No-nonsense, 60's influenced, progressive pop rock and roll.

7 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Progressive Rock, POP: Power Pop



Details:
"It's interesting music. It really is."

In a 1996 entertainment article in Nashville's "The Tennessean" newspaper, piano great Floyd Cramer used these words to describe a young, new Nashville rock band called Weatherspoon. In the eight plus years that Weatherspoon has been together, much has changed. But Weatherspoon continues to produce interesting music, and continues to impress first time listeners and long time fans alike.

Weatherspoon is a 4-piece pop / rock band known for their unique and uncharacteristic sound, as well as their appealing and energetic live show. They have developed a mature sound that comes from almost a decade of playing together. Their sound draws from a broad range of influences, focusing on tight harmonies, infectious upbeat rhythm, and compelling guitar. Their songs are progressive and original, but draw heavily from the 60's rock and pop that they have long admired.

Weatherspoon's powerful, heart-felt vocals are delivered by Brian Hoppes, who also doubles on rhythm guitar duties. Hoppes is backed by bassist Seth Waltenbaugh's and drummer Justin Lowe's sensitive harmonies and propulsive rhythm section. Finally, Josh Lowe's driving yet tasteful lead guitar binds the elements together in a cohesive sound that is hard to put a label on, yet hard to turn away. Songwriting duties are shared equally among the four musicians.

As the band continues to mature, the amount of time spent together not only as musicians, but as best friends, becomes strikingly evident. Josh and cousin Justin, both self taught musicians who attribute their talent to growing up in a musical family, began playing together in middle school. They, along with long time friend Seth, began seriously rehearsing as a group in 1994 with former guitarist Chris Wilkins. Later that year, Brian completed the group when he joined on as vocalist. The band made great strides at an early age, most of the boys still in high school, when they attracted the attention of Floyd Cramer, who later signed on as the band's manager and producer in 1996. The resulting recordings were shelved, though, during Floyd's battle and eventual death to cancer in 1997. The band released a self produced demo 2 years later, but struggled to keep momentum going while working and attending different colleges and universities in different parts of the state.

Weatherspoon re-grouped in early 2002 and began working on a new direction. The goal was to get back to something they had strayed away from...ROCK. The result is a stripped down, no-nonsense style of rock that hits hard and gets feet tapping and people singing along in no time. The songs range from Beatle-esque pop, to the riff heavy drive of the Kinks or the Rolling Stones, to the loud antics of The Who. The guys are honored to have composed the lyrics and arrangement for a rock re-make of Floyd Cramer's instrumental hit from the early 60's, "Last Date," fulfilling one of his final requests of the band before his death. Weatherspoon is currently working on recording 6 of these new songs for a future EP with engineer/producer Allen Ditto at Emerald Studios in Nashville. The guys are more excited about this project than any previous effort to date, and can't wait to get it in as many hands as possible after it's release.