Chuck E. Weiss grew up in Denver, Colorado, where he felt like an outsider as a rebellious child and adolescent. He was heavily influenced by the eclectic music his father listened to, which included boogie-woogie, sabre dance, sambas, mambos, and Hank Williams. Weiss acquired a vast record collection from his father and a local trash collector, and spent his money on records and hung out in local nightclubs listening to musicians like Charles Brown and Gatemouth Brown.
As a teenager, Weiss got a job at a local movie theater, where he swept floors, popped corn, and ushered. He used his earnings to buy records and continued to frequent local nightclubs, where he developed a knack for finding the beat and eventually learned to play the drums. His parents bought him his first drum kit when he was nine years old, and by the time he was a teenager, he was performing and recording with legendary blues musicians like Lightnin' Hopkins.
Weiss met Tom Waits in 1972 at the Ebbett's Field club in Denver, where Waits was scheduled to perform. The two musicians struck up a friendship that has lasted over 25 years and has resulted in numerous collaborations, including Weiss's debut album, The Other Side of Town, which was recorded live at the Record Plant in the late 1970s.
Weiss spent the 1980s performing a weekly gig with his band The G-d Damn Liars at the L.A. nightclub The Central and later partnered with Johnny Depp to convert the space into the trendy Viper Room. He also penned several tracks for various film and television projects, including the theme for Showtime's "Rude Awakening."
After an 18-year recording hiatus, Weiss returned to the studio with Waits as producer to create Extremely Cool, a stunning and strange collection of tracks that showcase his eclectic tastes and musical influences. The album features 13 songs, including "The Devil With Blue Suede Shoes," "Deeply Sorry," "Jimmy Would," "Oh Marcy," "Rocking in the Kibbitz Room," and "Sonny Could Lick All Them Cats," among others.
