Ellington

"Cups in Fondren … 3:30 … look for the long-haired twins." These were my instructions from Chaz Lindsay, guitarist and singer for The Weeks. Formed on March 3, The Weeks is a Jackson band, even if three of the members live in Florence. They fit right in at Cups on that afternoon. The "long-haired twins," Cyle and Cain Barnes, were easy to spot; both resembled a young Robert Plant.

We sat down to talk at a table outside as dark storm clouds loomed to the west. I was sure we were going to get soaked, but the group possessed an air of indifference. These guys weren't going to let anything rain on their parade that day; not only was school almost out, they were on their way to being rock stars. I had to shake the coffeehouse groupies off them for our short interview.

The Weeks formed after Chaz and Cain met and decided they should get together and jam. The encounter occurred at W.C. Don's in downtown Jackson. "Without Don's we wouldn't be here now, and Jackson wouldn't have much of a music scene," says guitarist Sam Williams. The Weeks played their first show at Don's. (The video of the performance is available on their Web site.)

I got a sense early on that this is a close-knit group. "We share everything," Cyle tells me after he takes a chug of Chaz's drink.

Right now, the band is working on a six-song debut EP. "The record should be ready in a few weeks," Chaz tells me—just in time for their show at W.C. Don's on May 29. They are recording with Misha Hercules at Olympic Studios in Crystal Springs.

The band also plans on playing outside the city limits for the first time this summer at two shows in Birmingham. "We are definitely looking forward to playing out of town," Chaz says. One remarkable fact about this band is that they have never tried to book a gig. They have been asked to play all their shows thus far, which is something most bands, especially ones in high school, wouldn't dream of happening.

The band consists of twin brothers Cyle and Cain, on vocals and drums respectively. Chaz Lindsay holds down the rhythm side of the guitars, while Sam Williams rips it up on lead. And like so many, this group's bassist goes by a comical title: D-Bone, short for Damien; I guess it just comes with the territory. We all laughed when I told them that my high school bassist's nickname was T-Bone—I gave it to him, and we still call him that to this day. Spanning grades 9 through 11, this group behaves more like they are in college than in high school.

Although they have played in other bands, all members agree that there is something different about The Weeks. When asked what they enjoy the most about playing in the band, the consensus seems to be that they most enjoy each other. "It is nice to be able to play and just have fun for once," Chaz says. If anything, this is probably what makes the group seem more mature: the fact that they are just having fun instead of worrying about what will happen.

"There is no bickering at practice about what we should sound like; we just love to play," Cyle says. The band does most of their writing together, using improvisation to find their sound. Cyle writes his own lyrics as well.

The Weeks' sound is hard to nail down. There are definitely classic rock overtones, but The Weeks also show the influence of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the music's energy and complexity. Other influences include Buddy Guy, The Strokes, The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Colour Revolt, The Beatles, The Mars Volta, The White Stripes, Cream and Wilco. If you are at all into classic or indie rock, you should definitely check these guys out.

Previous Comments

ID

63763

Comment

Write an article about Apache Valentino. They are recording a second CD, an EP, at The Lab again, with Matt Pleasant. That is the same place King Elementary recorded.

Author

Patrick Roach

Date

2006-05-25T15:06:53-06:00

ID

63764

Comment

Send us a copy when it comes out.

Author

herman

Date

2006-06-02T08:25:56-06:00

ID

63765

Comment

will do

Author

Patrick Roach

Date

2006-06-02T10:06:43-06:00