Scott "Wino" Weinrich

A few months ago I attended a concert at the Ottobar in Baltimore, a small club in the north section of the city.  I was seated in the corner at a small table waiting for The Obsessed to go on.   At the table next to me, his back to me, was an eccentric stranger in long grey hair, arms bare in a vest and covered in strange and fascinating tattoos.  A few moments later I saw him standing up, and facing in my direction:  it was Scott “Wino” Weinrich himself.  Very cool.  I did not, however, end up talking to him, but I did reach a close point to the stage to enjoy his band’s set.

He’s actually from Rockville, Maryland, though almost ten years older than me.  He has a raspy, distinctive voice and an intimidating demeanor, though we’ve seen him joke and smile occasionally.

Wino could be considered the Lemmy of the Stoner rock scene, although Lemmy is only associated with Hawkwind and Motorhead.  Like Lemmy he’s had an impressive history of illicit drug use, much of which ends up in the song lyrics.  The three major bands Wino is most closely associated with are Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, and Spirit Caravan. 

Solo material.  One track on Probot (Dave Grohl), Live at Roadburn, Heavy Kingdom, Labour of Love, Songs of Towne Van Zandt, Punctuated Equilibrium, Adrift, and Freedom Conspiracy

The Obsessed.  Self-titled, The Church Within, Lunar Womb, and Sacred

Saint Vitus.  Born Too Late, Mournful Cries, V, Lillie: F-65 [Saint Vitus is mainly guitarist Dave Chandler, and their other main vocalist is Scott Reagers]

Hidden Hand.  Mother Teacher Destroyer; Divine Propaganda; Resurrection of Whisky Foote

But wait!  There’s more!  He’s also got the following items to talk about:  + Premonition 13, Shrinebuilder, and Place of Skulls With Vision.

As you can see, it’s a major load of work, of which I’m familiar with Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, and Saint Vitus.  All of it sounds pretty much the same:  doomy, raspy, Sabbath oriented with frequent drug references.