If legendary doom guitarist/vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich has proven anything over the course of his career, it’s that he’s a fan of the trio. Between The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand and his Wino solo outfit, there’s obviously something about the chemistry of three players on stage and in the studio that holds great appeal. It’s a classic formula, anyway, and Weinrich is essentially a classic player in a rock sense, and on the heels of his successful Adrift solo acoustic offering and with new albums from Saint Vitus and the supergroup Shrinebuilder still nebulous on the horizon, he unveils Premonition 13, his latest trio band. The twist here is that it’s a four-piece. On their self-titled 7” single, released earlier this year, Weinrich handed bass as well as guitar and vocals, and he does the same on the follow-up full-length, 13, which is also issued by Volcom. Former Meatjack bassist Brian Danilowski (also of the droning Darsombra) was playing with them for a while, but that seems to have dissipated, putting Weinrich in the rhythm section along with drummer Matthew Clark as well as dueling it out on guitar with Jim Karow, whose longtime friendship with Weinrich seems very much to be the impetus behind starting the band.

Karow also adds vocals to Weinrich’s trademark style, and the two offset each other well. In that regard, Premonition 13 has something in common sound-wise with The Hidden Hand, in which bassist Bruce Falkinburg also contributed both lead and background singing in a similar fashion to what occurs with Karow on 13. Still, there’s no question that Premonition 13 is its own unit, and that it’s the double-guitars that make it so. Longtime followers of Weinrich will recognize many of the elements at play immediately – the downtrodden riffing, dynamic shifts, fire-red solos and Wino’s half-snarled/half-crooned singing – but just as people have different personalities, so do bands, and with so much to compare it to, 13 still emerges as somewhat unique within the context of the vast Weinrich catalog. A thread of strong songwriting emerges throughout the nine component tracks, and the two-guitar factor allows more room for the music to breathe, as Premonition 13 shows with subtle psychedelic flourishes in passing moments like the intro to opener “B.E.A.U.T.Y.,” the centerpiece interlude “La Hechicera de la Jeringa (Prelude)” and closer “Peyote Road.” 13 begins with a fade-up of e-bow guitar, giving an ethereal hum for the first two of the song’s total nine minutes (it’s the longest on the album; bonus points in my mind for putting it at the start), before the riffing starts and Karow and Weinrich trade off vocals to excellent affect, following the undulating riff to make the song both engaging and memorable in a way that’s no less so for being what you’d expect.

There are a few genuine highlight cuts on 13 – third track “Clay Pigeons” and the later, infectious “Modern Man” on which Karow takes the lead vocal come to mind most readily – but it’s important to note that Premonition 13’s first LP, is very much that: An LP. It’s structured into sides, and the flow from one song to the next is smooth and easy. In a way, “B.E.A.U.T.Y.” is a microcosm of the album itself, it’s grand, open-string ending sounding huge with Clark’s capable but not flashy drumming behind. Followed by the shorter, more driving “Hard to Say,” the tempo gets a kick and a highlight solo is provided, if one more deeply mixed than it might be on an album that doesn’t have two guitars. There’s another strong chorus that the verse seems to be in a hurry to get to (though maybe that’s just the impatient riff), but “Clay Pigeons” overwhelms its lead-in both in terms of execution and complexity. Weinrich and Karow infuse the back end of the song with some of 13’s best guitar interplay, and the long fadeout sets up the quieter “Senses,” which closes Side A in semi-ballad fashion, with a quiet verse and heavier chorus structure that repeats twice and leads to a bridge and chorus ending that works well. Like a lot of 13, it’s been done before, but is still a boon to the converted.

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Longtime fans of guitarist/vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich will recognize his signature tone almost immediately on Switchouse/Crossthreaded, the debut 7” from his new project, Premonition 13 (released via Volcom Entertainment’s vinyl club in a limited edition green-record pressing of 1,000), but there’s something different going on too. Something strange. Spoiler alert: It’s another guitar. Though Premonition 13 remains, as of this release, a power trio with Weinrich adding bass to his guitar and singing duties, he’s joined in this new project by guitarist and longtime friend Jim Karow, who proves no slouch when it comes to keeping up with the blazing leads and huge-footed stomping grooves. The two tracks they present – “Switchouse” and “Crossthreaded,” oddly enough – find Weinrich well in his element songwriting-wise, and though it’s not the first time he’s worked with another guitarist, it is the first time he’s worked with a guitarist doing this. Where the supergroup Shrinebuilder, in which he shares six-string responsibility with Scott Kelly of Neurosis, draws from elements of its various members’ bands, Premonition 13 feels very much in the vein of Weinrich’s trio projects – Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, the Wino band – though perhaps more the former than the latter.

“Switchouse” begins immediately with a solo and moves quick into its verse. Judging by tone alone, I’d guess it’s Karow’s lead with Weinrich on the backing track, but I could be wrong, and before you know it, the song’s started anyway. The double-guitars don’t affect arrangement much, at least as compares to a record like the Wino band’s Punctuated Equilibrium – Weinrich’s prior release in the trio format, now over two years old – in that the song is rife with soloing in almost every bridge, which is how it should be, or at least what expectation dictates. Drummer Matthew Clark keeps a standard middle pace, not unreasonably fast, not overwhelmingly slow, but steady on his cymbals and snare. There isn’t any trickery going on stylistically, either. The song is more or less straightforward in its structure, verse/chorus, etc., and apart from some backing “ooh”s from Weinrich, there isn’t much to catch listeners off guard. That’s not to say the song is boring. Rather, it harkens at a similar kind of easy-riding atmosphere as Spirit Caravan’s landmark debut, Jug Fulla Sun, and blends it with a kind of “you’re going to get screwed over” social critique in the lyrics to result in a brew so distinctly Weinrich’s that I almost feel like I’m downplaying Karow’s involvement by not including him more in the description. If Premonition 13 is looking to make an opening statement with Switchouse/Crossthreaded, side A does so definitively.

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It was my first time at Santos Party House. The club, famously shut down last year for dealing drugs, resides in that not-quite-Chinatown, not-quite-financial-district section of Manhattan below Canal St., down by where the Knitting Factory used to make its home on Leonard. It’s kind of a nether-region in New York, at least after 6PM when all the suits have gone home. Stores close. There’s parking. Santos seemed to be doing alright anyway for attracting a crowd; last night’s was the most packed Weedeater show I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a few.

Over in the Webster Hall basement, The Brought Low and Puny Human were opening for Danko Jones and if I’d had half a brain in my head or a memory to retain what goes into said brain, I would have headed into the city early to catch their sets before hitting up Santos, but no, I was playing it cool, waiting to get to the club at around 9:30. Clubs in NYC can go either way these days. In Brooklyn, you’re more or less guaranteed a late night, but you never know who in Manhattan is going to decide at 11PM that it’s time for the dance party to start. To Santos‘ credit, the dance party was downstairs by the bathrooms and Weedeater, ASG and Naam played upstairs. A few years ago, that would have been the other way around.

Naam were on stage when I got in, bathed in blue light, playing songs from their self-titled Tee Pee Records debut and Kingdom EP, which, try as I might, I still can’t find a copy of on CD. They had the vinyl for sale, but any disc smaller than that was a no dice. I’ve seen them a couple times now, and as they make ready to head over to Europe for a Tee Pee label tour that includes a stop at Roadburn, they sound ready for it. “Kingdom,” which they closed with, sounded especially killer, beardo bassist John Bundy‘s backing vocals giving that last chorus an extra push behind guitarist Ryan Lugar.

There are printed signs posted all around the club with messages like, “Santos Wants You To Be Happy” and “No One Knows Who You Are” and an attendant in the bathroom to hand me a paper towel, so there were some mixed messages in terms of what the vibe of the club overall was supposed to be, but I could easily see it being a rave-type place. Still, a ton of people came out for the show, and young people, and girls. Not just girlfriends, either. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know quite what to make of it.

For their part, ASG — who share Weedeater‘s hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina — were heavier than I thought they’d be. I vaguely recall their 2008 Win Us Over debut on Volcom, and it was passable in terms of West Coast-style riff rock, but nothing really landmark. Likewise, their live set was full of killer guitar work, and crowd ate it up each time drummer Scott Key locked into a half-time groove (who could blame them?), but overall, I was left somewhat cold by the performance.

When the lights came down at the start of their set, guitarist Jason Shi took an extra five minutes to check and get the levels on his mic, feeding back into the crowd and apologizing for it, but doing it anyway. Maybe I never got over that. Not to hold wanting to sound as good as possible against the guy, but come on dude, at some point it just has to be what it’s gonna be. I’m sure thinking that makes me a prick. I’ll live.

The last time I remember seeing Weedeater (which, since it’s Weedeater, isn’t necessarily the last time I saw them) was a few years back in an Alphabet City basement that’s not there anymore called Club Midway. Or if it’s there, they stopped putting on this kind of show because they weren’t making any money. Anyway, the place had a decent amount of people in it — not a crowd by any stretch, but a good showing of the NYC faithful. Santos was jammed. I guess the people who’ve moved to the area over the last five years, mostly Brooklynite hipsters, but some humans as well, are of a different mindset than the last generation of showgoers — mine — and more open to this kind of thing.

Part of me wants to be the grumpy old man and tell the damn kids to get off my lawn, but on the other hand, fuck it, good for the bands. If Weedeater can pack a house in NYC and have people moshing to songs on an album that isn’t even out yet, maybe Manhattan will start getting more shows again. And if that saves me driving two hours to Brooklyn at any point, it can’t be all that bad.

Weedeater opened with the start of their new record, Jason… the Dragon, which they were also selling in advance of its release date. “The Great Unfurling” intro led into “Hammerhandle” led into “Mancoon” led into “Turkey Warlock,” and it was a violent, energetic start to the set. Guitarist Dave “Shep” Shepherd sounded huge through a spraypainted Marshall stack, and recent Obelisk interviewee “Dixie” Dave Collins might have the best bass tone in sludge. His cackling vocals seemed to be swallowed up in the distortion and groove surrounding, but he managed to cut through well enough, on more or less equal footing on the stage with Shepherd and be-dreadlocked drummer Keith “Keko” Kirkum.

The highlight of the set and the night for me was “Homecoming,” which Collins introduced by saying something like “Here’s a new song, I hope you fucking hate it.” That riff is one of the best they’ve ever come up with, and whether or not the audience had heard the track before, they dug it hard. Moshing at a stoner show. I guess that’s what happens when the kids show up.

Some bands act angry on stage, posture and look pissed off, but there’s something about the contempt with which Collins delivers his performance that makes me believe it’s genuine. And being in New York, I’m used to bands coming through who hate the town — half the time I’m there, I feel the same way, and it’s only going to take me an hour to get home — but with Weedeater, it was more than that. Some kind of drunken misanthropy-turned-rage that only got more visceral as the set wore on. Toward the end, when Collins said, “We’re gonna play a couple old songs now,” and then launched into “God Luck and Good Speed” from the 2007 album of the same name, I wondered if maybe there was a little extra edge of “fuck you” in his voice, as Weedeater had two albums out before then that, in all likelihood, the crowd wouldn’t know nearly as well.

Their Skynyrd cover of “Gimme Back My Bullets” followed “God Luck and Good Speed,” and they closed with “Weed Monkey,” also both from God Luck and Good Speed, and at the end of the set, Collins — if I heard correctly — advised everyone to “get high as eagle pussy on stilts.” Sound advice, and a little ironic after I watched Santos security drag a dude out by his hair presumably for smoking something he shouldn’t have been, but I didn’t take it.

Instead, I headed down the block to the car and drove back to the valley to be up for work this morning, the wackiness of my recently-purchased Leeches of Lore CD keeping me company along the way. I wound up with a bunch of extra pictures from the show, so if you want to have a look, feel free after the jump.

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If it wasn’t enough that it was The Patient Mrs.‘ birthday and I still got to go to the show, I knew walking into The Mercury Lounge that it was going to be a good night because the dude at the door said, “Hey man, I dig your beard.” Had it been anyone else playing that night, I might have just cut my losses and gone home right then, opened up my diary (or WordPress) and written, “Today was a good day.” Instead I celebrated with an $8 Sierra Nevada.

I figured out the last time I was at the Mercury Lounge was a couple years back to see Dax Riggs, and though I expected my skin to be burned off in hipster hell, it wasn’t actually that bad. Well, maybe it was, but the last acoustic show I went to was Six Organs of Admittance, and the volume of that crowd was so loud it was offensive, and that definitely wasn’t the case here. I don’t care how ironic your flannel is so long as you’re there for the music and you’re not a dick about it.

Opening the show was Hunter Hunt-Hendrix of black metallers Liturgy doing a solo performance that turned out to be him, a looper, some vocal effects, and nothing else. His voice mimicked strings and he set up elaborate choruses of himself over the course of a couple separate pieces. It was brave, but probably not something that should be done for more than 10 minutes at a stretch, as after that the “What the hell am I doing here?” impulse kicked in and I went to the bar out front for another drink and to wait for Man’s Gin. People were in and out from the back room and I could hear just fine in case he, you know, took out a guitar or something. Nope. Semi-melodic moaning all the way.

The plan for the night was Man’s Gin, then Wino, then Scott Kelly, then Wino and Scott Kelly together, and it was a good plan by me. I dug Man’s Gin‘s Smiling Dogs record and was psyched to see the Erik Wunder-fronted outfit in their full-band incarnation after when I last caught them at Lit Lounge and it was just Wunder and standup-bassist Josh Lozano with percussion behind. Fade Kainer (Inswarm, Batillus) handled drums and Scott Edward guitar, and they were loose, but sounded good all the same.

They got a mixed reaction from the crowd, but it seemed more positive than ambivalent, which translates to triumph in Manhattan. Everyone in attendance who was conscious of their surroundings during the grunge era probably had a better idea of what they were going for than those who weren’t, whatever that says. Highlight of the set was the Neurosis-style drum jam at the end and “Doggamn.” Still waiting for them to do “The Ballad of Jimmy Sturgis” live.

It was a party when Wino took the stage, and that spirit continued through his set, numerous whoops and hollers coming from the crowd. Wino, up there by himself with just an acoustic guitar, couldn’t help but rip into a fuzzed-out solo about halfway in, but aside from playing them a bit faster (as he acknowledged he had a tendency to do in our interview), he was loyal to the versions of the songs that appear on his Adrift album. The split 7″ single he shares with Scott Kelly was mentioned as being for sale for just $5 — end of tour blowout price — and it seemed only proper to pick one up.

He covered Townes Van Zandt, as would Kelly when he took the stage later, but the highlight of Wino‘s set was probably “I Don’t Care,” which he prefaced with a story about being 15 and getting locked up in a Maryland juvenile detention center and writing the song then. It was one of my least favorite tracks on Adrift, but the performance live and the context made it a high point of the evening. I actually saw people dance. It happened.

The thing about Wino is that, even if he’s doing something else (i.e. playing acoustic), he’s a classic rock songwriter, and he can’t help but rock out. He brought the crowd along with him for the trip, and when Scott Kelly took the stage later, it was clear that, despite their apparent friendship and cohabitation in the supergroup Shrinebuilder, they’re two very different performers.

Scott Kelly plays s-l-o-w. He’s really, really good at it. The room — apart from one dude who decided it would be a good idea to accompany Kelly‘s guitar by banging on a cinderblock and eventually brought the show to a screeching halt — was dead quiet. So much so that Kelly remarked approvingly on it more than once (we did good!) as he went through his set of morose, low-key but still highly emotive songs. He covered his half of the split with Wino, taking three tries to get through the song because of the aforementioned cinderblock jackass, and by the time his version of “Tecumseh Valley” was done, my arrived-at conclusion of the evening became, “Well, I guess it’s time to buy a Townes Van Zandt record.” He made a pretty convincing argument.

I had been hoping for “Remember Me,” which originally appeared on Blood and Time‘s At the Foot of the Garden before Kelly re-recorded it for his last solo album, the brilliant The Wake. That was a no dice, but the new Shrinebuilder song Kelly brought Wino on stage to play, and the jam that ensued from there, was more than enough to make up for anything lacking. The crowd had thinned some by the time they were done, but not much, and those who were there were entranced by what they were watching. Wino took leads (higher in the mix, or maybe it was where I was standing) while Kelly played rhythms, and each guitarist seemed to enjoy most of all the chance to be on stage with the other. It was something I was glad to have witnessed when it was over.

Something I was less glad about was having lost the ticket from coatcheck. Whoops. It really is a wonder I’m not divorced by now. The Patient Mrs. and I stood, describing the contents of her coat pockets to the heavy-sighs of the girl at the rack, and eventually, we got her jacket and left. I don’t know if it was her best birthday ever, and I don’t know if it’s the only time I’m ever going to get to see Wino and Scott Kelly perform together in this fashion (they looked to be having a good enough time that I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again at some point), but man, if ever there was a time I was happy to be in New York on a Saturday night, this was it.

He might be the single most pivotal figure in American doom. Scott “Wino” Weinrich, in a career that’s lasted more than 30 years and is only showing signs of speeding up, has assembled the greatest pedigree in heavy music that doesn’t belong to someone with the last name Iommi. From his years in outfits The Obsessed and Saint Vitus to his ongoing involvement with the supergroup Shrinebuilder, Wino has left a stamp on the genre that — try as many might — simply cannot be duplicated.

And yet, it’s not his legacy that he wants to talk about. In our interview last week, there was some discussion of the “old days,” of course, but it was more about the work of others with whom he’s played, or been friends with — and what was coming next — that really seemed to be what was driving him most. The love of the music. What the hell other reason could there be? There’s no glamor in it. Who the hell cares if a bunch of bearded dudes say, “Cool riffs, bro?” If you don’t love Heavy, you go do something else. You certainly don’t make it your life’s work.

Next month, Volcom Entertainment will release the LP version of Wino‘s first solo acoustic album, Adrift (review here; CD available on Exile on Mainstream), and if you’re unfamiliar with the man’s doings in any of the above bands, or Shine/Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, Dave Grohl‘s Probot, Victor Griffin‘s Place of Skulls or his innumerable guest spots and contributions to others, let it say something that after 30 years, he’s still pushing himself into new territories.

There was a lot to talk about and limited time, but in the Q&A below, Wino discusses the experience of writing and recording Adrift following the death of bassist Jon Blank of the Wino band (also featuring drummer Jean-Paul Gaster of Clutch), the origins of his new, two-guitar outfit, Premonition, where some of the drive to keep starting over comes from, his deep and abiding respect for his fellow players, the status of the Spirit Caravan reunion that bassist Dave Sherman alluded to some while back on this site, and much more.

It was a very conversational interview, as you can see for yourself after the jump. Please enjoy.

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Los Angeles Zapatista rockers Totimoshi are one of those bands who are well overdue some serious appreciation. I don’t know what it is, why they aren’t bigger than they are (one would think all the touring they’ve done with Helmet and Mastodon would help), but for some reason, they just haven’t yet taken off. They put out killer records and play their asses off live. I’m not sure what hasn’t fallen into place.

Whatever the case, they’ve got a new three-song CD coming out in time for their latest European stretch with Mastodon headlining, and they went so far as to post the track “The Avenger” for streaming on their MySpace. As usual for Totimoshi, it’s good and heavy. Be sure to pop over there and check it out. If you’d prefer to stay right here (and who could blame you?) for the moment, since I’m not clever enough yet to rip tracks from MySpace pages, here’s the video for “The Dance of Snakes” from 2006’s Ladrón…