2023 has certainly been a year to remember for South Philly’s Adam Weiner.
The Low Cut Connie front man has been busy with his weekly online Tough Cookies talk show, and also with Low Cut Connie releasing an intimate new album, ‘Art Dealers’, and an hour-long documentary by the same name, which debuted at the 32nd Philly Film Festival.
Weiner also released a tribute single to the late legendary Jerry Blavat in “Low Cut Strut” before playing a live celebration in honor of The Geator with the Heater last month. On top of all that, Weiner produced the debut record from Ray Happy Birthday Bar owner, 85-year-old Lou Capozzoli’s Rage Band, and is currently on tour.
Weiner recently slowed down enough to talk with Metro about his busiest, saddest, happiest year ever.
The new album, ‘Art Dealers’, certainly rocks. But it also feels more intimate than anything you’ve done.
I like to grow and change always, and want the feelings to get deeper as I go. I’d say ‘Art Dealers’ is still a party record, but it’s obviously a darker picture than some of my prior albums. I want give a whole cinematic picture with my music — the good, the bad, and the ugly. You’re right, though. ‘Art Dealers’ is still a tough rock-n-roll record, but it’s getting into a whole host of other sounds that I haven’t touched on before.
I produce my own music and I like to explore. That’s the freedom that being an independent artist on my own label allows me — I can explore and go where I feel like going. I wanted this album to sound lush but grimy — like a sort of “Classic Rock record for the End Times”. People have all been commenting on how great this album sounds and I’m proud of that.
Sadly, antisemitism never went away, and ‘King of the Jews’ on the new album was your response to its recent rise. How does ‘King of the Jews’ take on greater meaning in response to the Hamas attack on Israel?
There’s a lot of Jew-haters out there. It’s rising every day. I’m tired of being coy about my Jewiness. I’m tired of being coy and insecure about a lot of things in life. So ‘King of the Jews’ is kind of my hype-up song. Be yourself, own yourself, don’t hide from anything.
After the passing of Jerry Blavat, you performed at his live celebration at the Academy of Music, and also released ‘Low Cut Strut (Strut That A** Right Back to Class’), which featured his voice.
There will only ever be one Jerry Blavat. The Geator was a one-off. I miss him and his constant encouragement and energy. He used to call me to tell me to not get discouraged, that I was a star. Then when my career actually did start to happen, Jerry was there to celebrate the wins with me. The ‘Low Cut Strut (Strut That A** Right Back to Class’) song was the least I could do to honor him.
You recently paid tribute to another South Philly icon — both Lou Capp and his Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar by producing the first-ever recording of he and his Rage Band. How was that experience?
Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar has been the hometown bar for Low Cut Connie since the beginning. We’ve thrown parties there over the years and Lou Capp and his Rage Band have been good pals over the years. I took Lou and his band in the studio to produce the first record they’d ever made. I wanted to simply preserve the wild energy of their shows in the bar and all the crazy people that hang there. It turned out so great. Now, everyone can hear the “Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar EP” by the Rage Band on all the streaming platforms now.
It’s been a wild ride for you and Low Cut Connie. What can you say about LLC’s 2023 and beyond?
It’s mostly a miracle keeping Low Cut Connie alive and growing now as I go into my 14th year with it. The music business can be an awful place to work, but the fans, the spirit, the music and art world of Low Cut Connie… it keeps growing stronger. I keep following the trail to make it resonate that much more. Tough Cookies will be back in 2024 with more episodes for Club Connie, We’re doing 2 nights at Ardmore Music Hall for New Years Eve, Dec. 30 and 31, and it just feels like a great way to kick into another year of it, sweating and going crazy with all of our beautiful pals.
For music, tour dates and more, visit lowcutconnie.com
