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[[File:Super-Chrono-19940427-a.jpg|thumb|Betsy.]] | [[File:Super-Chrono-19940427-a.jpg|thumb|The A-Teams's van, which Betsy was viewd as similar to in a humorous way.]] | ||
'''Betsy''' was the name of the van used during the earliest days of [[Weezer]]. The van (a 1985 Dodge Prospector)<ref name="ALSI2019">Alec Longstreth. ''Alec Illustration''. 12 May 2019. https://alecillustration.blogspot.com/2019/05/its-been-so-long-weezer-fan-club.html</ref> was found by [[Karl Koch]] and [[Patrick Wilson]] in Fontana, California, which was then purchased from a "dude who looked exactly like Muammar Gaddafi" (Koch). | '''Betsy''' was the name of the van used during the earliest days of [[Weezer]]. The van (a 1985 Dodge Prospector)<ref name="ALSI2019">Alec Longstreth. ''Alec Illustration''. 12 May 2019. https://alecillustration.blogspot.com/2019/05/its-been-so-long-weezer-fan-club.html</ref> was found by [[Karl Koch]] and [[Patrick Wilson]] in Fontana, California, which was then purchased from a "dude who looked exactly like Muammar Gaddafi" (Koch). | ||
The van was bought on [[March 30]], [[1994]],<ref name="KKS132023">[[Karl Koch|Koch, Karl]] (as Karlophone). (September 13, 2023). Discord message. Archived from the original on Weezerpedia at [[Weezerpedia Discord Q&A with Karl Koch - September 2023]].</ref> and was supposed to bring the band to a gig at the Brave New World the next day. However, the van broke down and caused the gig to be cancelled.<ref>[[Historic event: 04/01/1994]]</ref> It was first properly used at [[Weezer concert: 04/27/1994|a gig at the Gaslight]] on [[April 27]].<ref>[[Historic event: 04/27/1994]] by [[Karl Koch]]</ref> It carried Weezer from town to town throughout America and even into Canada throughout 1994. The vehicle was originally named "The Enforcer", which was quickly changed to "Betsy" after they tried driving | The van was bought on [[March 30]], [[1994]],<ref name="KKS132023">[[Karl Koch|Koch, Karl]] (as Karlophone). (September 13, 2023). Discord message. Archived from the original on Weezerpedia at [[Weezerpedia Discord Q&A with Karl Koch - September 2023]].</ref> and was supposed to bring the band to a gig at the Brave New World the next day. However, the van broke down and caused the gig to be cancelled.<ref>[[Historic event: 04/01/1994]]</ref> It was first properly used at [[Weezer concert: 04/27/1994|a gig at the Gaslight]] on [[April 27]].<ref>[[Historic event: 04/27/1994]] by [[Karl Koch]]</ref> It carried Weezer from town to town throughout America and even into Canada throughout 1994. The vehicle was originally named "The Enforcer", which was quickly changed to "Betsy" after they tried driving up The Grapevine on I-5 and stalled out due to a previously unknown broken fuel pump. An attempt to floor the van to get out of the suddenly extremely dangerous situation resulted in the universal joint shattering, which let the driveshaft fall to the roadway, rendering the vehicle unable to move forward. Only by carefully gliding backwards diagonally across 3 lanes of busy interstate traffic to the shoulder, and not pitching the van over the steep cliff face of said shoulder, did the band and van survive.<ref name="DaJ95">[[Details article - January 1995]]</ref> | ||
{{Rivers Cuomo quote|The radio shuts itself off if we drive below twenty miles an hour. The sunroof leaks buckets in the rain. The air-conditioning refuses to function and the solid black exterior serves as a giant solar panel, ensuring a minimum temperature of 115 degrees in the summer. (We’re hoping the solar-panel effect will continue to keep us warm through the winter, since the heater also does not work.)|[[Details article - January 1995]]}} | {{Rivers Cuomo quote|The radio shuts itself off if we drive below twenty miles an hour. The sunroof leaks buckets in the rain. The air-conditioning refuses to function and the solid black exterior serves as a giant solar panel, ensuring a minimum temperature of 115 degrees in the summer. (We’re hoping the solar-panel effect will continue to keep us warm through the winter, since the heater also does not work.)|[[Details article - January 1995]]}} | ||
A notable accident would happen in the summer of 1994. [[Matt Sharp]] shot the van's radiator | A notable accident would happen in the summer of 1994. [[Matt Sharp]] shot the van's radiator grill with a squirt gun, causing it to eject green froth and break down. The band was left stranded in Winnemucca, Nevada, gambling their cash and playing slot machines, Sharp winning nearly as much as [[Rivers Cuomo]] lost.<ref name="DaJ95" /> Only via Partrick and Karls "MacGuyver-ing" of the radiator hose with items bought from the towns only open market did the van survive the mountainous overnight drive to Sacramento. | ||
Betsy would be replaced with a tour bus in fall 1994, when Weezer toured with [[Live]] for the [[Split Tour]].<ref>[[MOO Magazine article - November 1994]]</ref> The van would still live on in spirit, immortalized in the artwork for the [[2019]] single "[[It's Been So Long]]".<ref name="ALSI2019" /> | Betsy would be replaced with a tour bus in fall 1994, when Weezer toured with [[Live]] for the [[Split Tour]].<ref>[[MOO Magazine article - November 1994]]</ref> The van would still live on in spirit, immortalized in the artwork for the [[2019]] single "[[It's Been So Long]]".<ref name="ALSI2019" /> | ||