John-Allison Weiss (born April 13, 1987) is a Los Angeles-based

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

singer, songwriter, and performer. To date, they have released three full-length albums and several EPs. Their most recent LP, ''New Love'', was released on October 2, 2015, through

SideOneDummy Records SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Bill Armstrong and Joe Sib. The label began as a way for them to release music for their friends' bands. Thereafter SideOneDummy launched the car ...

Biography

John-Allison Weiss emerged at the end of the 2000s as an early crowd-funding hero with a strong D.I.Y. ethos that has defined them throughout their career. Weiss began playing music as a teenager in their hometown of Flowery Branch, Georgia. Inspired by the emotional tumult of young relationships, they began writing songs and released their first EP, ''An Eight-Song Tribute to Feeling Bad and Feeling Better'', in 2007, while attending the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the ...

. They followed it up with a full-length concert album, ''Live at Sidewalk NYC'', a year later. In late 2009, Weiss turned to the newly launched

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

crowd-funding platform to try raising the money for their first studio LP, ''...Was Right All Along''. Their campaign allowed them to reach their funding goal within the first day and triple it just days later. The Kickstarter success led to some high-exposure press, with

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

and

Wired magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fr ...

essentially labeling them as a sort of poster child for the new era of Internet promotion. Weiss turned the attention into countless tours, interviews, and a panelist slot at the industry's

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

conference in Austin alongside Kickstarter founder Yancey Strickler. In 2011, Weiss recorded their second studio album, ''Say What You Mean'', as well as a companion acoustic record called ''Sideways Sessions'' in Brooklyn, New York. Both albums were released on

No Sleep Records No Sleep Records is an American independent record label in Huntington Beach, California. They were founded by Chris Hansen in 2006 and have released records by artists including Balance and Composure, La Dispute, and The Wonder Years. They have ...

in 2013. The label released an EP titled ''Remember When'' the following year. In May 2015, Weiss signed with

and announced plans to release a third studio album later that year. ''New Love'' was released on October 2, 2015, produced by

Forrest Kline Forrest Scott Kline (born November 7, 1983, in Ashland, Oregon) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the lead vocalist of the power pop band Hellogoodbye. Early life He is of German descent and spent most of hi ...

of electro-pop band

Hellogoodbye Hellogoodbye (sometimes styled as hellogoodbye) is an American pop rock band that was formed in Huntington Beach, California in 2001 by singer Forrest Kline. They were signed to Drive-Thru Records and released their first full-length album ''Zom ...

and Bradley Hale of indie rock band

Now, Now Now, Now, formerly known as Now, Now Every Children, is an American indie rock duo formed in Blaine, Minnesota, United States, and based in Minneapolis. The band is composed of Cacie Dalager (vocals, guitar, keyboard) and Bradley Hale (drums, ba ...

. In 2017, shortly after the release of their single "Runaway," Weiss

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and began assuming "they/them" pronouns. They discussed the transition on the podcast ''Queery'', hosted by comedian

Cameron Esposito Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito (born October 17, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, and podcaster known for her show '' Take My Wife'', as well as her stand-up comedy and her podcast, '' Queery''. Esposito substantially focuses on topic ...

, for which Weiss also provides the theme music with their song "Who We Are." Following a live album and 2021's Death Valley Demos EP, John-Allison Weiss signed with Get Better Records and issued the single "Different Now."

Associated acts

During their time in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Weiss frequently played shows with Jenny Owen Youngs,

Bess Rogers Bess Rogers is an American indie rock musician from New York City. Early life and education Rogers was born into a musical family on Long Island, New York, and attended the Conservatory of Music at the State University of New York at Purchase for ...

, Field Mouse, and more. They have toured with acts such as Candy Hearts, Anthony Raneri, Tim Barry,

State Champs State Champs is an American pop punk band from Albany, New York, formed in 2010. They are currently signed to Pure Noise Records and have released three EPs and four full-length albums. They released an acoustic EP titled ''The Acoustic Things ...

, Matt Pryor, and

The Front Bottoms The Front Bottoms are an American rock band from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich. History The group formed in 2006 in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. In August 2007, after ...

. They have supported artists like

Laura Jane Grace Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel; November 8, 1980) is an American musician best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!. In addition to Against Me!, Grace fronts the band Laura ...

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...

Chuck Ragan Charles Allen Ragan (born October 30, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the guitarist and vocalist of the band Hot Water Music. Ragan has also released a variety of solo material, including a series of 7-inches on ...

, and

Relient K Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after ...

. In 2012, A.W. supported

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...

on his European tour, during which they also contributed backing vocals in Reed's band. In 2013, Daytrotter released a vinyl 12" featuring

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumenta ...

on side A and Weiss on side B. In 2015, Weiss contributed backup vocals to

album ''Back on Top'' and

album ''No Closer to Heaven''. Weiss has also contributed backup vocals to songs with Chris Farren,

Reggie and the Full Effect Reggie and the Full Effect is an American rock band, the solo project of James Dewees, the former keyboardist for The Get Up Kids. It has released seven full-length albums, the latest in 2018, and has toured with various associated acts in their ...

, and more. A.W.'s touring band is led by

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

and guitarist Peter Recine and includes Liam McCormack of Yellowbirddd on bass and Eric Downs on drums.

Personal life

John-Allison identifies as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the l ...

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

, nonbinary, and

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and uses "they/them" pronouns.

Discography

Studio LPs

EPs

Other releases

Music videos

* Let Me Go (2009) * I'm Ready (2009) * Fingers Crossed (2010) * Making It Up (2013) * Wait for Me (2013) * Golden Coast (2015) * Who We Are (2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, John-Allison 1987 births Living people American LGBT musicians People from Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan Non-binary musicians 21st-century American singers LGBT people from Georgia (U.S. state) No Sleep Records artists SideOneDummy Records artists 21st-century LGBT people Singer-songwriters from Michigan American LGBT singers