All the best things in life are weird. This has been a personal philosophy of mine since I can remember, and is absolutely one that will stick with me forever.
Because at its core, what “weird” actually boils down to is unapologetic authenticity. What’s weird?
Freakshows. Carnivals. Bad B-Movies. Surrealism.
But at the core of their being, what makes these things “weird” is their unwillingness to bend to social and cultural conformity. They simply are. And that’s weird. And it’s f*cking awesome.
The Weird Sisters alums Gabi and Izaac certainly embody this essence of “weird”, and not just because they borrow the moniker for their band name. From posting the long lost items found in their couch cushions (one such item was a KNIFE) to teasing new singles with videos of dancing crawdads, the spirit of weirdness encompasses The Weird Sisters.
I interviewed the pair over the phone to talk about the genesis of their band as well as their most recent single “Lost in the Chronic.”
Borne from a reference to Harry Potter after meeting at a Twilight Zone infused spaghetti dinner (yeah, you read that right) The Weird Sisters have been providing Nashville with jammy psychedelic grooves for the past four years.
Weird Sisters is comprised of former orchestral conductor Gabrielle Lewis (vocals, synth, keys, saxophone), Izaac Short (lead vocals, guitar, synth) and Jeff Brown (drums and percussion).
The differences in their influences and backgrounds really help to give The Weird Sisters a unique sound.
“I was conducting three orchestras at the time,” said Lewis of the time of the bands conception,
“It was awesome. But then we [Izaac and I] started jamming and the rest is history.”
Part of what allows the band so much creative freedom has been their drive to DIY everything. Up until this last single, all mixing and mastering was done by the band themselves. This gave The Weird Sisters full creative control, and the agency to create absolute bangers like “Texas Toast.”
This time though, they teamed up with the legendary Grammy award winning producer and engineer Vance Powell ( The White Stripes, Phish, Arctic Monkeys, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown).
“We’ve known Vance for going on three years, he’s the tightest dude you could ever know,” Izaac said.
“We had been working on this track just like in our basement for awhile now, and really didn’t know where to go with it. We just hit up Vance one day and we were like hey man, you wanna take a crack at it?”
“Lost in the Chronic” is heavy laden with the surreal-funk that The Weird Sisters specialize in. It was recorded at Sputnik Sound in Berry Hill, TN. It has a slightly different, perhaps more polished sound than some of their earlier recordings, but still authentic to The Weird Sisters sound.
“We would be happy to work with anyone if we felt that they could really add something to our sound,” said Izaac.
“But we just hadn’t felt like that yet about anybody else,” added Gabi.
“Vance just happened to be the dude.”
The Weird Sisters are fueled by creative individuality, uniqueness, and good vibes. Their focus is to be true to themselves, but most importantly they want to make music that makes people feel good and brings them together.
“We’re always second guessing ourselves, thinking, what’s the most authentic version of this moment now? We’re trying to capture that. That’s been a big focus throughout this entire project. That and the whole idea of music bringing people together, you know?” - Izaac Short
You can stream “Lost in the Chronic” now and check out more music by The Weird Sisters on YouTube and Spotify.