One Eleven Heavy

One Eleven Heavy

One Eleven Heavy is an American group formed by James Jackson Toth, who records as Wooden Wand, and guitarist Nick Mitchell-Maiato, founder of the UK psychedelic rock band Desmadrados Soldados De Ventura. The group also includes Dan Brown, Ryan Jewell and Hans Chew. Their music draws on americana, country rock, jam band, psychedelic rock, rock and roots rock.

Formation and early development

Toth and Mitchell-Maiato meet while Toth is touring in the UK in 2008. They discover a shared interest in artists including Crazy Horse, the Grateful Dead, Little Feat, NRBQ and Bob Dylan, and begin discussing a band that brings together singer-songwriter writing with extended, exploratory guitar music. Their early ideas develop during time spent together in Manchester and Lexington, Kentucky.

Dan Brown joins as bassist, bringing a playing style associated with the later, more groove-led period of Royal Trux. When Mitchell-Maiato is asked to contribute to a Bert Jansch covers compilation, he asks Toth and Brown to record with him. Drummer Ryan Jewell joins after a recommendation from John Moloney of Sunburned Hand Of The Man. The name One Eleven Heavy comes from a 2009 short story by Michael Paterniti.

Recording and releases

The first session takes place in Richmond, Virginia, with engineer Jon Morand. The group records its Bert Jansch cover with no rehearsal before the session, then plans an album of original material. Toth and Mitchell-Maiato write separately and exchange songs with each other and the rest of the band. They also send demos to Scott McDowell, a WFMU DJ and former MTV producer, who starts the Kith & Kin label and takes on the roles of executive producer and manager.

For the debut album session, the band returns to Sound Of Music studios in Richmond. Hans Chew joins on piano. The album is recorded in five days with two days of rehearsal beforehand. The writing is divided evenly between Toth and Mitchell-Maiato. The resulting record, Everything’s Better, is released on Kith & Kin.

Musical character

The group’s sound is rooted in classic American rock traditions and is described through references to wide-ranging influences from cosmic American music to celebratory, jam-oriented guitar music. Its approach favours open-ended playing and song structures that stretch beyond straightforward rock form, while still centring strong lyrical writing from Toth and Mitchell-Maiato.