Band Interview: WEAK13

WEAK13 is a British band founded in 1999 by Nick J.Townsend in Kidderminster, United Kingdom. Numerous musicians have played live in WEAK13.

In 2010 the band line up became Neel Parmar (Drums), Wesley Smith (Bassist) and Nick J.Townsend (Vocals & Guitar). From 2010 artistic direction and responsibility became shared between Wesley, Neel and Nick and as a functioning solid three piece the band has developed it’s own unique style.

The music is inspired by 1980’s Video Nasties, Underground music, Comic books, The Grunge and 90’s music scene and real life. Each song is a different story. Lyrics about loved ones who have passed away, songs about the future, death, life, survival, friendship, love, hate and positive thinking. All guitars on recordings are played using strange dark low tunings.

WEAK13 is any style the band wants to be; every form of music in it’s rawest form. There is a song for everyone. As its main singer, producer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Townsend is the longest official member of WEAK13.

1. How did you get started as a band?

Well I was a late starter and I decided years ago to leave my factory job to get educated and went to College followed by University. Now I’m not saying that that’s what created the band but if I hadn’t have left that job in a steel factory when I did I don’t think I would have gained the confidence to create my own band. Walking out of my job, leaving about thirteen trays of cakes in the canteen for all the workers and then allowing the entire factory floor to overhear me tell the boss to shove their job up their ass and that I won’t need a reference; that kinda was the catalyst for the band starting really. I just got sick of being a slave. Now I write songs about people being programmed to be slaves during their daily lives and now those people listen to the WEAK13 album on their headphones at their workplaces. I was pretty rude to my boss looking back now.

2. How would you describe your sound?

It’s like listening to a good band from the early 90s writing about what’s happening today. We’re a three piece and we do a lot between us; we make any sound we want but we make sure we sound like WEAK13.

3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?

I have to say Nirvana and Machine Head but we’ve never tried to imitate them; we sound like WEAK13 but a lot of Nirvana fans love our album and tell us that we do at times have the feel of those Seattle glory days. When I was growing up that music inspired me so I guess similar energy will probably come out in our writing every now and then. What really inspires the music are the real actual events happening around us in this fake, recklessly mediated, false reality of world that we all exist in that seems run by psychopathic control freaks.

4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?

Well YouTube has helped WEAK13 for sure. We don’t stream our music though; if people want the debut studio WEAK13 album They Live then they have to go to a live show or order fromweak13official.com and it gets delivered to your door. We haven’t had any complaints so far.

5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?

Filmmaking really and art but they always drive back to music in someways; been to Hollywood three times now for filming or acting and I’ve always found that the music making comes with it somehow; I enjoy making music and I don’t think you can turn that switch off.

6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?

Our main plans at this time is to make sure our second WEAK13 album blows people away like our last one They Live is doing. I’m not really in the music business; I’m in the blowing people away business. Once we got that cleared up we’ll take that next album out on the road too.

You can have the They Live album by WEAK13 delivered to your door by ordering from weak13official.com.

(GBHBL would like to thank WEAK13 for the interview & Stencil PR for arranging it. You can find out more about the band on their Facebook Page & check out their music over on their YouTube channel.