{"id":17689,"date":"2019-12-02T05:30:20","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T10:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=17689"},"modified":"2019-11-19T07:12:25","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T12:12:25","slug":"rock-and-bounce-big-freedia-and-low-cut-connie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/02\/rock-and-bounce-big-freedia-and-low-cut-connie\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock and Bounce: Big Freedia and Low Cut Connie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: This story was originally published in October in<\/em> Mountain Xpress.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Combing different musical genres is more common than it was a generation ago; the barriers between styles have been knocked down by groundbreaking artists. While a hip hop\/rock hybrid like Run-D.M.C.’s \u201cWalk This Way\u201d was revolutionary in 1986, today’s musical marketplace is filled with genre-blurring acts. But even by that measure, the co-headlining concert tour featuring Big Freedia and indie rockers Low Cut Connie is a remarkable pairing. The show featuring New Orleans-based singer-rapper and the band led by Adam Weiner comes to the Orange Peel on October 26.<\/p>\n

Low Cut Connie’s five albums \u2013 from the 2011 debut Get Out the Lotion<\/i> to last year’s Dirty Pictures (Part 2)<\/i> \u2013 draw from early rock and roll, soul, gospel and roots music, but the musically omnivorous Weiner synthesizes his influences into something unique. So it’s not surprising that he knew about Big Freedia, the \u201cQueen of Bounce.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been a fan of Freedia for years,\u201d Weiner says. Low Cut Connie’s 2015 album, Hi Honey<\/i> included a song called \u201cLittle Queen of New Orleans,\u201d a song that would seem well-suited to Big Freedia. In fact that was the plan. \u201cI had tried to pitch it to Freedia\u2019s former manager, but I never got anywhere,\u201d Weiner says with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

Today, Low Cut Connie and Big Freedia share a manager. And that connection made it easier for Weiner to reach out to the flamboyant artist born Freddie Ross. \u201cI just interviewed her for my new radio show, The Connie Club<\/i>,\u201d Weiner says.<\/p>\n

He doesn’t think there’s a gulf between Low Cut Connie’s arch and sometimes lascivious rock and Freedia’s uptempo hip hop. \u201cI don’t care about genre,\u201d he says. \u201cEven though Freedia\u2019s operating in the bounce subgenre of hip hop and we\u2019re a rock and roll band, we both try to bring a total, joyful release to the crowds at our shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

For her part, Freedia doesn’t have much to say about the pairing, though she makes it clear she’s a fan of Weiner and his band as well. \u201cAdam’s very entertaining and very talented,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the band, they just do their thing. It’s going to be a lot of great energy in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weiner values the freedom that comes with being an indie \u2013 as opposed to major-label \u2013 artist. \u201cBecause rock and roll is not really as commercially viable as it used to be, I feel like I don\u2019t really need to play the game to try to meet the industry\u2019s expectation of what music I should be doing,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do what feels good,\u201d Weiner says. \u201c I try to make songs that I\u2019m proud of, and put on shows that I\u2019m proud of. There\u2019s really not much beyond that.\u201d And for Adam Weiner, one of the things that feels good is tapping into Big Freedia’s fan base. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting for me that we get to be seen by demographics of people who might not buy tickets to see a rock and roll show,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important in our culture now to try to cross pollinate,\u201d Weiner says. Part of the goal with the Low Cut Connie\/Big Freedia tour is to do just that. \u201cWe try to bring different kinds of people who might not otherwise be in the same room into the same club.\u201d And while he’s careful not to release any details, a studio collaboration between the two acts seems a distinct possibility. \u201cWe did a song together for the radio show, with me on piano and singing, and her rapping,\u201d Weiner says.<\/p>\n

Big Freedia doesn’t know exactly what the Asheville show will be like. Or if she does, she’s not telling. \u201cYou never know what might happen,\u201d she says. \u201cLots of ass shaking, maybe some flipping on pianos; we just don\u2019t know. But we do<\/i> know it\u2019s going to be a helluva show. We’re going to party, and people are going to definitely remember it for the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weiner is nearly as circumspect. Asked to describe what the evening of entertainment by his band plus Big Freedia will be like, he offers only the slightest hint. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a set by each of us and then some shtick together,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople are going to have to buy a ticket to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both artists have played in Asheville multiple times in the past, and they’re excited about returning. Weiner recalls a gig some years ago at Tiger Mountain. \u201cI love playing in Asheville,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause people are not afraid to get their hair messed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Asheville,\u201d Big Freedia says. \u201cWe partied last time, and I think this is going to be even better. They\u2019re getting the two for one special.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: This story was originally published in October in Mountain Xpress. Combing different musical genres is more common than it was a generation ago; the barriers between styles have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,41,44,62],"tags":[4031,237,4029,4030],"class_list":["post-17689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hip-hop","category-interview","category-live-shows","category-rawk","tag-adam-weiner","tag-asheville","tag-big-freedia","tag-low-cut-connie","cat-36-id","cat-41-id","cat-44-id","cat-62-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17689"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17691,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17689\/revisions\/17691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}