The Man

The Washco lowlifes An all original band Four piece power rock band.from the county of Washington in the state of Illinois. We come from a small town but have been able to gain a ruthless fan base of hundreds in our limited market. We are a rock n roll band with touches of funk, punk, and metal. No egos and professional.

A recent review
"THE WASHCO LOWLIFES played fourth, and I really liked these dudes. They were heavy as fuck, but then would play these spacey funk songs that were really cool. These guys were cool, and I really dug 'em."
"A wickedly rocking fusion of punk & good old fashioned rock n roll."
"Praise from a loyal fan, Scooby George.

The Washco Lowlifes
Not many of the bands out here have put nearly as much hard work and dedication to their craft and their music as the next band I am going to be telling you about. If you know anything at all about our local music scene and the people in it, then you know all too well who I'm about to talk about.

Ladies & Gentleman, the Washco Lowlifes.


Originally starting off as a three piece set similar to a punkier version of Green-Day, The Washco Lowlifes were lead by Singer/Guitarist Mark Anthony (AKA: We-are Washco to his many friends on facebook here), Bass virtuoso Mr. Shawn Clark & the legendary Steve-O Edwards & (sometimes the equally amazing Josh Curl) on the drums. The sheer talent and musicianship in this lineup is absolutely staggering. The addition of the uber-talented Neil Miller in the lead guitar role has taken this band, not to mention their sound to a whole new level that must be seen to be believed.

In an area largely populated by countless metal bands, these guys bring a breath of fresh air to our largely bustling music scene by injecting a little originality with a healthy dose of old school rock n roll, rhythm & blues and nice little dash of punk into their music.

Simply put, Washco doesn't sound like any of the other bands around here.

They sound like Washco.

Mark handles the vocals and guitar duties of the band. A born front-man, his ability to get the crowd involved and moving when this band plays must be seen to be believed. Singing lyrics many times talking of the crazy life in our area, he sings them in his own distinctive style with a cocky grin almost always on his face. He's a truly gifted guitarist as well and the years he spent covering guitar and vocals when the band was a three piece set shows well. Many people don't seem to realize just how difficult it can be to play an instrument (let alone play it well) and sing at the same time. Mark handles his duties in stride, with the skill many folks wish they could muster, myself included.

Another thing I feel I simply have to say. One thing Mark does better than many of the artists in this area is the fact he is almost ALWAYS out there supporting the other bands in the area, many times with fellow band members in tow. It's not uncommon to see one the heavier acts up on stage wearing a Washco Lowlifes T-Shirt. They always wear it with pride too. That's the amount of love these guys have for this band. They are one of us. Washco are family. :P

Sean Clark has a very bluesy style to his bass playing that transitions perfectly into these songs. Sean is a bassplayer who doesn't like using a pick, instead using finger struming and slap-bass styles that accentuate every single song he plays on. This guy is crazy talented and always adds a little distictive flavor to the Washco sound. For me, one of the highlights of catching a Washco show is when Shawn breaks into the old Reverend Horton Heat tune "400 bucks." If you have any kind of love for that sound you are simply selling yourself short by missing this band.

Steve-O Edwards, as I have previously mentioned before, compliments the Washco sound perfectly. The man is utterly crazy in how good he is. This is a completely different sound than one of his other bands (like Some Kinda Khaos) but you would never notice it if it wasn't pointed out to you. It almost seems like he was born to play these songs.

Occasionally the legendary Josh Curl will cover drum duties for the band, and although his style and his drum-kit are distinctively different from Steve-O's, the music never suffers once. This man is just crazy-good and it's always a treat to catch him playing with this band.

Lead Guitarist Neil Miller I first saw join the band onstage at True-Fest last year. The sheer amount of talent this guy has is nuts. I've seen him litterally play till his fingers were bloody before and that smile never left his face once. Allowing Mark more of a chance to really unload on the vocals while Neil ripped through the songs with the skill and precision of a man possessed really has taken this band to a whole new level. Neil was the missing piece the Lowlifes needed to solidify their sound. This band was always damn good. With the addition of this man, they are now fucking amazing. True story.

So in summary, if metal really isn't your thing you are not out of luck. A Washco Lowlifes show is always an extremely fun time with some of the most decent and down to earth musicians this area has to offer.

There ain't no party like a Washco Party guys. Miss this band and you will only have yourself to blame.

Scoo B"


A recent review
"THE WASHCO LOWLIFES played fourth, and I really liked these dudes. They were heavy as fuck, but then would play these spacey funk songs that were really cool. These guys were cool, and I really dug 'em."