Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

by Christine St.Pierre

WEEED is having quite the transformative year—and no, I’m not talking about the recently legalized medicinal herb, although that industry’s not doing too bad, either. I’m following the smoke trails of Bainbridge Island’s homegrown stoner rock band, WEEED, as they blaze through Seattle’s music scene after nearly a decade of grounding their sound in various garages and barns and dimly lit venues along the west coast.

The band’s origin story is like many others: two middle school-aged neighbors (Mitch Fosnaugh and Gabrieal Seaver) develop a deep friendship over their passion for exploring the depths of music. But, unlike most middle school bands that sprout and whither, their story doesn’t end there. Beneath the tall trees and low-lying clouds of Bainbridge Island, a patchwork band of young rockers formed, with the addition of Charlie Powers (former bassist) and John Goodhue (drums), and with it grew the island’s signature music scene, with deep roots that have spread as far north as Bellingham and on south to Portland and San Francisco.

While WEEED is still motivated by original stoner rock gurus like Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, Ravi Shankar, and Led Zeppelin, they also draw inspiration from the “triple gem” of Buddhism. From the words of bassist/vocalist Gabriel Seaver:
“One who seeks enlightenment can take refuge in three gems of Buddhism and is spiritually fed, inspired and influenced by their qualities. The first gem is the Buddha, the enlightened one, who has attained the perfect state. This can be related to the musicians who inspire us, having attained the heights of mastery.

The second gem is the dhamma, which is the path to enlightenment, the energy that teaches and draws one towards liberation. This can be related to music itself. The act of participating in music is healing, transformational and purifying. In this way it can be seen as a spiritual practice and is self-fulfilling.

The third gem is the sangha, which is the spiritual community. In Buddhism, the sangha is made up of everyone who has attained enlightenment, as well as everyone who is walking the path to enlightenment, especially those walking the path that you have encountered or know personally. The musical community that we have grown with has been huge in keeping us together and dedicated to this journey. We feel infinitely blessed by such a tight, supportive, loving, and truly special community of friends.”

Fostering a “goofy attitude and childlike wonder and play,” WEEED transcends traditional rock by evoking a meditative rhythm laced with experimental guitar, hypnotic drums, and deep, reverberating bass that awakens body, mind, and soul, a sound they identify as “shanghadelic,” seeking to evoke a sense of expansion with the audience as well as within themselves in order to surpass “identification with the mind/body/ego/form/content.” Their mission is well underway; watching WEEED share their live music with others is a meditative experience, where one can simultaneously get lost and found.

“Through the vibrations of music,” Seaver explains, “we hope to fill our audience with love.” And the love is felt, as friends gather to blast-off into an alternate dimension of sound and community, bending and twisting their bodies in a symbiotic emergence while the band thrashes electric onstage beneath rainbow-print suspenders and wild, disheveled hair.

Finding them onstage is about to become a lot easier, too. In the past, magical barn/garage/house shows and small intimate venues hosted a fortunate audience that thrives on community collaboration. More recently, the band signed with Illuminasty Records, a label based out of Portland, San Francisco, and New York, and has plans for a six-week US tour that coincides with the release of their new double LP “Our Guru Brings Us To The Black Master Sabbath,” so pay attention WA, CA, ID, OR, UT, MT, MO, IL, NY, NC, MN—WEEED’s comin’ to town.

Click here to experience some of their jams, or head here to read an entertaining and informative interview by Seattle Weekly.