Low Cut Connie

Carrying the torch for good old rock & roll sleaze -- the kind that can be heard on Jerry Lee Lewis' Live at the Star Club and the dirtiest Rolling Stones records -- Low Cut Connie separated themselves from other new millennial rock & roll revivalists by emphasizing big, danceable rhythms as much as their sharp, clever songs. They're also distinguished by leader Adam Weiner playing piano, an instrument that isn't heard much in straight-ahead rock & roll in the 2010s. Weiner's pounding piano drove such early rockers as "Shake It Little Tina" and "Boozophilia," the latter catching the attention of President Barack Obama, who included it on his 2015 Summer Playlist. Shortly afterward, Low Cut Connie's founding guitarist Dan Finnemore left the band, which allowed Weiner to pursue provocative projects like the two-part album Dirty Pictures and Art Dealers, a politically charged 2023 album. New Jersey native Weiner, a veteran of piano bars where he performed under the name Ladyfingers (sometimes on bills also featuring Merrill Garbus, who later found fame as tUnE-yArDs), met Birmingham, England-born Finnemore in Manhattan in 2010, and they soon set up shop in Philadelphia. They knocked out their debut, Get Out the Lotion, in mid-2010, releasing it independently in 2011. The record received positive attention from some heavy-hitter critics, including Robert Christgau and Ken Tucker. The more considered Call Me Sylvia followed in 2012, a record that was also well-received and helped expand their following; they got spots on NPR's World Café and played a show at Third Man Records. For 2015's Hi Honey, the duo hired Thomas Brenneck -- a producer who cut his teeth with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and worked with Charles Bradley and Black Keys -- and brought in Dean Ween and Garbus for cameos; they also filled out Low Cut Connie's lineup by making Will Donnelly and James Everhart full-time members. Hi Honey appeared on Contender Records in the spring of 2015. Low Cut Connie's profile rose after the release of Hi Honey, thanks in no small part to President Barack Obama placing their 2012 song "Boozophilia" on his 2015 summertime playlist. By the end of the year, Finnemore had left the band on good terms to return to his native England. Weiner regrouped in 2016, bringing in Larry Scotton as the group's drummer and Lucas Rinz as bassist. The new lineup recorded a live album at Ardent Studios in Memphis. Choosing to divide the record into two parts, Low Cut Connie released Dirty Pictures, Pt. 1 in May 2017, with Pt. 2 appearing one year later. The pair of Dirty Pictures albums helped the group cultivate a number of famous fans. Elton John played Low Cut Connie on his radio show and dedicated "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to the band at a 2018 show in Philadelphia. Howard Stern invited Low Cut Connie to perform on a tribute to David Bowie, and Bruce Springsteen also expressed his admiration. Weiner parlayed this praise into Tough Cookies, an online streaming concert series cum radio show that he launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Initially dedicated to Low Cut Connie, Tough Cookies eventually encompassed regular performances by other musicians. Highlights from the show were released as Tough Cookies: The Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts in 2021, a record that appeared a few months after the moody Private Lives in 2020. Low Cut Connie returned in 2023 with Art Dealers, a tribute to the thriving artistic underground of New York City in the 1970s that doubled as social commentary. The album was accompanied by a full-length film featuring all of the LP's songs.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

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