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"Following 40 lb. Head"
Mike Faillace
The Weekender — December, 1999
The first time I spoke with 40 lb. Head was in June of 1998, at the now closed Jitterbugs in Edwardsville after one of their live performances.
The lively quartet - composed of Jay Egenski, Steve Egenski, Mike Zubritski and Brian Egenski - chatted back and forth with me about the local music scene, themselves, and most importantly, the weight of a humans head.
A year and half later, 40 lb. Head has performed their way into becoming one of the top live bands in the area. With a mixture of covers and original songs incorporated into their nightly regime, the band has acquired quite a following.
After submitting a copy of their debut CD titled Savior Self, 40 lb. Head was chosen (along with Cora's Mosaic, Franz and Crooked Halo) to compete in The Weekender/Philadelphia Music conference Showcase held on Nov. 4 at the Voodoo Lounge. Winning the showcase earned 40 lb. Head the right to attend the Philadelphia Music Conference being held at the Adam's Mark Hotel (City Ave. and Monument Rd., Philadelphia: 215.581.5000).
In light of the upcoming PMC, I had the oppportunity to speak with Jay Egenski about what was obviously a huge break for the band.
Michael Faillace: Does the band have anything special planned for the performance in Philly?
Jay Egenski: Not really. It's basically going to be business as usual for us there. We do have a new song we just wrote called Blindfold that we're going to perform.
Michael Faillace: You have only 40 minutes to strut your stuff - how are you going to make sure people remember that 40 minutes?
Jay Egenski: Hopefully we'll be able to speak with out music. I think the band is strong enough that we can just play hard. If we don't impress people that way, we'll have to take off all our clothes.
Michael Faillace: What's the best advice you can give other bands?
Jay Egenski: Man, don't take my advice. There are so many bands out there that I thought were really good and nothing really came of them. We just play our best. There's no real formula. It's a trial and error process. Play for yourself - That's about the best advice I can give.
Michael Faillace: You once told me that the human head weighs about 10 pounds (depending on where you cut it). How much does your head weigh now?
Jay Egenski: I don't think that it weighs anymore... I really don't think so. I mean we made some mistakes in our songs at the showcase, and it was a honor and a suprise to win. Nobody in the band wants to get a fat head over things. We realize that we're lucky to be where we are, and we don't want to take that for granted. Besides, if anybody gets a fat head, I'll smack them. And I'm sure they'll smack me.
Michael Faillace: When can we expect another album from 40 lb. Head.
Jay Egenski: Around the end of this summer. - tentatively. We're taking our time with this one. It's going to be completely different. We are recording the songs on our own rather than going to a studio, and it's going really well.
Michael Faillace: What's the biggest change the band has gone through since you started out?
Jay Egenski: No one really changed all that much, and I think that's a good thing. Our music changed a lot and we've changed our set list quite a bit. It's really been a slow, steady climb.
Michael Faillace: Last year a bunch of bands were signed as a result of playing the PMC, are you looking or hoping to get signed?
Jay Egenski: Absolutely. We'd love to.
Michael Faillace: Have any record companies contacted you in the past?
Jay Egenski: Nah, We're not that cool yet.