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Artist: Weinland
Track: God Here I Come
This track is available on 
When I interview an artist, I always ask six questions. In every artist feature, like this one, I always include five of those. I don’t edit these interviews (the way someone writes — grammar, syntax, et al. — can reveal as much as what he’s written,) so that one dropped question is the only editorial control I allow to weed out the duds (and I ask plenty.)
My questions can miss their mark for two primary reasons. First, unlike the usual music and art interviews, they’re rarely about music or art, so they can catch the asked off-guard. Second, they can be so open-ended that they may appear unapproachable. Together, these qualities can make my queries just sound dumb, like the one I dropped from this feature: “Life-altering experience. What comes to mind?”
The first thing that comes to mind is the similarity between this question and the questions on my college application. Anyway, I’m on a health cleanse right now and I haven’t ate, drank, or anything else in almost 6 days so all I can think about is tacos. I can’t really think about anything complicated… tacos.
My dad used to say, “Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.” Looks like Weinland’s founding member, John Adam Weinland Shearer, just proved him wrong.
Who is John Adam Weinland Shearer?
A man for his place and time. I wouldn’t say hero, cause what’s a hero.
Who are Weinland?
A band to watch, proven to deserve your attention.
Why do you create?
We create because we’re drawn to create; like a mime to the ill at ease.
“God” begins both the song and its title. What is faith to you?
Two nights ago we played a bar in Salem, OR. When we were about to go on we noticed two ministers in full garb sitting at a table in the back. We played “All To Yourself” first and the crowd was receptive. Then we played (after announcing the title) “The Devil in Me”, and the general crowd was receptive. Then we announced our third song, “God Here I Come”. The two ministers rose from their table and exited the building. Faith demonstrates its significance in the lives of a lot of people (one way or another), and clearly the discussion, question, or embrace of it is frightening to many… including to those who dress in the uniform of experts.
Julie My Love and I are planning to leave L.A. this year. Vancouver (British Columbia), San Francisco, and Portland are top candidates for our new hometown. As a Portland native, would you recommend your city or not? Why?
I’m actually a Montana native, relocated to Portland in 1997. I recommend Portland to you if you enjoy a comfortable and unpretentious city. It is an amazing community, particularly for musicians and fans, as this is the place where the line between rock stars and rock fans is thin and at times not present. I think lots of people move here to be normal. Our last home show was a secret show (prior to tour) at a dive bar here in Portland; the guitar player for REM (Scott), the drummer for the Decemberists (John) and the bass player for the Thermals (don’t know him) were all in the audience drinking and having a good time. They enjoyed themselves without the pressure of their success… to my knowledge anyway. That’s a good city.
If I were to click on just one of your link page friends, whom would you recommend? Why?
Click on Norfolk and Western: They are the gateway drug to Portland indie-folk-chamber-pop-music galore.
My thanks to Weinland for sharing their art. Please visit weinlandmusic.com for more.
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