Adam Weiner from the band Low Cut Connie

Announcer:

00:00:01.019 – 00:00:14.09

 Welcome to the Takin a walk podcast music history on foot Follow this audio storytelling podcast at Apple podcast Spotify Podcast Playground or wherever you get your podcast

Announcer:

00:00:15.229 – 00:00:22.739

 on this episode Join Buzz Knight as he takes to the streets of South Philly with Adam Weiner from the band Low Cut Connie

Announcer:

00:00:24.09 – 00:00:30.29

 they’re a band heralded for their amazing live performances Everyone from Springsteen to Elton John has become a fan

Announcer:

00:00:31.549 – 00:00:37.849

 and you will also when Adam from Low Cut County joins Buzz next on taking a walk

Buzz Knight:

00:00:39.4 – 00:00:44.639

 Well it’s so great to be taking a walk here in South Philly

Adam Weiner 3:

00:00:44.65 – 00:00:53.22

 Yeah Right Oh yeah this is definitely South Philly You can tell from the people Everybody’s got an attitude Look at these people

Buzz Knight:

00:00:54.729 – 00:00:56.58

 Adam it’s so nice to meet you

Buzz Knight:

00:00:57.29 – 00:01:03.97

 I was waiting for you here you’ll dig this So the guy was

Buzz Knight:

00:01:04.518 – 00:01:09.69

 walking with a baby in a stroller and I heard him go

Buzz Knight:

00:01:10.239 – 00:01:16.94

 du du du du du du du

Buzz Knight:

00:01:17.599 – 00:01:46.25

 and I couldn’t help myself because sometimes once in a while II I am like the human  shazam and I went birdland and he goes yeah How did you know that He said that’s one of my favorites man And he started telling me he said uh he goes I knew who is it Jaco Pastorius as ho he smokes and we talked for five minutes So I have always felt

Buzz Knight:

00:01:46.449 – 00:01:51.959

 the people from Philadelphia are tremendously friendly and

Buzz Knight:

00:01:52.73 – 00:01:56.589

 the one bad rap I think that they deserve is I think they’re

Buzz Knight:

00:01:57.12 – 00:02:00.25

 their driving leaves a little bit to be desired Not good

Adam Weiner 3:

00:02:00.26 – 00:02:04.33

 at driving We’re the meanest sports fans in the world

Adam Weiner 3:

00:02:05.01 – 00:02:26.289

 You know we torture we torture people here and you know when you heard the story about that robot that came to Philly that toured the world and the people in Philly killed the robot and mutilated it visited all these different countries and cities and states But when it got to Philly our people murdered this robot

Adam Weiner 3:

00:02:27.309 – 00:02:28.259

 So

Adam Weiner 3:

00:02:29.69 – 00:02:31.869

 but I also in conclusions

Buzz Knight:

00:02:31.88 – 00:02:35.83

 Yeah I mean but I will say some of this is legacy building don’t you think

Adam Weiner 3:

00:02:35.99 – 00:02:44.19

 Yeah I mean um people in Philly like to be perceived as tough if you know what I mean

Buzz Knight:

00:02:44.74 – 00:02:46.279

 Where do you think that comes from

Adam Weiner 3:

00:02:46.91 – 00:02:52.49

 uh an inferiority complex to New York right To everywhere

Adam Weiner 3:

00:02:53.529 – 00:03:10.6

 to everywhere Like you know the you know that slogan from the Eagles no one likes us We don’t care They care if you have to say it you care right Um No I mean it’s like you’ve got

Adam Weiner 3:

00:03:11.529 – 00:03:26.309

 you’ve got New York City right there You’ve got Washington DC right there And Philly was the biggest and most important city in the United States in the early part of this country And then it wasn’t

Adam Weiner 3:

00:03:26.869 – 00:03:32.729

 you know and that’s still that’s still thumb printed on the city

Buzz Knight:

00:03:33.779 – 00:03:35.86

 But I also think that

Buzz Knight:

00:03:36.639 – 00:03:37.5

 you know

Buzz Knight:

00:03:38.47 – 00:03:41.46

 the cities are having a tough time these days don’t you think

Adam Weiner 3:

00:03:41.47 – 00:03:54.949

 every city Absolutely And I think Philadelphia I see I love it here because it’s never the it city You know like if you go to Nashville or Austin

Adam Weiner 3:

00:03:55.679 – 00:04:06.649

 or San Francisco these are places that have completely transformed because they had some sort of moment you know Philly Plods along

Adam Weiner 3:

00:04:07.199 – 00:04:28.66

 in its in its dysfunctional way with all of its charms with all of its soul with all of its dysfunctions and people may discover us They may not people that live here love it but it’s never like the in fashion trendy city And I’m a ok with that

Buzz Knight:

00:04:29.41 – 00:04:40.39

 Do you think though this thing about the cities is a bit of a journalistic click bait these days or is it really a problem how the decaying of cities

Adam Weiner 3:

00:04:40.399 – 00:04:56.25

 is occurring I don’t know if I’d use the word decay I wouldn’t use the word decay But changing and in some ways I think for the better there’s some things this is the world but some things are always getting worse and some things are getting better You know

Adam Weiner 3:

00:04:56.769 – 00:05:07.17

 we get the message that everything is getting worse but some things are getting better personally in terms of COVID and what it did to cities

Adam Weiner 3:

00:05:07.649 – 00:05:37.119

 there’s some positives there’s a lot of negatives but I think there’s some positives too For me I’m an artist living in the middle of a crazy city And when I was growing up in the suburbs in New Jersey you know families with kids lived out in the burbs and the freaky dey people the artists queer people crazy people people who are just looking to live

Adam Weiner 3:

00:05:37.64 – 00:05:54.7

 a different kind of life than you can find in the suburbs come to the city Well over the last generation that change like families are living in the city more and more and more and artists are getting priced out and

Adam Weiner 3:

00:05:55.209 – 00:06:06.42

 people of color getting priced out the neighborhood characters getting lost But during COVID that changed back went backwards again A lot of the families and stuff went out to the burbs again

Adam Weiner 3:

00:06:06.839 – 00:06:14.059

 and I see a lot more freaky geeky people in Philadelphia these days And I like that That’s what I wanna see Let’s

Buzz Knight:

00:06:14.07 – 00:06:18.579

 uh let’s take a little walk here around this area and see some freaky geeky people in

Adam Weiner 3:

00:06:18.589 – 00:06:22.48

 Yiddish We say Drey around let’s go dry around around

Buzz Knight:

00:06:23.16 – 00:06:29.829

 So this is Columbus Square South Philly Yeah And um you like to come over here and run

Adam Weiner 3:

00:06:29.839 – 00:06:33.91

 once in a while all the time all the time And in fact

Adam Weiner 3:

00:06:34.649 – 00:06:38.67

 you never know who you’re going to see in this park

Adam Weiner 3:

00:06:39.269 – 00:07:07.769

 And this neighborhood is kind of like the UN you have in that direction A mostly black neighborhood in that direction a Vietnamese neighborhood in this direction is a Lebanese area and Cambodian that way Italian market there Mexican market there and everything in between You’ve got the Chinese area down here in Washington

Adam Weiner 3:

00:07:07.929 – 00:07:10.48

 you hear every language spoken

Adam Weiner 3:

00:07:11.089 – 00:07:14.19

 and that is what I love about this neighborhood

Buzz Knight:

00:07:14.299 – 00:07:24.69

 Yeah I love that too That’s sort of you know when I think of uh great places like Boston is that way where where I live uh Chicago is that way

Adam Weiner 3:

00:07:24.7 – 00:07:32.35

 Certainly Yeah And it’s like when I lived in New York City I lived in Queens for many years Queens is like that It’s like the UN It’s like

Adam Weiner 3:

00:07:33.2 – 00:07:43.54

 Greek Argentinian uh people from Africa Cambodia Vietnam It’s like everything That’s what I like about the city

Buzz Knight:

00:07:44.399 – 00:07:49.54

 So take me back to growing up in the suburbs What uh what town did you grow up in Cherry

Adam Weiner 3:

00:07:49.549 – 00:07:58.239

 Hill 20 minutes from here Uh The most suburb suburb of Philadelphia

Adam Weiner 3:

00:07:58.75 – 00:07:59.739

 Uh

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:00.829 – 00:08:11.619

 yeah I mean before I was born it was like all farms And then in my parents’ generation they built all these very new

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:12.25 – 00:08:32.468

 uh places They built the Cherry Hill Mall which I worked at I worked at Macy’s for years as a perfume and cologne Schwitzer You know the people that attack you when you go into the mall and try to spray you I was one of those people So I grew up I was like a mall rat Jersey suburb kid

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:33.15 – 00:08:34.468

 And

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:35.549 – 00:08:38.15

 all I wanted to do was

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:38.83 – 00:08:40.14

 go to a city

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:41.239 – 00:08:43.83

 And so when I was 18 I went to New York City

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:44.809 – 00:08:48.13

 and acted up and went I got into school

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:48.739 – 00:08:53.039

 which I didn’t care about school It was just an excuse to move to New York

Adam Weiner 3:

00:08:53.76 – 00:09:10.659

 I got a job the first week I was there playing piano in a restaurant which led to all these other bars and restaurants hiring me to play piano And I started my gigging life my performing life for real at 18

Buzz Knight:

00:09:11.27 – 00:09:17.01

 But you must have had a sense before that that you had this intense musical connection

Adam Weiner 3:

00:09:17.57 – 00:09:38.07

 I wanted to be an actor before that I knew I wanted to be on stage Um I was the star of all the plays in high school I also had a band Um my music though the songs that I wrote that was a secret I never played my own music for anybody

Adam Weiner 3:

00:09:39.39 – 00:09:45.729

 And I don’t think I ever thought that I was ever going to do anything with my songs

Adam Weiner 3:

00:09:46.33 – 00:09:48.919

 that was like my just for me

Adam Weiner 3:

00:09:49.71 – 00:09:58.82

 And so it’s a real twist for me to be out here in the world as a professional songwriter singer you know

Buzz Knight:

00:09:59.659 – 00:10:02.71

 so who coaxed you to share the music that you

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:02.719 – 00:10:03.609

 had created

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:04.25 – 00:10:07.59

 I coaxed myself because

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:08.59 – 00:10:14.03

 um when I got these gigs playing piano in these places

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:14.719 – 00:10:18.419

 and people you know requested songs

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:19.26 – 00:10:23.08

 I started to write songs

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:23.619 – 00:10:52.039

 you know for the clientele that was there Like if I played in kind of a shit kicker country place I needed to have country songs right If I played in the very upscale gay piano bar I needed to have that material If I played in an Italian restaurant in Queens which I did for a while I needed to have that repertoire And so I would start to write material

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:52.289 – 00:10:55.369

 to please the people in the places I was going to be

Adam Weiner 3:

00:10:56.099 – 00:10:58.849

 And that turned into

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:00.0 – 00:11:03.849

 songs that I’m performing in public for people that I wrote

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:04.809 – 00:11:16.34

 And a lot of times I was kind of pawning my own songs off as cover songs If that makes sense I wanted some of the material to sound classic right Um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:17.33 – 00:11:20.52

 Like if I played in this show Tune Bar

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:21.2 – 00:11:25.4

 I would write songs that sounded like old show tunes right

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:27.049 – 00:11:27.34

 So

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:29.039 – 00:11:31.69

 I sort of developed a skill

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:33.099 – 00:11:34.299

 and

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:35.46 – 00:11:40.109

 I realized that probably more than acting

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:40.859 – 00:11:51.789

 or any other artistic pursuit that I was interested in that writing songs was probably the thing that I was most naturally good at

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:52.599 – 00:11:54.7

 And so it kind of went from there

Buzz Knight:

00:11:56.13 – 00:11:58.929

 And did you have somebody that was sort of a

Adam Weiner 3:

00:11:58.94 – 00:12:01.799

 mentor at that time No not at all

Adam Weiner 3:

00:12:02.809 – 00:12:07.4

 Not really Because song if you’re a piano person is a very solitary

Adam Weiner 3:

00:12:07.94 – 00:12:25.01

 um musical endeavor you know there’s a film actually that I love it’s from 40 plus years ago It’s called Piano Players Never Play Together Ok It’s it’s a New Orleans piano film and it really captures

Adam Weiner 3:

00:12:25.679 – 00:12:51.359

 just in the title that you know guitar players they like jam together Drummers kind of like woodshed together et cetera But piano we’re very solitary You know there’s never two pianos together and if you play piano you’re trying to kind of be the whole band right You got to be the rhythm section and everything So no I didn’t really have

Adam Weiner 3:

00:12:51.96 – 00:12:57.059

 anybody I can think of That was like a musical mentor that I knew in person

Adam Weiner 3:

00:12:57.84 – 00:13:00.53

 Um until

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:04.359 – 00:13:07.26

 you know the the one person that comes to mind

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:07.83 – 00:13:10.33

 who I only spoke to one time

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:11.33 – 00:13:12.08

 Uh

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:14.51 – 00:13:16.219

 I went to Memphis Tennessee

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:18.71 – 00:13:21.32

 I went to Memphis Tennessee in 2001

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:22.789 – 00:13:38.729

 I did I did a semester at the University of Memphis just because I wanted to go to Memphis and listen to blues and country and Elvis and just be there you know and I got an internship at a radio station there I just wanted to be in Memphis

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:39.33 – 00:13:43.51

 and I met this guy named Mose Vinson who at the time

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:44.349 – 00:13:51.849

 was probably close to 90 at that point And he was a piano player

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:52.57 – 00:13:57.909

 that had been playing and recording all the way back to the 19 forties

Adam Weiner 3:

00:13:58.5 – 00:14:05.5

 He played piano on a bunch of early Sun Records sessions early fifties pre Elvis

Adam Weiner 3:

00:14:06.21 – 00:14:20.57

 and he had a gig at this place called Center for Southern Folklore I think it was every Friday night he would play piano This was like the very end of his life He had lost one eye He was like not well

Adam Weiner 3:

00:14:21.359 – 00:14:37.83

 and he just completely knocked me out like his piano playing And I talked to him and told him I was a piano player I come down from New York I wanted to talk to him meet him and see what he did And he said all right just stick with me

Adam Weiner 3:

00:14:39.52 – 00:14:51.02

 So I would go and watch him But that’s the only time I ever spoke to him But his I would say watching him was probably the closest thing to like a mentorship because I really learned a lot from watching him

Buzz Knight:

00:14:51.75 – 00:15:05.64

 But I think you’re a historian of sorts when you talk about music and influences So who are some of the other piano players that have had a big impact on

Adam Weiner 3:

00:15:05.65 – 00:15:12.409

 you You know what’s funny is a few years ago when I had the privilege of hanging out with Elton John

Adam Weiner 3:

00:15:14.739 – 00:15:31.08

 he was talking about piano stuff and he how he liked my piano playing et cetera And he said you know Adam my heroes were little Richard Jerry Lee Lewis Fats Domino

Adam Weiner 3:

00:15:31.719 – 00:15:40.919

 And I said and he said I learned everything from them and I said me too Plus you right So um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:15:41.63 – 00:15:43.679

 I love Fats Domino

Adam Weiner 3:

00:15:44.349 – 00:16:01.299

 Jerry Lee I mean these are the great rock n roll piano players But also I would say Professor Long Hair James Booker he’s probably the greatest of the New Orleans piano players you know on paper

Adam Weiner 3:

00:16:01.9 – 00:16:04.32

 Uh so many but

Adam Weiner 3:

00:16:05.44 – 00:16:19.08

 I I listen to a lot of guitar music and try to interpret it on piano if that makes sense So I am just as much influenced by Keith Richards as a piano player if if that makes sense

Adam Weiner 3:

00:16:19.679 – 00:16:20.76

 because Keith

Adam Weiner 3:

00:16:21.39 – 00:16:34.369

 the way that he plays guitar the way that everything has to do with feel and the riff and the meat and potatoes of the song not the shows of it like a like a

Adam Weiner 3:

00:16:35.88 – 00:16:42.2

 like a Jimi Hendrix type of guitar player Um That’s been very influential on me

Buzz Knight:

00:16:43.27 – 00:16:53.479

 So when Elton called you out uh on the on stage at the concert he was in Philly right It was that what

Adam Weiner 3:

00:16:53.489 – 00:17:09.27

 was your reaction Well I’m sad to say I wasn’t there I weren’t there So what happened was I met him before the show I went backstage we hung out for a while I met Bernie Tappin was there the same night So I got to meet Bernie

Adam Weiner 3:

00:17:10.448 – 00:17:26.088

 And actually you know it’s an interesting story timely story because we just lost Robbie Robertson And the conversation was a lot about the band because the first show that Elton ever did here in Philly was at the Electric Factory

Adam Weiner 3:

00:17:26.969 – 00:17:27.979

 and

Adam Weiner 3:

00:17:28.609 – 00:17:29.8

 the same

Adam Weiner 3:

00:17:30.459 – 00:17:34.729

 time that he was here the band was playing at the Spectrum I think

Adam Weiner 3:

00:17:35.729 – 00:17:39.29

 he was brand new This must have been 1970 right

Adam Weiner 3:

00:17:39.819 – 00:17:53.26

 And so my friend Larry Maggot who started the Electric Factory I think it was him who brought the band to check out this young kid from England named Elton John

Adam Weiner 3:

00:17:54.17 – 00:17:59.01

 and Elton told me this story and he said that he idolized the band He loved

Adam Weiner 3:

00:18:00.0 – 00:18:02.959

 their first couple records and

Adam Weiner 3:

00:18:03.76 – 00:18:12.319

 they came and they came to talk to him and he said it was such an amazing experience meeting them

Adam Weiner 3:

00:18:12.859 – 00:18:16.689

 that he and Bernie then wrote a song Levon

Adam Weiner 3:

00:18:17.349 – 00:18:45.229

 after meeting Levon And then he said eventually Elton one of his son’s middle name is Levon That’s how much the band meant to him Um But anyway he’s telling me that story backstage in Philly and it’s wonderful and he’s saying all kinds of encouraging things about low cut Connie and everything he goes to do the show I’m watching the show I am texting a million people I was just hanging out with Elton John whatever

Adam Weiner 3:

00:18:45.699 – 00:19:08.699

 And I was hungry and I decided to leave because I had just seen Elton’s show like a month prior in Vegas and I had a 6 a.m. flight to L A So I left the show halfway through I’m embarrassed to say and then I’m sitting at the fucking Penrose diner across from the Phillies game

Adam Weiner 3:

00:19:09.719 – 00:19:17.01

 I was eating a grilled chicken parm and all of a sudden my phone is ringing crazy

Adam Weiner 3:

00:19:17.81 – 00:19:30.569

 and Elton is talking about me on stage and dedicating his encore to me And everybody is texting me Are you here Are you here Are you here And I wasn’t there so I wasn’t there

Adam Weiner 3:

00:19:32.03 – 00:19:33.609

 I’m embarrassed to say

Buzz Knight:

00:19:34.339 – 00:19:35.949

 that you would like to get back

Adam Weiner 3:

00:19:36.51 – 00:19:37.76

 Well

Adam Weiner 3:

00:19:38.8 – 00:19:48.589

 there is a 2% chance 2% is the number I think that when he came off stage before the encore

Adam Weiner 3:

00:19:49.56 – 00:20:11.439

 he asked can we get Adam out here And when they said we can’t find him he dedicated the song instead of you know there’s a 2% chance that he would have brought me out on stage for that reason I would like to have a do over just to find out But hey what are you going to do That’s the way it goes That’s the way it

Buzz Knight:

00:20:11.449 – 00:20:13.92

 goes back to the band for a second

Buzz Knight:

00:20:14.209 – 00:20:38.089

 One of the things about the band that I think was always intriguing was the fact that especially early on they were really hard to categorize You couldn’t really put them in a particular box We hadn’t heard anything really like the band at that point Um Is that something when people describe loca Conny that you sort of

Buzz Knight:

00:20:38.27 – 00:20:45.349

 like when people go I don’t know really how to I know you guys are rock and roll but I’m not sure how to categorize

Adam Weiner 3:

00:20:45.359 – 00:20:45.88

 you

Adam Weiner 3:

00:20:46.55 – 00:21:06.38

 I’ve been called so many different things Um I always just say rock n roll I think there is a correlation with the band because even though you say when they first came out you couldn’t categorize them at the same time their music was very classic and familiar Like when you hear The Way

Adam Weiner 3:

00:21:06.829 – 00:21:35.869

 or Cripple Creek or their early songs it sounds like it could have been written 100 years ago or 100 years from now that classic you know but at the same time new and a flavor that certainly isn’t popular at that time Right That’s what I hear about Low cut County all the time is that my songs and the way we present them they seem very familiar

Adam Weiner 3:

00:21:36.27 – 00:21:47.459

 like it’s not experimental music but it’s also a little bit unch unca because it falls between the cracks And

Adam Weiner 3:

00:21:47.989 – 00:22:07.05

 I know this I know the bad side of this because the industry the music industry not the music but the industry is obsessed with categorization and genre and algorithm and so matching to other people’s sound

Adam Weiner 3:

00:22:07.609 – 00:22:29.099

 gets you further in an algorithmic industry than doing something unique right Because people who listen to Mumford and Sons a lot If you make music that sounds very similar to Mumford and Sons the algorithm will service you to those listeners Right

Adam Weiner 3:

00:22:29.77 – 00:22:46.41

 My music again it’s not experimental but it does fall between the cracks and people have trouble comparing it to something current and that works against me in the industry If that makes sense

Buzz Knight:

00:22:47.14 – 00:22:53.859

 I’ll throw another band at you that defied categorization I wonder how you feel about them little

Adam Weiner 3:

00:22:53.869 – 00:22:55.03

 feet

Adam Weiner 3:

00:22:56.489 – 00:23:05.28

 You’re in this kind of area of music that I love Like Creedence Clearwater Where Little Feet where

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:06.14 – 00:23:16.3

 again it’s very familiar and draws on classic American things but does it in a modern way

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:16.869 – 00:23:19.089

 and that’s sort of where I live

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:19.75 – 00:23:26.079

 But those kinds of approaches tend to not be commercially successful

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:27.119 – 00:23:32.9

 Like I’ve got my audience but I’m not on the pop charts or anything

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:33.52 – 00:23:35.209

 I can’t compete with that

Buzz Knight:

00:23:35.91 – 00:23:37.38

 So how do you feel about all

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:37.39 – 00:23:39.25

 that I don’t care at all

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:40.469 – 00:23:47.76

 I’m glad that I’m not in that What a terrible pressure

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:48.63 – 00:23:52.65

 and lifestyle it is to be in pop music

Adam Weiner 3:

00:23:53.359 – 00:24:07.67

 Oh my God I mean I have friends that are in that world and I’ve sort of flirted with it here and there and it is just a very unforgiving industry to be in I have

Adam Weiner 3:

00:24:08.63 – 00:24:11.939

 I for me there are artists like Lou Reed

Adam Weiner 3:

00:24:12.77 – 00:24:23.39

 Tom Waits Patti Smith you know people that I really really admire what they did in their music and they did it for

Adam Weiner 3:

00:24:24.189 – 00:24:30.219

 decades and decades and decades That’s where I live You know cult artist basically

Buzz Knight:

00:24:30.229 – 00:24:32.28

 carving your own path

Buzz Knight:

00:24:33.839 – 00:24:35.56

 And you’ve had these moments

Adam Weiner 3:

00:24:35.569 – 00:24:42.619

 of or even like when you talk about Prince or James Brown people who are iconic

Adam Weiner 3:

00:24:43.339 – 00:24:46.41

 and we’re commercially um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:24:47.43 – 00:24:50.859

 massively successful popular artists but

Adam Weiner 3:

00:24:51.859 – 00:25:08.55

 they were also cult artists at the same time because most of their music that they put out was not for pop audiences And was you know focused on the music the art

Adam Weiner 3:

00:25:09.199 – 00:25:14.77

 and the audience It really wasn’t geared towards the industry if you know what I mean

Buzz Knight:

00:25:15.89 – 00:25:35.91

 But you’ve had these moments of these moments that have occurred in your career to date The Elton one you just talked about There’s this little event that happened with Barack Obama Tell me about how you discovered that that had happened

Adam Weiner 3:

00:25:35.92 – 00:25:38.16

 just like everybody else I woke up

Adam Weiner 3:

00:25:38.859 – 00:26:02.88

 I actually just moved to Philly and I was sleeping on an air mattress in our house We didn’t have furniture yet and we didn’t have air conditioning It was like 10,000 degrees because it was August and I woke up and my phone had a million messages and they all said Potus playlist and I didn’t know what that was I didn’t have my contact lenses in and I just ignored it and went through my day and then

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:03.189 – 00:26:11.839

 a little while later I investigated it and I realized something something crazy had happened And then when I saw

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:12.969 – 00:26:38.13

 the Obama there’s a photograph that Pete Souza took of Obama’s hand writing the list He’s looking at his ipad through his itunes and he’s choosing the songs and writing them And under his hand you can see oh Cut Connie Zelia that I really you know then I knew something crazy had just happened

Buzz Knight:

00:26:38.729 – 00:26:39.709

 and you got to go to

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:39.719 – 00:26:42.4

 the White House I did in 2016

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:43.03 – 00:26:46.449

 Um I did and he he uh

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:47.479 – 00:26:49.25

 he came out

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:50.719 – 00:26:51.869

 Adam

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:54.78 – 00:26:58.75

 great to meet you Did you get a tour Did they give you some food

Adam Weiner 3:

00:26:59.4 – 00:27:06.13

 Oh my God And I was like I and I don’t typically get starstruck but I was a little bit

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:06.829 – 00:27:08.31

 stammering

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:09.319 – 00:27:18.17

 I was um Mr President Thank you Thank you so much you know And he said hey when’s your new album coming out

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:19.55 – 00:27:26.9

 I said I’m working on it right now I said ok well you got to let me know I like what you’re doing I like your style Keep it up

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:28.489 – 00:27:30.439

 Yeah it was cool It’s

Buzz Knight:

00:27:30.449 – 00:27:31.31

 awesome

Buzz Knight:

00:27:32.42 – 00:27:39.0

 And then let’s just get to the other moment too which was uh let’s call it the Springsteen moment

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:39.52 – 00:27:43.54

 Oh man Well listen I grew up in New Jersey in the eighties So

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:44.39 – 00:27:47.06

 do the math right Uh

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:48.819 – 00:27:56.31

 Getting Blessed By Bruce is like it’s like the Pope drove by and blessed you You know

Adam Weiner 3:

00:27:57.479 – 00:27:59.949

 I went to see the Broadway show

Adam Weiner 3:

00:28:01.199 – 00:28:14.0

 I think it was 2018 and he first did it and I sat down in my seat I got a ticket like everybody else And this guy came out and said are you Adam I said yeah he said Low cut county right I said yeah he said hold on

Adam Weiner 3:

00:28:14.63 – 00:28:21.589

 And this this other woman from Bruce’s management team comes out and she said you know he’d like to meet you after the show

Adam Weiner 3:

00:28:22.359 – 00:28:26.03

 and this is like 30 seconds before the curtain

Adam Weiner 3:

00:28:27.569 – 00:28:37.599

 And I was like oh ok Shit Really And uh she said yeah go to this door right when the lights come up go to that door

Adam Weiner 3:

00:28:38.75 – 00:28:51.17

 So we went in and Max Weinberg happened to be there the same night So I meet Max Weinberg We we’re in the Bruce’s like little waiting area outside his dressing room

Adam Weiner 3:

00:28:52.0 – 00:29:07.05

 and I had to take a piss so bad I hadn’t peed in like two hours and I’m like but if I pee right now I might miss him whatever So I was like fuck it I’m just gonna go in his bathroom And so I go and I come out and as I’m coming out he’s coming in the room

Adam Weiner 3:

00:29:09.38 – 00:29:10.339

 and

Adam Weiner 3:

00:29:11.67 – 00:29:35.4

 he hugs Max and then I go I put my hand out and I was like hey Bruce I’m Adam the band low And he said I know I know come here He gives me a big hug and a kiss He’s like you you guys are fabulous You’re from Philly right And I said yeah yeah He said you guys are everywhere I got to come see you guys I I hear your live show is incredible I said wow I I learned it from watching you

Adam Weiner 3:

00:29:35.839 – 00:29:45.76

 you know so it was amazing Met Patty hung out for a while It was extremely encouraging because the thing with Bruce Springsteen is like

Adam Weiner 3:

00:29:46.27 – 00:30:10.77

 the records He’s got a lot of classic records but it’s his live show It’s him as a live performer that I think is his true gift and his his legacy really And that is kind of like me as well I have developed over the years tried to turn myself into this performer that people remember you know

Adam Weiner 3:

00:30:10.959 – 00:30:18.05

 and give something to people live that they take home with them and talk about and want to see again

Buzz Knight:

00:30:19.63 – 00:30:21.369

 was the first Bruce show that you saw

Adam Weiner 3:

00:30:22.02 – 00:30:36.959

 1999 or 90 The first reunion of the somebody smarter than me can look up The date of when the E street band first got back together was 98 or 99 Right And I was 18

Adam Weiner 3:

00:30:37.75 – 00:30:47.099

 That’s when I first started going to concerts So was it New York I saw him in New Jersey in the Meadowlands I think it was

Adam Weiner 3:

00:30:48.119 – 00:30:51.13

 And um that was earth shattering

Adam Weiner 3:

00:30:52.729 – 00:31:01.54

 Not that long after that I saw Iggy Pop reunited with the Stooges and that was Earth shattering

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:02.349 – 00:31:05.01

 Saw James Brown right here in Philly

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:05.75 – 00:31:08.63

 on the waterfront That was earth shattering

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:10.17 – 00:31:14.959

 I remember James Brown did a song about the Columbine shooting had just happened

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:15.75 – 00:31:22.589

 He had a song killing us out School is in come back tomorrow and try it again killing us out He was writing about

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:23.829 – 00:31:25.209

 gun violence

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:26.04 – 00:31:34.63

 and as a as a as a older legacy artist he was he was something else You know he was the real thing James Brown

Buzz Knight:

00:31:36.199 – 00:31:44.03

 who first inspired you musically as far as having a social conscience about what you write

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:44.04 – 00:31:49.03

 about I guess I guess I would say Bob Dylan because I remember

Adam Weiner 3:

00:31:51.67 – 00:32:04.449

 I grew up on pop music like everybody else Madonna You know and I love pop music in the eighties But I remember being about 15 years old and hearing a cassette tape

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:05.109 – 00:32:09.01

 and it was probably Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Volume one

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:11.239 – 00:32:14.68

 And it completely stopped me in my tracks because

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:17.52 – 00:32:21.969

 it expanded my thinking about what a song could do

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:23.439 – 00:32:27.329

 He is that song The lonesome death of Hattie Carroll

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:29.17 – 00:32:31.359

 that is not only

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:32.359 – 00:32:34.579

 socially conscious

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:35.689 – 00:32:45.189

 politically you know potent but it’s an incredible character study It’s so evocative You can picture

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:45.77 – 00:32:53.209

 what’s happening who this person is what the feeling in the room is And it’s like a mini movie

Adam Weiner 3:

00:32:54.02 – 00:33:01.739

 and that’s one of those moments and I’ve had a few in my life where I heard music that made all other music sound dumb

Adam Weiner 3:

00:33:02.469 – 00:33:13.209

 you know Yeah What a way to put it It was hard after that It was hard to go back to listening to I don’t know

Adam Weiner 3:

00:33:14.579 – 00:33:23.5

 the back street boys or whoever was on the radio at that time I remember hearing The Velvet Underground for the first time when I was about 20

Adam Weiner 3:

00:33:24.329 – 00:33:25.479

 and

Adam Weiner 3:

00:33:26.63 – 00:33:41.449

 hearing that first Velvet Underground album and then absolutely devouring all of their four albums and then devouring all of Lou Reed’s solo It made a lot of other music sound very trite

Adam Weiner 3:

00:33:42.479 – 00:33:52.02

 very trite you know and I was like Well I guess I’m going to throw a lot of my records away start over Um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:33:52.829 – 00:33:56.89

 but yeah I there are certain people that can

Adam Weiner 3:

00:33:57.829 – 00:34:00.0

 cut through with a song

Adam Weiner 3:

00:34:01.079 – 00:34:08.479

 and make you really feel something and maybe understand something And the most powerful

Adam Weiner 3:

00:34:09.3 – 00:34:27.199

 is when a song like you’re talking about socially conscious songs instead of teaching you something it’s just showing you something you already knew instinctually That is when something I think really is nailing it in a song

Buzz Knight:

00:34:27.909 – 00:34:34.199

 Do you prefer the subtle approach or the hit you over the head with a two by four approach

Adam Weiner 3:

00:34:34.54 – 00:34:45.6

 I I don’t know you could you could go both ways but everything has to come from the music first because see I’m a musician first and the lyric side

Adam Weiner 3:

00:34:46.29 – 00:34:49.58

 I I’ve learned I’ve gotten better

Adam Weiner 3:

00:34:50.449 – 00:34:55.928

 but I wake up every day with music in my head more than words If that makes sense

Adam Weiner 3:

00:34:57.09 – 00:35:03.199

 And I think that if the music isn’t strong then the song is not going to be good

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:04.01 – 00:35:04.979

 So

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:06.36 – 00:35:15.469

 from a lyrical perspective it kind of doesn’t you could be subtle you could be aggressive but it has to really match the music

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:16.26 – 00:35:18.27

 That’s what songs are there for

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:19.149 – 00:35:25.07

 You know whether it’s the melody or the rhythm it’s got to be something that you can feel instantly

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:26.06 – 00:35:28.08

 because otherwise you have a poem

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:28.729 – 00:35:29.679

 you know

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:30.629 – 00:35:32.229

 which is something else

Buzz Knight:

00:35:33.11 – 00:35:38.85

 Let’s let’s a little bit more and take us through the

Buzz Knight:

00:35:40.03 – 00:35:43.12

 evolution of low cut

Buzz Knight:

00:35:43.959 – 00:35:48.879

 because it’s really kind of gone through both the personnel side of

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:48.889 – 00:35:52.25

 evolving What are you talking about I’ve only had 13 drummers

Buzz Knight:

00:35:53.12 – 00:35:53.989

 isn’t it Spinal

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:54.0 – 00:35:54.75

 Tappish

Adam Weiner 3:

00:35:55.55 – 00:36:06.679

 Oh man Did they explode I don’t know I saw a few of them Possibly I don’t know Um no I mean yeah we’ve had 25 plus people in the band

Adam Weiner 3:

00:36:07.469 – 00:36:10.469

 and I’m the only

Adam Weiner 3:

00:36:11.729 – 00:36:13.709

 consistent through line

Adam Weiner 3:

00:36:14.479 – 00:36:22.31

 Although I got to give props to Will Donnelly my guitar player who has been with me for 10 years this fall

Adam Weiner 3:

00:36:23.08 – 00:36:25.659

 he’s been with me since the third album

Adam Weiner 3:

00:36:27.229 – 00:36:28.159

 Um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:36:29.189 – 00:36:50.61

 I don’t know buzz like things I I just think that you got to grow and change all the time I don’t like when I hear a musician put music out that’s the same thing as they did before I want to hear a new thing and it might not be their best But I like I like artists that try you know

Adam Weiner 3:

00:36:51.209 – 00:37:09.139

 Prince was somebody that always always changing David Bowie was always changing Madonna always changing Neil Young you know he’s always doing things and every other thing is good and every other thing is terrible but he’s always trying something

Adam Weiner 3:

00:37:09.649 – 00:37:11.479

 Um I like that

Adam Weiner 3:

00:37:12.28 – 00:37:13.51

 So

Adam Weiner 3:

00:37:14.449 – 00:37:30.629

 I guess I have a restless thing with my performance and my music and so it is always changing and evolving and I think that’s fun and the most of the fans are stuck with me So

Buzz Knight:

00:37:31.429 – 00:37:33.639

 but it also stems from

Buzz Knight:

00:37:34.219 – 00:37:44.719

 you tour an awful lot And you always have these performances that are memorable and that people want to come back for more on

Adam Weiner 3:

00:37:45.409 – 00:37:47.34

 I hope so

Adam Weiner 3:

00:37:49.11 – 00:38:02.37

 Initially we were a recording band that couldn’t tour because we had the one guy in England and then the two guys in Florida

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:03.28 – 00:38:07.77

 and we would get together a few times a year

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:08.79 – 00:38:26.57

 and the record the record was being reviewed in Rolling Stone and NPR and USA today and Guitar World and New York Times but we’d only play five shows you know a year in the beginning

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:27.62 – 00:38:30.639

 Um Then the whole script flipped

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:31.61 – 00:38:33.28

 and we became

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:33.81 – 00:38:35.229

 a live band

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:35.989 – 00:38:40.899

 and built this whole other reputation in the sort of the second chapter

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:41.81 – 00:38:44.489

 Um And uh

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:45.84 – 00:38:58.82

 that’s why I really relate to people like Springsteen because initially it was this Columbia Records singer songwriter identity that he had But then it was this

Adam Weiner 3:

00:38:59.399 – 00:39:06.189

 powerful rock n roll show that he toured the country with over and over and over and over again which I can really relate to that

Buzz Knight:

00:39:08.909 – 00:39:16.989

 How difficult was it Uh These COVID years I know you recorded the the quarantine sessions there

Adam Weiner 3:

00:39:17.32 – 00:39:34.32

 I thought the COVID years were fantastic I am No I mean it was a horrible time but creatively it was fantastic because Will and I did 100 plus live stream shows

Adam Weiner 3:

00:39:35.0 – 00:39:43.969

 with this thing called Tough Cookies And I became a TV host for a year and a half and I absolutely fucking loved it

Adam Weiner 3:

00:39:44.939 – 00:39:48.6

 So I actually really cherish that time

Adam Weiner 3:

00:39:49.3 – 00:39:51.78

 because I I really um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:39:52.429 – 00:39:59.479

 I felt like what we were doing was really reaching people and was meaningful to people And

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:00.3 – 00:40:05.25

 when you’re a musician or an artist you never know if it means anything to anybody

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:05.85 – 00:40:23.53

 That was the time I knew it meant something to people When I saw nurses showing it in the hospitals and the icus our show when I saw very ill people sending us messages you know thank you You’re keeping me going You’re keeping my spirits up

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:24.55 – 00:40:33.189

 It was fantastic And I decided to just keep doing it until we could tour again which took a year and a half

Buzz Knight:

00:40:34.489 – 00:40:36.699

 And you like interviewing

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:37.31 – 00:40:38.52

 I do Yeah

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:39.149 – 00:40:44.27

 Which is another thing I started doing during the pandemic I had never done before

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:46.26 – 00:40:49.33

 Yeah I got to I got to interview

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:50.169 – 00:40:53.399

 oh man Dion Frankie Valli

Adam Weiner 3:

00:40:54.04 – 00:41:02.85

 I got one of the last interviews with Mike Nesmith from the monkeys I interviewed most of the members of Sly and the family Stone Larry Graham

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:03.86 – 00:41:10.3

 Nancy Wilson from heart on and on and on It was absolutely fantastic

Buzz Knight:

00:41:11.169 – 00:41:13.679

 I would imagine as somebody who’s

Buzz Knight:

00:41:14.479 – 00:41:31.5

 enjoys being a student of things and always trying to improve upon it that uh just like your music with your interviewing um approach you’ve always kind of gone back and said well maybe next time let me tackle it this way

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:31.51 – 00:41:33.199

 or this way Oh yeah you learn

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:33.919 – 00:41:35.639

 you learn for sure

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:36.33 – 00:41:40.55

 And uh I’d like a redo on a few of those interviews But

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:41.219 – 00:41:43.12

 um you learn

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:44.399 – 00:41:46.31

 yeah I mean like

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:47.53 – 00:41:52.12

 that’s the thing about any kind of performance

Adam Weiner 3:

00:41:52.939 – 00:41:59.139

 You can’t you have to learn by doing which means you have to bomb before you can hit You know

Buzz Knight:

00:42:02.01 – 00:42:10.56

 what would you tell somebody now who is a musician on the way up or trying to be on the way up What advice would you give them

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:11.419 – 00:42:19.59

 You know it sounds harsh but it’s what I was told when I first started If you can do anything else do it

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:20.3 – 00:42:26.129

 meaning it’s the people that have such a drive and passion

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:27.86 – 00:42:29.05

 for

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:30.169 – 00:42:31.879

 the art life

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:32.639 – 00:42:34.25

 that they will

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:35.57 – 00:42:38.3

 put themselves in a lifestyle

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:39.449 – 00:42:44.55

 that will be very very difficult be very challenging

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:45.36 – 00:42:46.33

 Um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:47.33 – 00:42:49.939

 Most people can’t hack that

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:50.709 – 00:42:54.54

 So you got to really want it bad and be willing

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:55.76 – 00:42:57.01

 to

Adam Weiner 3:

00:42:58.55 – 00:43:00.0

 look in the mirror

Adam Weiner 3:

00:43:01.489 – 00:43:24.01

 in order to get better at what you do which is what the real task is The hardest part I don’t care if you’re a dancer an actor a writer a painter a singer or whatever You are The hardest part that people don’t want to say is you’ve got to look in the mirror

Adam Weiner 3:

00:43:25.29 – 00:43:38.179

 and self correct You’ve got to admit when that song is just not good enough when the show is just not good enough when your singing isn’t that good I gotta make get better when

Adam Weiner 3:

00:43:39.149 – 00:43:43.26

 every aspect of it you got to be truthful about

Adam Weiner 3:

00:43:44.6 – 00:43:45.61

 um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:43:46.55 – 00:43:49.09

 if you have the belief

Adam Weiner 3:

00:43:49.85 – 00:43:58.08

 that you’re as good as you’re ever going to be you should probably quit That’s what I would That’s my Philadelphia attitude By the way

Adam Weiner 3:

00:43:58.689 – 00:44:05.55

 somebody else would give you different advice That would be a little more hippy dippy That’s not me

Adam Weiner 3:

00:44:06.31 – 00:44:14.739

 I came up the hard way and I think it’s fair to tell young performers writers musicians

Adam Weiner 3:

00:44:16.1 – 00:44:34.52

 go out there and do it and do it over and over again and fail at it and then Correct Right Steve Martin has a book called Born Standing Up That’s all about his stand up comedy career before he

Adam Weiner 3:

00:44:35.399 – 00:44:38.409

 he was a movie star and

Adam Weiner 3:

00:44:39.35 – 00:44:49.37

 read that book It’s one of my favorite books about becoming a performer How many times and in how many different ways did he bomb

Adam Weiner 3:

00:44:50.159 – 00:44:52.07

 And for how long

Adam Weiner 3:

00:44:52.689 – 00:45:02.739

 he tried to do magic He tried to be a folk singer He tried to be an impressionist he tried to be an actor he tried to be a writer he tried to do it all

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:03.919 – 00:45:14.139

 and he did not succeed until he realized what his actual performance should be which was to combine all of them

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:15.3 – 00:45:16.479

 Right Yeah

Buzz Knight:

00:45:17.379 – 00:45:19.649

 And the guy is a master now of everything

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:20.03 – 00:45:22.33

 He became a master

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:23.719 – 00:45:32.1

 he became a master He wasn’t a born genius He became a master of his craft through a lot of work

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:33.27 – 00:45:35.12

 and a lot of failure

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:35.959 – 00:45:46.629

 And it’s so valuable to go out on stage and feel confident because you know exactly what you’re doing and that takes a long time

Buzz Knight:

00:45:50.1 – 00:45:52.919

 So what do you got planned for the rest of the year

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:52.939 – 00:45:58.57

 Man I got a new album coming out in three weeks Art Dealers September 8th

Adam Weiner 3:

00:45:59.629 – 00:46:05.659

 We’re doing a long tour September October Eastern US tour

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:06.919 – 00:46:13.05

 Um And then I have a film coming out I made a movie also called Art Dealers

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:13.58 – 00:46:23.58

 The film is going to be showing at the Richmond International Film Festival and the Sound Unseen Film Festival We’re going to start doing screenings of it

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:24.34 – 00:46:26.729

 for the public this winter

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:27.57 – 00:46:29.409

 and then we’ll see what happens with it

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:30.129 – 00:46:31.139

 And then

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:31.739 – 00:46:38.83

 I’m very excited to say I’ve got a radio show that I’m going to be doing next year I’m busy I don’t know what to tell you

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:39.489 – 00:46:42.429

 What’s the radio show going to be the County Club

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:43.3 – 00:46:44.02

 Uh

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:44.57 – 00:46:45.669

 I did it

Adam Weiner 3:

00:46:46.409 – 00:47:00.949

 in 2019 I did a little quick pilot month that got completely derailed by COVID and now it’s coming back it’s going to be on a radio station here in Philadelphia called WXPN

Adam Weiner 3:

00:47:01.59 – 00:47:09.33

 And I’m going to be live streaming and doing all these fantastic tapings with live guests It’s a variety show

Adam Weiner 3:

00:47:09.889 – 00:47:11.889

 but the whole

Adam Weiner 3:

00:47:12.689 – 00:47:16.61

 point of it is that you’re getting a live

Adam Weiner 3:

00:47:17.61 – 00:47:30.629

 audio broadcasts from this fictional dive bar called the Connie Club where all kinds of crazy people hang out and fucked up things happen And it’s a crazy Saturday night at the Connie Club It’s

Buzz Knight:

00:47:30.639 – 00:47:31.34

 great

Buzz Knight:

00:47:32.429 – 00:47:36.649

 WXPN legendary radio station for sure

Buzz Knight:

00:47:37.389 – 00:47:41.989

 And I know radio has some significance to you Um

Buzz Knight:

00:47:42.79 – 00:47:51.879

 Certainly we talked off line about this a little bit but even on your uh Jerry to tribute

Adam Weiner 3:

00:47:52.05 – 00:47:58.639

 if you will Yeah Well you lived in Philly long enough to know who Jerry is Sure some of your listeners probably don’t know

Buzz Knight:

00:47:58.739 – 00:48:03.75

 I think so I think I think the east coast word travels

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:03.76 – 00:48:11.59

 Yeah Well if you’re listening to this and you don’t know who Jerry Blatt A K A the with the heater was Look it out

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:11.929 – 00:48:14.85

 he was the ultimate ultimate DJ

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:15.83 – 00:48:18.879

 the ultimate exciter in the room

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:19.479 – 00:48:25.159

 And I don’t think it’s wrong to say he was an absolute icon in Philadelphia Like

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:25.949 – 00:48:26.87

 uh

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:27.57 – 00:48:32.02

 one of the most famous people in the city If you know what I mean Everybody knew him

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:32.949 – 00:48:35.8

 I would say so all through his radio Yeah Yeah

Buzz Knight:

00:48:36.439 – 00:48:55.409

 But I think yeah the East Coast words I remember first before I was doing work down in Philadelphia Another person who I think you and your performance is remind me of is Pete Wolf the Wolf of Go Um He I remember him talking about the

Buzz Knight:

00:48:56.12 – 00:48:58.29

 the heater the heater with the Yeah

Adam Weiner 3:

00:48:58.3 – 00:49:07.85

 I mean that’s from a generation of DJ S that were really entertainers They weren’t just the people that hit play they were the entertainers themselves you know

Buzz Knight:

00:49:10.689 – 00:49:16.29

 So in closing do you have any concept of where

Buzz Knight:

00:49:17.0 – 00:49:21.739

 our society would be if music wasn’t such an active part of it

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:26.06 – 00:49:32.25

 Well it it it’s trite but I think it’s true even in my kind of

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:34.35 – 00:49:37.379

 pessimistic view of things

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:37.989 – 00:49:38.939

 um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:39.5 – 00:49:43.219

 music really is the connecting glue between people

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:43.81 – 00:49:48.25

 There is every reason you can think of now that people would be

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:48.78 – 00:49:53.419

 uh divided and antagonistic

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:54.219 – 00:49:56.76

 and disconnected right

Adam Weiner 3:

00:49:57.37 – 00:50:05.1

 in a very acrimonious way Like we’re going through something now in the United States

Adam Weiner 3:

00:50:05.639 – 00:50:13.189

 that we don’t understand the changes that are happening right now in the United States Culturally

Adam Weiner 3:

00:50:14.07 – 00:50:21.54

 that other countries with longer histories have gone through before They’ve gone through periods of time

Adam Weiner 3:

00:50:22.31 – 00:50:24.639

 with um

Adam Weiner 3:

00:50:26.06 – 00:50:31.25

 you know fascist regimes and neighbors

Adam Weiner 3:

00:50:31.87 – 00:50:59.76

 you know ratting on each other to the government and all kinds of terrible things that other countries have gone through And now we’re just starting to go through this really increased period of animosity between people Culturally it’s a sad thing Music is probably the only thing we have maybe sports but music but that’s team versus team music is a thing that absolutely

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:00.3 – 00:51:05.189

 unites people And I know this first hand because I do shows

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:06.159 – 00:51:16.719

 I do these free shows in the summer where I go to towns and counties and do these public events where anyone can show up black white gay straight

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:17.27 – 00:51:24.26

 republican democrat old young whatever you get everybody at these shows

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:24.949 – 00:51:43.5

 and the scene is set for animosity Let me tell you I’ve walked down on stage in situations where people are already screaming at each other And it’s my job to try to find a pathway through music that I can actually get them all together

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:45.62 – 00:51:49.25

 It’s challenging but you can do it without music You can’t

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:50.28 – 00:51:53.209

 it’s a fundamental need that we have

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:55.36 – 00:51:57.78

 is the need for music in our society

Adam Weiner 3:

00:51:58.399 – 00:52:05.6

 I wish it was valued more I wish it was valued more in our society in our schools

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:06.429 – 00:52:10.35

 and in our public sphere But

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:11.76 – 00:52:21.399

 I see it first hand the power of music I have fans people that come to my shows and follow me

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:22.06 – 00:52:27.8

 who are absolutely on the opposite side of the political spectrum for me And they let me know it

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:28.679 – 00:52:32.219

 and I work hard to try to keep them at the table

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:33.439 – 00:52:41.57

 Maybe I’ll change their perspective Maybe I won’t but I still welcome them into the room

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:43.35 – 00:52:50.899

 on the off chance that they might see a broader spectrum in our society

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:51.5 – 00:52:54.28

 It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it I think

Adam Weiner 3:

00:52:56.01 – 00:52:57.01

 I think it’s definitely

Buzz Knight:

00:52:57.02 – 00:52:58.879

 worth it And

Buzz Knight:

00:52:59.86 – 00:53:05.04

 I’m so grateful we got to put some steps on in Columbus Square playground

 It was it was a sort at times we debated going in the pool over there But I think that would have gotten a

Adam Weiner 3:

00:53:14.75 – 00:53:17.0

 little too good for that I can’t

Buzz Knight:

00:53:17.76 – 00:53:19.87

 Adam thanks for being takin

a walk I appreciate it man My man

Announcer:

00:53:24.12 – 00:53:32.58

 taking a walk With Buzz Knight is available on Spotify Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts

Buzz Knight is an established media executive with a long history of content creation and multi-platform distribution.

After a successful career as a Radio Executive, he formed Buzz Knight Media which focuses on strategic guidance and the development of new original content.