Larry Weir | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Larry Anthony Weir |
Born | April 11, 1952 |
Origin | San Diego, California, U.S. |
Genres | Adult Contemporary, Soundtrack |
Occupation(s) | Composer, producer, editor at NMW Magazine |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, piano, vocals |
Years active | 1967–present |
Labels |
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Website | larryweir |
Larry Anthony Weir (born April 11, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer, producer, promoter and managing editor of New Music Weekly magazine. Weir is best known for songs in the musical Teen Witch (1989), which has become an annual Halloween tradition on several television networks.
Namesake to his father, Larry Weir is the eldest of nine children born to Larry and Maria Weir. Weir's father was an architect/builder and Maria is a teacher and classical pianist.
In 1967, Weir was influenced by composers, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb and the Beatles. A guitar player and singer, Weir recruited his brother Tom and sister Maria to form The Royal Enterprise and had a San Diego area radio hit with one of his earliest compositions, "Boy It's All In Your Head" in 1968.
In 1970, the Weir family moved to Oxnard, California with Weir attending his senior year at Oxnard High School and attended two years at Ventura College. At this time, Tom, Maria and Larry founded Ventura County Youth Experimental Theatre featuring three of Weir's original musicals, "Island" (1971), "Hobos Jungle" (1972) and "House On Crossroad Alley" (1973).
The entire family participated in the Ventura theatre productions, with Larry Sr. involved in set design and construction, other family responsibilities included: choreography, casting, costumes, direction and music composition for these fully orchestrated theatre productions. [1]
By 1975, the Weir family was again living in San Diego County area (Bonsall, California), the band included all nine of the Weir siblings and was now called The Weirz. The San Diego radio station, KGB-FM included the Weirz song, "Gypsies From Bonsall" on the KGB HomeGrown III LP album on side one, track number four. [2]
All nine of the musicians are brothers and sisters. Guitarist and composer Larry, the gray-beard at 23 moans, "No one can believe that we're one family." But it's true, and here they are (take a deep breath first): Maria, 22; Estelle, 21; Tom, 20; Pixie, 18; Cathy, 17; Theresa, 15; Mike, 13; and Joan 11. "Gypsies From Bonsall" is kinda autobiographical," admits Larry. "We travel to gigs in a van and a wagon--mobile gypsies. But we have our own studio at the farm where we live. You might call us a new breed of family band."
—David Plaut, KGB Homegrown III album cover. [2]
"Gypsies From Bonsall", a song about a band wearing out their welcome and moving on, received generous airplay on KGB-FM in 1975. After releasing a self-titled album, the family moved to Woodland Hills, California to be closer to the recording industry. [3] Headlining at the Starwood, the Troubadour, the Whisky a Go Go and other Los Angeles venues, Larry and Michael also concentrated on a promotional campaign for the band, Michael (Michael Damian Weir) began signing promotional letters as Michael Damian, which later became his stage name. At a performance at The Troubador, Michael was recognized from a 1981 appearance on American Bandstand, Michael was approached and agreed to play the part of a struggling singer (Danny Romalotti) on the daytime television series, The Young and the Restless . [4] Weir also found an outlet for his songwriting, writing and arranging many of the songs that Michael Damian would perform on the television show. [1]
The move to Woodland Hills also had a profound effect on the neighbors, on in particular was Eric Avery the son of Brian Avery who played the role of Carl Smith in the movie The Graduate . Eric Avery went on to become the bass player for Jane's Addiction, while his sister, Rebecca Avery, followed a career in acting. [5]
Eric Avery: The Weirz inspired me to play music because they had all these instruments lying around, I was twelve years old. It was like having a musical playground literally next door. There were three different horn players, a drummer, a bass player, guitar vibes, any instrument you could think of all in this big house. I think I started on drums. One sister, Maria, was the bass player. I remember distinctly the way her amp looked. It was like the classic kind of Ampeg stack and I remember her plucking like an open E and it just rumbled to my core.
—Brendan Mullen, "Whores: An Oral Biography of Perry Farrell And Jane's Addiction"
In 1981, Michael Damian (Weir), hit the Billboard Hot 100 at #69 with Eric Carmen's "She Did It", and signed a record deal with CBS records Canada in 1983. The CBS deal produced two albums:
"She's in a Different World" and "What Are You Looking For", were hit singles from each album respectively, producing tours with the Weirz as the opening act. Michael Damian's cover of, David Essex' song, Rock On reached the #1 position on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 chart in 1989.
The Weirz signed with Curb Records in 1983, first releasing singles in Europe, followed by a single, "Imagination", which led to American Bandstand and Dance Fever appearances in the United States. [6] [7] [8] The Weirz played their last tour in 1987, as the opening act for the Canadian release of the Michael Damian album.
With Michael Damian Weir as a regular on The Young and the Restless, Weir was writing songs for Damian to perform as an artist and also as the Danny Romalotti character on the television show. In a Los Angeles Times interview, Damian explains the dynamics, "My character was a starving singer who was working as a waiter--which was what I was doing at the time," he recalled. "As my recording career developed, so did my role on 'The Young and the Restless.' When Michael Damian had a No. 1 single, so did Danny Romalotti." [1]
Year | Single | Credit | Hot 100 | AC | Hot Dance |
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1981 | "She Did It" | Written by Eric Carmen Produced by: Larry Weir, Michael Damian, Tom Weir | 69 | ||
1989 | "Cover Of Love" | Written by: Janine Jae Best, Troy Kent Johnston, Larry Weir, Michael Damian [10] | 31 | ||
1989 | "Rock On" (From Dream A Little Dream) | Written by: David Essex Produced by: Larry Weir, Michael Damian, Tom Weir | 1 | ||
1989 | "Was It Nothing At All" | Written by: Michael Damian Produced by: Larry Weir, Michael Damian, Tom Weir [11] | 25 | 7 | |
1990 | "Straight From My Heart" | Written by: Larry Weir, Tom Weir and Michael (Damian) Weir [12] | 47 | ||
1991 | "What A Price To Pay" | Written by: Larry Weir | 60 | ||
1992 | "(There'll Never Be) Another You" | Written by: Larry Weir | 26 | ||
2002 | "Shadows In The Night" | Written by: Larry Weir, Michael Damian | 5 | ||
2009 | "Rock On" (2009) | Written by: David Essex (Weir Brothers') Caption Records | 28 |
A collaboration between Alf Clausen, Larry Weir, Michael Damian, Rich Eames, Robin Gibb, Scott Gale and Tom Weir produced the theme song for the television series Saved By the Bell (1989 to 1993). [13]
Larry Weir and Tom Weir teamed up with Michael Parnell to score 34 episodes of the 1991-93 television show, Dangerous Curves, starring Lisa Cutter and Michael Michele. [14] [15]
The Weir Brothers Recording Studios is added to the musical credits in the late 1980s and early 1990s. [16] Some of the titles written or co-written by Larry and with Weir family members producing, and performing at Weir Brothers Recording Studios are:
Trivia
Title | Primary Artist | Date | Tracks! |
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Marley & Me The Puppy Years (music from and inspired by the motion picture) | Various Artists | 9.Aug.2011 | 12 tracks |
Little Marley & Me | Michael Damian | 8.Aug.2011 | 1 track |
Flicka 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Various Artists | 4.May.2010 | 13 tracks |
Girl To Change Your World - The Remixes | Heather Youmans | 17.Mar.2010 | 2 tracks |
Girl To Change Your World | Heather Youmans | 4.Jan.2010 | 1 track |
Rock On | Michael Damian | 31.Mar.2009 | 11 tracks |
Getting So Much Better | Michael Damian | 4.Mar.2008 | 3 tracks |
I Choose You (from the Moondance Alexander soundtrack) | Laura Wight | 3.Sep.2007 | 3 tracks |
Popular Girl (from Teen Witch the Musical ) | Sara Niemietz | 3.Jul.2007 | 3 tracks |
Top Dog | Buck McCoy | 6.Jun.2007 | 12 tracks |
Teen Witch The Musical | Various Artists | 13.Feb.2007 | 14 tracks |
Finest Hour (from Teen Witch the Musical ) | Sara Niemietz w/ Blake Ewing | 30.Jan.2007 | 3 tracks |
National Record Promotions (NRP), is service company that provides acceptance testing for new music in secondary radio markets. Modeled after the Gavin report, record labels and independent artists employ the service to gather regional analytic data for their songs, side by side with the top ranking hits of the day. In 2011, Real II Reel Productions named National Record Promotions, "... the #1 independent record promoter in the country ..." [22]
National Record Promotion clients:
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In 1998, New Music Weekly magazine was created in partnership with promoter Paul Loggins, the owner of Spins Tracking System. New Music Weekly is a trade magazine that digests music industry news and evaluates Spins Tracking System data from some 400 National subscriber radio stations. [23]
In the mid-1990s, Weir found that music production and radio promotion tasks overlap and that he had become adept in both functions. Weir had found that some promoters were less than truthful about accomplishing their contract obligations. In 1995, Weir created National Record Promotion (NRP), a streamlined promotional service for musicians and labels who may not have dedicated promotional staff. Weir and co-owner Masika Swaim, have a personal relationship with NRP subscriber radio stations, contacting each radio station by telephone on a weekly basis. Ultimately, the critique of the promoted music is determined by the radio professionals and listener feedback, which drives the "spin" count of a promoted song. Requests from listeners, acceptance by programming managers and disc-jockeys will likely improve the number of spins per week. Feedback, in terms of number of spins and comparative chart positions, is reported back to the artist or label by the Spins Tracking System. Songs with outstanding audience appeal, as determined by the number of spins or rapid elevations in chart rankings, are noted in New Music Weekly magazine regardless to the artist's choice of promoters. [24]
One perceived limitation of modern radio promotion, is that some radio stations are located in small radio markets. In most cases, large-market radio stations (Top 40) are run from pre-programmed lists and music rotation decisions occur at a distant corporate offices. [25] In effect, radio stations with rigid programming formats provide little insight into listener preference and determining marketability of new music.
Weir's, Artists Management Firm, represents Buck McCoy and Heather Youmans in close affiliation with Studio City Sound. [26]
Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from the early 1990s alternative rock movement to gain both mainstream media attention and commercial success in the United States.
Family Ties is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This culture was particularly expressed through the relationship between young Republican Alex P. Keaton and his ex-hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton.
Richard Wagstaff Clark was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid game show from 1973 to 1988 and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which transmitted New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square.
Michael Damian Weir is an American actor, recording artist, and producer, best known for his role as Danny Romalotti on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, which he played from 1980 to 1998 and again in 2002-2004, 2008, 2012-2013, and again in 2022.
The Beat Farmers were an American rock band that formed in San Diego, California, United States, in August 1983, and enjoyed a cult following into the early 1990s before the death of drummer and sometime lead singer Country Dick Montana. Their music has been described as an amalgamation of cow punk, jangle pop, roots rock, hard-twang Americana, country rock, rockabilly, and swamp rock. The San Diego Reader summed up their sound as ..."like Bo Diddley, CCR, Joe South, and the Yardbirds, ham fisted into a food processor, stuffed into a shotgun shell, and blasted into a beer keg at three in the morning."
Jon Robert Gibson is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumental musician and record producer. Originally a blue-eyed soul singer, he switched from secular music to contemporary Christian music in the late-1980s.
KGB-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a classic rock music format. KGB-FM's studios are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side, and the transmitter is located in East San Diego east of Balboa Park.
"Black or White" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from his eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it with Bill Bottrell. The song is a fusion of pop rock, dance and hip hop. Epic Records described it as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony".
"Young Love" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson from her self-titled debut album (1982). It was written and produced by René Moore, Angela Winbush, with additional production by Bobby Watson. It was released as Jackson's debut single on July 7, 1982, by A&M Records. Prior to her rise to fame, the singer had no interest in pursuing a musical career. Despite this, she was motivated to pursue a career in entertainment, and considered the idea after recording herself in the studio. After acting in the variety show The Jacksons, she began starring in several TV series and commenced recording her debut album.
Moondance Alexander is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Damian and written by Janeen Damian. The film was released in North America in October 2007. The story is shot on location in Okotoks, High River and Calgary, Alberta, Canada and is based on actual events from the life of Janeen Damian. It stars former Summerland co-stars Kay Panabaker as Moondance Alexander and Lori Loughlin as Gelsey Alexander. The movie co-stars Don Johnson and Olympic-skating silver medalist Sasha Cohen.
New Music Weekly is a nationally distributed trade magazine for the US radio and music industries. Following the tradition of Bill Gavin and the Gavin Report, New Music Weekly interprets data from the Spins Tracking System. Weekly editorial features include highlights of the top singles impacting radio and "spotlights" of new music from the Top40/Pop, Country, AC/Hot, and College music genres.
Mark Karan is an American guitarist and singer. He is best known for his long-term work with former members of the Grateful Dead, in RatDog (1998–2013), the Other Ones (1998–2000), Mickey Hart's band Planet Drum (1999), and Phil Lesh and Friends (2012). Karan has also played and toured with Terrapin Flyer, Delaney Bramlett, the Rembrandts, Sophie B. Hawkins, Dave Mason, and Paul Carrack.
Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions is an American folk music album. It was recorded live by the band of the same name at the Top of the Tangent coffee house in Palo Alto, California in July, 1964, and released in 1999.
"She Did It" is a song written and originally recorded by Eric Carmen in 1977. Carmen's single was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching number 23. "She Did It" was covered in 1981 by actor and singer Michael Damian, who reached number 69 on the Hot 100 with his version.
Ron Jacobs was an American broadcaster, author of books and magazines, record producer and concert promoter. He is best known as the program director of KHJ radio in Los Angeles during its ground-breaking "Boss Radio" period (1965–1969), and as co-creator of the countdown show American Top 40, and the seminal radio program The History of Rock and Roll (1969).
Blacklistt is a New Zealand rock band formed by four of the original members of the New Zealand-based group Blindspott, Damian Alexander (vocals), Marcus Powell, Gareth Fleming (bass) and Karl Vilisini.
Larry Anthony Weir, is a managing editor and author at New Music Weekly. A guitarist, composer, producer and promoter, Weir is most notable for his work with his brother Michael Damian and his compositions for the movie Teen Witch (1989). A songwriter under both ASCAP and BMI, Weir has 395 BMI published works and an unknown number of ASCAP titles.
"What About Love" is a song by American country rock band The Desert Rose Band, which was released in 1993 as the lead single from their fifth and final studio album Life Goes On. The song was written by Chris Hillman and Steve Hill, and produced by Paul Worley and Ed Seay. "What About Love" peaked at No. 71 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
Cindy Valentine is an Italian-born composer, producer, actress and performing artist, raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada who is now a U.S. citizen, residing primarily in New York, New York. Valentine hit the Billboard Dance/Club charts in 1987 and 1989 with "Secret Rendez-Vous" and "Pick Up the Pieces ", both songs co-written by Tony Green and Cindy Valentine. Valentine also co-wrote the songs, "Finest Hour" and "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" for the 1989 Halloween classic, Teen Witch and played the part of Shana the Rock Star in the film. As a composer and performer, additional soundtrack credits include: Repossessed (1990), Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991), and Another 9 1/2 Weeks (1997).
Cameron Avery is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the bands Pond and Tame Impala, and as the frontman for The Growl.
Damian's eldest brother, Larry Weir, started what he called the Ventura County Youth Experimental Theater, which produced three original musicals: "Island," "The House on Crossroads Alley" and "Hobo's Jungle." All featured the Weir siblings, three boys and seven girls.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Michael Damian performs "I Engineer" on American Bandstand. The Singer then talks about his career and how he went from music to television and now splits his time between the two. Michael then performs "What Are You Looking For" as his family plays in the band for him.
The Weirz sing "Person to Person." Judges: Peter Noone, Martha Smith and Desi Arnaz Jr.
Dangerous Curves (TV Series), Teen Witch
Masika Swaim (Weir) background vocals on Reach Out To Me
Upon contracting a project, Weir and Swain sit down and discuss strategies and formats, and come up with the best places to target. Not surprisingly, they have greater success pushing non-major label product in the smaller markets where programmers tend to be more ambitious and open-minded to good material, regardless of the clout of the record company.
Radio clusters may consist of as many as eight stations. In this situation, one individual is usually assigned to perform the function of general supervisor of all cluster programming, and each of the stations within the cluster has a designated PD, who reports to this person – typically referred to as the director of operations.