WEiGHTLOSS

Friends not forgetting why?
In a scene surrounded by hardcore and fashionable haircuts, Weightloss strive to keep a dead scene alive. One of the only hopes in Hertfordshire for keeping ska punk/core original with technical horn parts and impatient rhythms which empower the socially angry lyrics that vocalist Dan spits out with true meaning and experience.
Weightloss have now been around for over 3 years and have had much gig experience around the UK including: The Underworld, Camden; supporting MU330, Adequate 7 and Bosseye. Also having many successful shows elsewhere in Manchester, Corby, Leamington Spa, Cambridge and Harlow. Not forgetting numerous performances at local venue, Club 85, in Hitchin. Where they played one of their final shows of 2005 supporting the mighty Capdown with help from their friends in $up.
Combining influences from Hardcore, Ska, Punk, and Funk and from bands such as The Blue Meanies, Capdown, Link 80, Primus, Ye Wiles and American Nightmare. The band focuses on songs that sound dark and on social issues that concern them. Weightloss have developed their brand of: Dark Raw Passionate Drug Addled Ska and will take it as far as the petrol in their tanks will take them plus how ever further they can manage to get after that...
Foot of a mountain!
2005 really shook expectations of what was possible upon landing shows at The Astoria in London and then at the Bulldog Bash, organised by the Hells Angels! With some hard work and help from the UK unsigned crew Weightloss were able to score these pretty sweet gigs, which in turn were partly responsible for the momentum thats been building since.
Fine Wine!
In 2006 they stepped it up another perpetual notch in true Weightloss fashion: bending a steamy fresh pile of turd all over their previous accomplishments and scored themselves a deal with Spiky Black Cat Records of London. This set the tone for an eagerly anticipated year ahead! So in April ‘06 having recorded a 2 track single – A taste of what was to come – Weightloss set out on the first stretch of their spring/summer tour welcoming Dave on trombone and our new found friends A Billion Ernies from California to the UK with help from mutual friends The Junglists.
What doesn’t kill ya!
Certainly the path to stardom was less of a path and more of a rocky road where this bitchin’ gang of fags are concerned. Nevertheless this year was possibly one of the most exiting and productive years yet - in every sense. Indeed gaining insight into their true natures as individuals and finding out how exactly to cope with such group dynamics has taught them a lot. So, well drunk, well learned and not so well fed; Weightloss are set to come back even bigger and stronger than ever before, and by the time all the Christmas turkeys have made their way back to the waste processing plant at the Thames valley water co. Our thoughts are just noise shall be upon us; boasting 14 tracks, polished with mud and containing their loveliest licks and most luscious lines yet. Who knows what will happen In the coming months. For better or worse though weightloss have made their mark and should all learn to cheer the fuck up, you’ve done it lads, life Is good, music is paramount! – Enjoy it! That goes for you too!
CDS/SHIRTS AVALIBLE FROM..
DAVIDS MUSIC, LETCHWORTH
CD HEAVEN, HITCHIN
NEVERMIND THE MUSIC SHOP, BOSTON, LINCONSHIRE
GOODY AT CLUB 85 ON THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS, SATURDAYS, SUNDAYS FROM 5.30PM
INTERNET SHOP WWW.SPIKYBLACKCAT.CO.UK
REVIEWSBedford Esquires, 17.02.06 Supporting The Selecter were firstly Weightloss, a young seven piece Ska band who were warmly welcomed back after a lengthy absence from Level 2. They include tonight a new trombonist and their set gets everyone in the mood, especially 'Logistical Nightmare' which tells the tale of working in The City.
Weightloss are currently on tour with The Junglist and A Billion Ernies, of which vocalist Dan reveals has been great fun and thankfully my voice is holding up! Last night they had performed at the Camden Underworld, which was a massive thrill for them and judging by the look and sound of their stage show, the boys are still on a musical high, this being the penultimate night of their sortie, before finishing at the homecoming gig in Hitchin tomorrow. Ebb and Flow is a forerunner to what follows as the delicious brass section kicks in big time. In fact, only a broken string during Keep Walking halts Weightlosss imperious progress. The infinitely heavy rock blast of 'High Types' ends an enjoyable set.
Weightloss @ Roadkill, Liverpool 7/12/06
At the end of 2006, ska music in the UK is firmly in the grip of Lily Allen and a contestant off Celebrity Big Brother. Enter Weightloss, seven guys from the mean streets of, erm, Hertfordshire. In front of a crowd of Scouse strangers, they come on like fellow ASBO skankers The Rank Deluxe, but with a violent injection of DC hardcore and a Lenin-alike trombonist whacked up them. The pissed off suburban blues of ‘Eat In Pieces’ is a bit like Rumble Strips, had they been raised on Green Day rather than Dexys, while ‘The Perfect Waste Of Time’ has been taking notes from ‘Joe Strummer’s Book Of Rabble Rousing’. ‘GNV Cru’ is the best thing here tonight, though; devastatingly street, frontman, Dan, rasps like a grime MC on a tune more vicious than the wrong side of Amy Winehouse. Weightloss: proof that modern British ska needn’t be totally in awe to The Specials, or, like, totally shit.
RELEASES
The Hardcore Sax EP 2003
The Perfect Waste of Time EP 2004
Desperate Times and Forbidden Pleasures EP 2005
Ebb and Flow Single 2006
Our Thoughts are Just Noise Album 2007
FUTURE RELEASES ...
7" Split
ALBUM REVIEWS
As a general rule, my ears and Ska music do not get on. Many an exasperated wail or attempted scratching out of my ear drums has been attempted while being witness to often dreary and monotonous genericism, now sadly so common in a multitude of modern Ska music. The big but however, quite inevitably, is that the new Weightloss album destroys these negative preconceptions of Ska that I, and perhaps some of you, have.
The opening track “My Secret”, with its both epic and catchy vocal harmony immediately communicates a message of innovation; this is not your average Ska band. This can be said for the majority of the album, which boasts a subtle yet complex blend of different musical influences. Thrash, Hardcore, Jazz, and even a tint of Romanian Gypsy music (to name but a few) make a fundamentally Ska/Punk/Reggae band really surpass their generic peers. It is always encouraging to know that our scene can be capable of fresh material.
It is this eclectic take on their chosen style of music that makes Weightloss so appealing. The album is a charged, mature and yet also breathlessly fun journey through 14 tracks that are confident in their balance of humour and sincerity, lyrically and musically. I was surprised on my first listen to glance at the track listing and realise (with a worryingly feminine “oo!”) that I was half way through the album and was not yet bored. In fact, I was far from bored, actually experiencing a sense of pleasure at the music I was listening to. Basically, I was quite unexpectedly impressed.
Despite the above praise, I do have one or two gripes. Although a fresh squeezing of a genre that has had its cud well and truly chewed, it still manages to become overly repetitive at some points. However, this is almost entirely subjective, as what I see as needless repetition can appear to others the necessary repetition of a scorching hook. In fact, I can confidently say that Skankaholics will still get the most out of this album, despite my epiphany stated above. As the album continues to play, I find myself keen to listen to it in bite-size chunks rather than indulging in extended listening that I can imagine only truly die hard fans of the genre will be able to get a kick out of. Also, I notice that the first half of the album is far more enjoyable and varied opposed to the second half. Although perhaps a homage to their roots, I feel it lacks the pizzazz that the previous half wields so confidently.
Despite this however, Weightloss have produced a CD that our scene should be proud of. It is a well executed album, boasting a maturity and complexity that many other bands should wish they had. As to coin some sort of resident scoring system, I think I will be inspired and bounce off “Intestzine’s” vital-organtastic title. I thus give it 4 Spleens out of 5!