John-Allison Weiss (born April 13, 1987) is an American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a 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 four full-length albums and several EPs. Their most recent LP, ''The Long Way'', was released on February 17, 2023, through Get Better Records.

Biography

John-Allison Weiss emerged at the end of the 2000s as an early

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

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 Flowery Branch is a city in Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,391. It is part of the Gainesville, Georgia metropolitan area, and lies on the shores of Lake Lanier. It is most known for be ...

. 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 The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. 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, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

and

Wired magazine ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and Online magazine, online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in public ...

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 (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

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 was 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 hav ...

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

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 care ...

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) 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 his childhood in Huntingto ...

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 '' ...

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 and based in Minneapolis. The band consists of Cacie Dalager (vocals, guitar, keyboard) and Bradley Hale (drums, backing vocals). Hi ...

. 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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Weiss frequently played shows with

Jenny Owen Youngs Jenny Owen Youngs (born November 22, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released four albums and a handful of EPs both independently and via Nettwerk Records, and has toured worldwide. Youngs is also a songwriting collaborator whose ...

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 ''Candy Hearts'' is an American pop rock band from New Jersey and New York, formed in 2009 by singer/guitarist Mariel Loveland and guitarist Kris Hayes. As the band’s primary songwriter, Loveland was the only member to see through every one of ...

Anthony Raneri Anthony Raneri (born August 9, 1982) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, who is the founder, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of the American punk rock band, Bayside. Early life Raneri grew up in Glen Oaks Village in Glen Oaks ...

Tim Barry Tim Barry is an American musician and the lead singer of the Richmond, Virginia-based punk rock band Avail. In addition to performing with Avail, he was the bass guitarist in the Richmond-based folk punk band (Young) Pioneers from 1994 to ...

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 five full-length albums. Their 2013 debut album ''The Finer Things (State Champs al ...

, Matt Pryor, and

The Front Bottoms The Front Bottoms are an American rock band from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, formed in 2006. They are currently a duo consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich. During live performances, they are currently ac ...

. They have supported artists like

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

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy 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 Bowl X ...

Chuck Ragan Charles Allen Ragan (born October 30, 1974) is an American singing, 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-inch ...

, and

Relient K Relient K () is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during their third year in high school and time at Malone University in Canton. The band is named after guitarist ...

. In 2012, Weiss supported

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

on his European tour, during which they also contributed backing vocals in Reed's band. In 2013,

Daytrotter Daytrotter was a recording studio, music venue and subscription-based music discovery website located in Atlanta, United States. It hosted recording sessions with indie music acts. The original studio in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded in 20 ...

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-instrumentali ...

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, and Reggie and the Full Effect.

Personal life

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 LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

and began using "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 actress, 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 top ...

, for which Weiss also provides the theme music with their song "Who We Are."

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) * New Love (2017) * Different Now (2022) * Feels Like Hell (2023)

References

External links

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