Shrine to Our Humility

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We're too humble (maybe) to pat ourselves on the back, but we're not too proud to let others do that for us.    Here's a review of our first cassette as it appeared in Gambit way back in 1986.  "Could show even David Byrne a thing or two?"  Wow.  We're still blushing.

SOUND CHECKS: REVIEWS 

LOCAL GROWN: TULANE’S JANGLE REBELS STEP OUTSIDE THE SWAMP 

By Chris DuMond 

WEATHER OR NOT 

Weather or Not(Thom’s Thumb Music) 

Let’s be completely honest about the local nightlife: if you walk into any club between Tip's and Jimmy’s on a Friday night, you know exactly what you are going to get: a thick, heavy-pocket funk groove from a journeyman rhythm-and-blues band sweating through three sets of NOLA shimmy. Meanwhile, on the Tulane campus, a small, stubborn contingent of pale, sleep-deprived college kids has spent the last year looking toward Athens, Georgia, wondering why guitars aren’t allowed to chime in New Orleans. 

The definitive answer to that question has finally arrived in the self-titled mini-album from Weather or Not. Recorded independently and released on their own Thom’s Thumb imprint, this seven-track cassette is a bracing, hyper-literate response the the local musical status quo. By stripping away the traditional swamp-groove aesthetics, this quintet has delivered the finest piece of American jangle-pop to ever slide out of a New Orleans drainage pipe. 

The album kicks off with "Roll Call," a driving, melodic post-punk track that should immediately be added to the high-rotation playlist over at WTUL. A high-fretboard bass melody by Andrew DiMarta rivals Mike Mills' work on the recent R.E.M. records (you can even spot a Murmur poster proudly pinned up on their promo gear), the song tracks the slow, inevitable erosion of a group of friends. Instead of wallowing in over-dramatic tragedy, the lyrics present the physical decline and geographic drift of a college cohort with a completely flat, everyday realism ("Carol's heart blew up in the spring / Bobby swears he's fine but shakes at dinner/And David's losing names"), tinged with irony and real humor. It is a song about the unstoppable march of time, but the band plays with such caffeinated momentum that it feels like a triumphant defiance of the clock rather than a surrender. Physical and mental decline never sounded like so much fun. 

The highlight of the record, however, is side-one closer "Country for the Weekend." For an alternative guitar band emerging from an elite university campus smack in the middle of southern Louisiana, there's a temptation to fake a blue-collar, backwoods authenticity. Weather or Not completely bypasses that trap by making a hilarious, self-aware parody of their own inept attempt at bayou living. Musically, it is a masterfully ragged collision, and lyrically it's a piece of smart-rock that could show even David Byrne a thing or two. 

The rest of the record maintains this high level of structural pop efficiency and sharp wit. The minimalist burst of "Wishing Wire" delivers an entire universe of long-distance alienation in a lean two minutes and one second, while the sprawling, six-minute epic "Drop/Add" somehow turns the agonizing, bureaucratic nightmare of university course registration into an atmospheric, existential crisis. 

Weather or Not is a brave, singular record that has its genesis in a group of too-smart-for-the-rest-of-us students playing at musicianship - and succeeding brilliantly. It also proves that you don't need a horn section or a heavy funk pocket to make essential New Orleans music. Pick this up at your local independent record shop before the college semester starts and the secret gets out. 

RATING: ★★★★☆ 

(Four out of Five Stars) 

A kind but not glowing notice from Wavelength.

REVIEWS 

WEATHER OR NOT
Weather or Not (Thom's Thumb Music – Cassette)

Every college town seems to produce a band convinced they're the next R.E.M. Most never get past the haircut and dirty khakis. Weather or Not gets past all that in the first thirty seconds and quickly establishes an identity all its own.

Recorded and released independently on cassette, this seven-song debut is one of the more confident NOLA releases to appear this year. The guitars chime instead of grind, the rhythm section never overplays, and Thom Duceaux writes with enough wit and intelligence to keep these songs from becoming just another batch of earnest college rock.

The opener, "Roll Call," is the obvious standout. Built around Andrew DiMarta's melodic bass work, it's a surprisingly funny song about friends gradually drifting apart through distance, bad luck and time. The lyrics never become sentimental, and that's exactly why they work.

"Country for the Weekend" is another highlight, turning what could have been a clumsy attempt at country-rock into a sharp parody of city kids pretending to know their way around rural Louisiana. It's clever without trying too hard, and the band never lets the joke get in the way of the song.

Elsewhere, the brief "Wishing Wire" proves they can say plenty in two minutes, while "Rain Check" effectively captures the joy that an unexpected afternoon downpour can bring if you're in the right mood for it.

The recording occasionally reveals its independent budget, but the rough edges actually suit the material. New Orleans doesn't produce many jangly guitar bands, and Weather or Not wisely avoids competing with the city's funk traditions. Instead, they carve out their own corner somewhere between Athens, Georgia and Uptown.

One of the year's most promising local releases.

★★★½

The one that's closest to our hearts - strong on the Tulane connection.

By Mark Foster
Staff Writer

A classified advertisement tucked into the January issue of the Hullabaloo has turned into one of Tulane's most recognizable student bands.

Weather or Not, a five-piece alternative rock group made up primarily of Tulane students, recently released its independently produced debut cassette after spending much of the spring performing at campus events and coffeehouses around Uptown.

The group came together through a combination of friendships and fortunate timing. Singer and guitarist Thom Duceaux and bassist Andrew DiMarta had already begun writing songs together when they placed a small classified advertisement in the Hullabaloo seeking a lead guitarist. Tulane engineering student Dave Mantoez answered the ad, bringing the melodic guitar style that quickly became one of the band's trademarks. Music student and professor's aide Eli Becker rounded out the lineup shortly afterward.

Their first performance was an impromptu acoustic set in the Quad behind Gibson Hall, where the band played for passing students until afternoon classes gradually scattered the crowd. Several of those early listeners have since become regular faces at Weather or Not performances around campus.

Although all five members cite different musical influences, their sound owes more to the jangling guitar bands coming out of Athens, Georgia than the traditional New Orleans rhythm-and-blues scene.

"We're not trying to sound like anybody from New Orleans," Duceaux said after a recent rehearsal. "We already have plenty of great New Orleans bands. We'd rather sound like ourselves."

Recorded on evenings and weekends between classes and produced and engineered by Tulane pre-law student Jeff Kibbey, the seven-song cassette was released on the band's own Thom's Thumb Music label and includes original songs such as Roll Call, Country for the Weekend, Wishing Wire and Rain Check. The band duplicated the cassettes independently and is selling them at performances and through several local record stores.

Weather or Not has become a familiar sight around campus. It's not unusual for an impromptu acoustic set to break out on the Freret Street sidewalk as afternoon classes let out, drawing small crowds of students heading toward The Boot or making their way back across campus. The band has also begun receiving regular airplay on WTUL-FM.

"We really don't have a master plan," DiMarta said. "We just keep writing songs and suddenly realize we have enough for a cassette."

The group expects to spend the remainder of the summer promoting the release while continuing to write new material before returning to a full class schedule this fall.

Photo caption: Weather or Not performs during a recent campus event. The Tulane-based quintet recently released its independently produced debut cassette.