Deadweight is an alternative rock trio from San Francisco, California. Members include Ben Barnes (electric violin and vocals), Sam Bass (electric cello) and
Paulo Baldi (drums). Deadweight began as a duo of Barnes and Bass who were graduates of San Francisco Conservatory of Music later joined by Baldi. Their first demo (1994) was produced by
Jason Newsted of
Metallica. Deadweight has toured both nationally and internationally and has opened for
Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade. Deadweight's third album,
Stroking The Moon (2003), was released on
Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. Playing the violin and cello through a variety of guitar effects, their studio recorded material is surprisingly hard rock. Live performances display an eclecticism that has conjured a variety of descriptions by critics. Examples include, "(howling) like something out of Beethoven's most twisted hallucinations," "Eastern European Gypsy songs sung in the back of a big rig driven across tornado country by the ghost of the Marlboro Man" and "Charlie Daniels in hell playing a combination of Bartok and Zeppelin." Barnes has stated both
Jimmy Page and
Charlie Daniels are influences for their sound. Deadweight were winners of the
SF Weekly's 1998
Wammy award for the category of "Beyond."