Local band Movin’ Weight has been thriving in the Baton Rouge scene for more than two years and will take to the road this month to further their reputation in the South.
The group, which consists of Joel Salvaggio, lead vocals, Vince Mancuso, rhythm guitar, Ben Kora, lead guitar, Ryan Miller, bass, and Rhett Lamy, drums, will go through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and end in Pensacola, Fl, going back and forth from Baton Rouge so that Mancuso and Kora can still attend classes at LSU.
The band finished mixing their debut album, tentatively self-titled, at the Building Studios in December, and will use profits from the tour to release the disc, according to Lamy.
Lamy, along with Salvaggio, who are both on break from the University right now, said in their studio that the tour will take them to college towns in bars that are much like Chelsea’s.
Movin’ Weight has made arrangements with cities such as Hattiesburg, Miss. and Tuscaloosa, Ala. by sending their demo CD to the bar owners there and asking if any of their local bands would want to do a show together.
“Any successful band has to do a certain amount of networking,” Salvaggio said. “Making contacts is very important.”
Another way that the band has made connections locally is by shadowing the tour routes of friends’ bands such as Shaggtribe and Poor Harvey.
These bands have already been through the tour schedule that Movin’ Weight wants and they were nice enough to hand the group a lot of contacts, according to Lamy.
Lamy also said that while touring he hopes to drop a few jaws and get the band’s music spread through word of mouth, utilizing what he calls a “ripple effect.”
Salvaggio said that after the tour and the release of the CD, he would like to go on a “real tour,” which he defines as playing festivals and theaters, as well as “banging up that East Coast.”
There are other towns in the South that the band would like to play as well.
“We would like to play in Athens, Ga. and Austin, Tx., where there are really cool music scenes,” Lamy said.
Right now, Movin’ Weight is rehearsing and writing new songs for a possible new record after the tour and debut album release.
“Usually one of the guitarists will come up with a riff, and I’ll work with him on some lyrics, and then rearrange it and bring it to the rest of the band,” Salvaggio said.
Another method of song-writing the band uses is jamming while practicing.
“Contrary to what some people say about us, we are not a jam band,” Salvaggio said.
If the group likes something they’re playing, they’ll work with it until it becomes a finished product, according to Lamy.
“We don’t want to put stuff on stage or on record that we’re not proud of,” Lamy said. “We have put blood, sweat and tears into the new record.”
Salvaggio, who writes most of the songs, says his lyrics are about human nature and what people think are intrinsic values.
Their sound draws roots from diverse genres of music including rock, funk, reggae, jazz and southern rock.
Movin’ Weight are known to play bars around campus such as Chelsea’s, Mellow Mushroom, The Caterie, Spanish Moon and The Varsity.
The next Baton Rouge show will be March 26 at Mellow Mushroom with a band from Monroe called Norman Fell that Salvaggio says has “a Radiohead vibe.”
The two bands will be playing March 13 at Down From the Shamrock in Monroe.
For complete tour listings, go to www.movinweight.com.