2018: Neon Swan Awards, Orlando, FL
https://www.neonswanawards.com/neon-swans-l-z.html

https://nonahoodnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/OrlandoNeonSwanAwards_2.28.pdf

About:
I sang on a few songs on Dan’s record (and played a few live events in the Philly area back in the day with artists like Tim Fite and Low Cut Connie) to support Dan’s band with some female vocals.

My friend Rylan (formerly Liz) also played trumpet on a track or two. It was a fun thing to do at the time, post-college (recorded in 2012 but produced in 2022), and I can’t believe Dan finally let this album see the light of day… 10 years later.

I’ve always been a shy singer but being able to do this behind the scenes was fun.

The Album:
I’m on a few songs:

– “Staring Problem”
Pete Gotta: drums with extra pong
Ryan Maffei: keyboards, synths
Cat Trestini: vocals (and some harmonies)
Dan Weiss: vocals, guitars, bass

– “Drinking and Driving (Separately)”
John Burlage: mandolin missing a string
Doug Gallo: vocals
Pete Gotta: drums
Hillary Johnson: drum samples
Greg Kinloch: bass
Mike Parrone: vocals
Cat Trestini: vocals
Dan Weiss: vocals, acoustic guitar, searching “crowd noise” in Soulseek and sampling the first couple results

– “Jonah” (Lisa Walker; Wussy cover)
Cat Trestini: vocals
Dan Weiss: vocals, acoustic guitar, tambourine

This album has some explicit material, so you’ve been warned. You can listen to it on Bandcamp or Spotify:

Bandcamp: https://danexmachina.bandcamp.com/album/all-is-ours-nothing-is-theirs

Spotify:

Press:
Robert Christgau, Dean’s List: 2022 https://robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/deans22.php

Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide: 2022
https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=18056
https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/consumer-guide-august-2022
“This is hardly the first album from Dan Weiss’s outer-Philly band. But few if any of their previous songs promised anything approaching the female-male opener’s indelible sendoff–“We’re gonna die in this house/Baby I know that you always said it/We’re gonna die in this house/Baby I know that it’s so pathetic”–or essay adulthood’s varying alt-rock narratives, sonics, and points of view they nail again and again on an album that maintains for 19 tracks. Sample pickup fantasy: “Please send a gorgeous woman to knife me in the throat/It’s better than feigning interest in architecture.” Sample sex fantasy: “I want you to plunder my insides/I want you to put me at risk/I want to cave in where I’ve never been bitten/I want you balled up in my fist.” Solid tunes impart cred to unlikely stories in which the singer runs disconsolately for prom king or a couple cheat on each other with each other via accidentally matched Ashley Madison accounts. “The kids love torture porn and candy corn you’ve been warned” I’ll take under advisement. A-“

Tom Hull, 2022
https://tomhull.com/ocston/blog/archives/3050-Music-Week.html
“Dan Ex Machina: All Is Ours, Nothing Is Theirs (2022, self-released): New Jersey band and/or singer-songwriter Dan Weiss — not the drummer, nor the other drummer, but known to me mostly as a rock critic. Several albums and EPs on Bandcamp, little noted elsewhere. This batch was written 2003-11, played live and eventually recorded over the last decade, with shifting lineups, but they get better as the record goes on (and as you play it more). One called “Drinking and Driving (Separately)” finally delivers everything that the pre-rock-and-roll scolds feared. [was: B+(***)]] A- [cd]”

Anthony Is Writing, 2022
https://anthony-is-writing.ghost.io/my-favorite-albums-of-2022/
An aging young man refuses to give up either the dream of the ‘90s or sex apps. A woman is nice enough to harmonize. (“Leave A Mark,” “Drinking And Driving (Separately)”)

Semipop Life by Brad Luen, 2022
https://bradluen.substack.com/p/odds-and-ends-123
Excellent critic illustrates tales of functioning with dysfunction and vice versa with a history of alt-rock guitar, a pretty solid rhythm section, better singers than himself, and much better singers than himself (“Drinking and Driving (Separately)”, “Staring Problem”, “At Least I’m in Love”)


The Punk Site, 2022
https://www.thepunksite.com/interviews/dan-weiss-dan-ex-machina/
“Staring Problem is a good example of how this record was an evolution for me. I loved the chorus and melody I had, but I knew the song needed more. It would be nothing without Ryan Maffei’s visionary keyboard and synth ideas, especially, after the bridge, all of which he brought in himself and I don’t believe I asked for a single change. Same with Cat Trestini’s gorgeous harmonies, which she wrote. Bringing in outside collaborators to add layers and dynamics beyond my ken [understanding] was what elevated this album and my song-writing. That said, my bass playing on the bridge is one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. I don’t see myself writing this straight-forwardly about romantic relationships ever again because “it’s easier to make her come when she is off her meds” was ripped from the headlines and the person I was dating at the time hated it. It was too great a line, though; that song has lasted a lot longer than the relationship did. These days, it’s probably my favorite thing on the record.“

“I have a Wussy tattoo on my left arm. They’re one of my favorite bands and “Jonah” is my favorite Wussy song. I wish they played it more live. Cat [Trestini] sounds lovely on it.“

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