Doomed Confessionary: Joe, Scott, Pat & Maggie (Heemeyer)
Photos by Pat Jarrett
Heemeyer is a stoner/sludge metal band from Staunton, Virginia. The band formed at the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Joe, Scott and Pat spent the plague years making music together, and were soon joined by Maggie on vocals.
They have embodied the tune-low-play-slow musical style of Southern sludge metal while experimenting with twin-bass leads. The band takes inspiration from the greats, like Crowbar, Clutch, Mastodon, Weedeater and Sleep as well as fellow Virginia artists Windhand, Cough, Earthling and Valkyrie.
With a cover of the 1975 Doc Watson classic »Wake Up, Little Maggie«, Heemeyer’s deep roots in heavy metal intertwine with the sound of the Appalachian Mountains to create a haunting story of heartbreak and loss. The song as Doc Watson performed it was itself inspired by an earlier tune by the name of »Darlin Cory«, the earliest records of which stem from oral tradition in North Carolina. »Darlin Cory« became the inspiration for a family of Appalachian songs referencing themes of love, moonshine, betrayal and loneliness.
Heemeyer consists of drummer Joe Frazier (Diseased Earth), bassists Scott Hensley (The House We Had, Tribus) and Pat Jarrett (Cocaine James) and vocalist Maggie Worthington.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Heemeyer is a twin-bass stoner/sludge metal band from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Our namesake, Marv Heemeyer, built the infamous Killdozer, and one day in 2004 he did $7million worth of damage in a morning. He was the only one harmed in his act of revenge. The morale of this story is two-fold, 1) don’t be a dick and 2) if you are that pissed off, push back comprehensively.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
We started making noise together right at the start of the pandemic, that was tricky to say the least. We became a social bubble (remember those?) and it was tough booking shows in those early days. Aside from that we just have the usual scarcity issues (money and time), but we get by.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Our connection, both within the band and in our scene, keeps us going. We’re a big ol’ family.
What was your biggest regret?
None.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
We just hosted a show in our practice space for a local mutual aid fund and raised $2,000 for our local immigrant community. We were the only heavy band, but the shared catharsis was necessary. Our singer organized a video projection on an adjacent building during the show that the whole town was talking about. Music is a tool for connecting people, now’s the time. As James Brown sang “get on up, get into it, get involved.”
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
I’m surprised at how many of us are into country, bluegrass and old-time, it’s wild to see a Sunn 0))) sticker on a fiddle case at an old-time jam.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Including but not limited to:
• Krode
• War Hungry
• Slabdragger
• I Am
• Leak
• Christworm
• Crowbar
• Death
• Blackbraid
• Eyehategod
• Agricutlture
• Earthling
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Don’t worry too much about it, just do it. Fear is the mind-killer.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Well, I don’t feel guilty about any of my pleasures, but some unexpected pleasures these days include:
• Marty Robbins “Gunfighter: Ballads and Trail Songs”
• Rally House YouTube videos that show early 2000s rally racing footage over the music
• Gordon Bok is an incredible folk singer from Maine who sings about the life on the water in New England
• Cheeseburger pizzas
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Staunton / Shenandoah Valley?
We’re pleasantly surprised at the strength of the underground scene here in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding areas. In 2024 we lost Crayola House, a longtime DIY house that hosted touring DIY bands for 30+ years, and I feel like the scene is adapting to that with places like Smiley’s Truck Stop, Ace BBQ, Bricks, two different DIY spots called The Warehouse and a number of houses. We play mixed bills often with bands like Vara Alta, To Be A King, Jaguardini, False Sense and Shagwüf, but we also got homies who know the loud and dirty stuff, like üga büga, Opium Church, Lacking, Diseased Earth, Ekktoplasm and LCTR and Earthling to name a few. I feel like Rockbridge County, Virginia just makes amazing pickers. The old-time and bluegrass pickers, like Steve Hoke, for example, taught the younger generation how to rip, and they ran with it. We see the raw skill in the Adams’ brothers, Jake and Pete, of Valkyrie, and John Baizley of Baroness. There’s something in the water or the Earth itself around here that just makes amazing guitar players, it might be why we’re just making it work with a couple of basses.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’ll be making a run up to Doomfeset in Lebanon, Maine the last week of August with Hobo Wizard, with stops at the Pleasuretone Room in Reading, PA, Ralph’s in Worcester, MA with Bass Sabbath, hopefully sharing the stage with Druid Stone at Doomfest itself. We’re also playing in Columbia, South Carolina with Firenest and Crone Bog at Art Bar on April 25. At every gig we’ll have copies of our record »High Dungeon« made with our very close friends in The Smell Of Death.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’re going to be writing a lot this upcoming year, doing shows when we can, but we don’t have a ton on our calendar this year. Longterm, we’re lifers. We’re gonna make music for as long as we have the physical and mental wherewithal.
How can people best support your band?
Buy a record, buy a shirt, come to a show, go see a weirdo band in your scene, punch a fascist, hug a neck, crack a cold one with the people you love most.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Support your local DIY scene, watch out for your homies, fuck ICE, free Palestine. Make a band with your friends and invite us to your town and let’s scream into the void together.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well