されたよ。それにEPがオマケ。買ってね!!! もうたまらないでしょ!!!
For those hoping to meet this charming trio, you can wait atop Mt. Fuji, stalk a karaoke crawl, stake out the Keirin racetracks…or you can click here and buy a ticket. Shows are happening in Tokyo (17th: Club Quattro), Osaka (18th: Janus) and Nagoya (19th: Club Quattro).
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