Janet Weiss - Biography

Janet Lee Weiss (born September 24, 1965) was the drummer of now defunct Sleater-Kinney and is currently a member of Quasi and Wild Flag. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic.

Early life

Weiss was born in Hollywood, California, and began playing guitar at the age of 16. She attended San Francisco State University and graduated with a degree in photography. While in college, she started playing drums with an all-girl trio, The Furies.

Career

Furies

At the age of 22, Weiss went on tour with a San Francisco band, The Furies, as the drummer, even though she had only been playing for two weeks.

She moved to Portland, Oregon in 1989 and soon after began playing with Sam Coomes (her ex-husband and Quasi bandmate).

Sleater-Kinney

Weiss started playing with Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein in Sleater-Kinney in 1996, after seeing them play a show. Tucker and Brownstein then played her a new song they were working on at the time, "Dig Me Out." Her bandmates later said that she made up a beat so solid "you could practically bang your head against it." Weiss eventually became the band's drummer; she was the fourth in the band's history.

Other work

She has also played for Bright Eyes, Junior High, The Shadow Mortons, The Go Betweens, Sarah Dougher, Elliott Smith, and one Goldcard song. Upon the dissolution of Sleater-Kinney, she joined The Jicks, Stephen Malkmus' band.

On June 4, 2007, she performed with Bright Eyes on The Late Show With David Letterman before joining the band for their summer European tour.

As of September 2010 performing with the band Wild Flag, with Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney), Mary Timony (Helium), and Rebecca Cole (The Minders).

Equipment

Weiss plays a vintage Ludwig kit (ca. 1973) in natural maple finish. Specs. as follows:

• 5½x14 Craviotto Snare
• 9x13 rack tom
• 16x16 floor tom
• 14x22 bass drum

She played a similar kit at Coachella in April 2008, except the Ludwigs were the Blue Oyster 'Bowling Ball' finish. The Craviotto snare was still natural maple.

Cymbals: Zildjian

• 14" Quick Beat hi-hats
• 18" A Custom Projection crash
• 21" A medium ride
• 20" A Custom medium crash

Hardware: DW

Heads:

• Remo coated Ambassadors on snare and toms, Evans EQ4 on bass drum batter.

Sticks:

• Silverfox MR

Album appearances

• Quasi – Early Recordings (1996, Key Op)
• Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out (1997, Kill Rock Stars)
• Quasi – R&B Transmogrification(1997, Up Records)
• Quasi – Featuring "Birds" (1998, Up)
• Sleater-Kinney – The Hot Rock (1999, Kill Rock Stars)
• Quasi – Field Studies (1999, Up)
• Sleater-Kinney – All Hands on the Bad One (2000, Kill Rock Stars)
• The Go-Betweens - The Friends of Rachel Worth (2000)
• Quasi – The Sword of God (2001, Touch and Go Records)
• Sleater-Kinney – One Beat (2002, Kill Rock Stars)
• Quasi – Hot Shit! (2003 Touch and Go Records)
• Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (2005, Sub Pop)
• Quasi – When The Going Gets Dark (2006, Touch and Go Records)
• Bright Eyes – Four Winds (2007, Saddle Creek)
• Bright Eyes – Cassadaga (2007, Saddle Creek)
• Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Real Emotional Trash (2008, Matador Records)
• Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst (2008, Merge Records)
• Quasi - American Gong (2010, Kill Rock Stars)
• Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Mirror Traffic (2011, Matador Records)
• Wild Flag – Wild Flag (2011, Merge Records)

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External links

• http://www.sleater-kinney.com/
• http://www.sleater-kinney.net/
• http://www.theequasi.com/
• http://www.quasi2x2.com/
• Tiny Suns Infused With Sour, a Sleater-Kinney news blog