Doom and Drone, Sludge and Stone Part 3: Wino (and a side tribute to a legend)

Howdy folks, Russell already apologized for the lapse in posts, but it's not like anyone was really aching for them other than he and I, so with that, back the to the lesson.

Wino

Scott "Wino" Weinrich. Very few names are synonymous with a style of music. Aretha Franklin to Soul, Kurt Cobain to Grunge. People who did not invent their style, but they embody it so much that they might as well have. This is no more evident than in the case of Wino. Not even the Ozzman is spoken with such reverence among fans of this style. He's probably one of the few individuals that deserve to be listed as their own chapter in this tome of metal.

What inspired me to write about him now was the fact that while I'm in France, dicking around on the internet while the wife does real work, I've found myself listening to a lot of Wino. I posted this fact on Facebook like any good interwebaphile, and everyone assumed that I was getting drunk on wine.

Granted, I am in France and I have been known to hit the wine in foreign countries, but Wino ought to mean more than a term for an alcoholic.

Why you ask? Well in the year 1987, Wino became the vocalist for the band Saint Vitus. Think about the year 1987 if you can. Fine, wikipedia it if you must. Metal was moving away from the Broadway productions known as hair metal into a much more real, much harder realm headed by thrash masters Metallica, meanwhile Death and Napalm Death dropped the atomic bomb known as death metal on the scene. However, creeping underneath the fast drums and ripping solos was a tune called "Born Too Late."



Think about the title, Born Too Late, these guys were Sabbath boys in an Anthrax world. I can only imagine how these guys would've been received if they came around when Black Sabbath landed on American shores. This is almost a battle cry from the 60s and 70s, it's slow, it's evil and it's heavy. Nothing like this was being played at the time, but listening to this, it's a wonder why people were surprised when grunge destroyed the glam bands.

So Wino has a pretty solid voice right? Far cry from the show tunes-esque wailing of the hair bands, or from the growls and shouts of the emerging thrash and death metal. His voice is without pretension. A blue collar, whiskey coated, almost bluesy metal voice. Another Ozzy? Hardly. Wino is actually a musician. (That's right I said it.)

After Vitus, came The Obsessed, which actually came before Vitus, but now they had a record deal, and Wino dusted off his guitar and showed the world his might on the strings, he did it again with The Hidden Hand and Spirit Caravan.

The Obsessed:


Hidden Hand:


Spirit Caravan:


Metal heads might say they prefer their metal faster with more ripping solos, as if in order to be a good guitarist you must be able to play a million notes a minute. A guitarist like Wino doesn't play a million notes, he plays the correct notes. If I ever hear that there's no good "guitaring" in this sub-genre I simply point to two examples, Wino and Matt Pike (Sleep, High on Fire).

I highly recommend you check out Stoner Rock's Guide to Wino if you're interested in a good introduction to a versatile and hard to pin down guy. To this day, the guy continues to work his ass off, he has his own band now, simply named Wino. He took more time than Ozzy and Dio combined to do that. On top of that, Shrinebuilder. Oh, you haven't heard? Shrine fucking Builder?!? A super group of monumental proportions, Scott Kelly from Neurosis, Wino, Al Cisneros from Om and Sleep, and Dale Crover from the Melvins. The earth will die screaming.

So before I wrap this unusually long post up, I did want to write a bit about someone who passed away.

Koko Taylor, one of the last Chicago blues legends passed away at the age of 80. She had a voice that kill armies, and one of my favorite vocalists of all time. A lot of people don't know, but the blues was more influenced by its' women than any other genre. Guys like Son House and Muddy Waters learned from hearing Ma Rainy and Bessie Smith on the radio and Koko carried their torch for a generation. While Muddy and Wolf battled over who was the King of Chicago Blues, there can be little doubt that Koko Taylor was the queen. Thank you Ms. Taylor, you won't have a movie starring Beyonce about you, but you broke my heart on countless occasions, and you will be sorely missed. I'll send you out with Koko singing her hit "Wang Dang Doodle," with the immortal mouth harpist Little Walter backing her up. Until I next get a free moment.


Command Image: French Command