Weezer: Difference between revisions
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==History== | ==History== | ||
===Beginnings=== | |||
====Formation==== | |||
Weezer were formed February 14, 1992 at 1711 Stoner Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Although unnamed, Weezer were actually unofficially formed far earlier. The majority of the early Weezer material was written during the [[The 50 Song Project|50 song project]]. Before that, the members of Weezer were playing under the moniker [[60 Wrong Sausages]], with the inclusion of [[Pat Finn]] on vocalists. After playing only one show, 60 Wrong Sausages slowly fizzled away as [[Rivers Cuomo]] became more interested in his own new songs and less interested in what the band was doing at the time. It was around this time that [[Patrick Wilson]] also began to shift his musical focus. Striking up a collaborative project, the two began writing Weezer's earliest material. | |||
Throughout December 1991 and February 1992, Patrick Wilson and Rivers Cuomo worked diligently on their 50 song project. Having finished with what they considered a reasonable amount of starting material, they showed the collaborations to mutual friend [[Matt Sharp]]. | |||
On February 14, Valentine Day, Weezer held their first rehearsal at a local studio. At the time, the band's lineup was:<br> | |||
Rivers Cuomo - lead vocals, electric guitar<br> | |||
Patrick Wilson - drums<br> | |||
[[Jason Cropper]] - acoustic guitar<br> | |||
Matt Sharp - bass<br> | |||
The band's first ever recording was [[I Can't Forget the Way]]. At the time, some names the band was consider included "This Niblet" and "The Big Jones". Much of this period is chronicled by mutual friend, [[Karl Koch]]. | |||
====Working the clubs==== | |||
On March 19, 1992, Rivers Cuomo and Matt Sharp moved into [[Amherst House|2226 Amherst Avenue]], the new location for Weezer. Complete with it's own garage, the house was perfect for a new band to write, record and rehearse. On the same day, Rivers called a local club, Raji's (as seen on the Nirvana 7"). Looking for a show, the club actually told the band that they had an opening slot that day for Keanu Reeves' "Dogstar". The band took the gig and quickly began to brainstorm a setlist and a band name. After much deliberation, Rivers stuck with his original idea: Weezer. | |||
Weezer continued to play clubs around Los Angeles throughout the remainder of 1992. Shows were an excellent format for the band to test new songs and figure out which ones worked for the band and which ones were not of the direction they were interested in pursuing. The band fount it increasingly frustrating that their shows were not turning up more fans. Rivers himself was dumbfounded that songs like [[Undone - The Sweater Song|Undone]] and [[Say It Ain't So]] were not drawing larger crowds. Large following or not, the band did manage to draw the attention of two sisters, [[Mykel and Carli Allan]. Said the two, "''July 9, 1992 we were at Club Dump (Johnny Depp bought the place, called it the Viper Room, River Phoenix died there) to see a good band Crux (No longer a band). At someone's suggestion we stuck around to see the next band Weezer.''" The next day, at the birthday party of Bryan Ray (of Black Market Flowers), Mykel noticed the long haired guy sitting alone--it was Rivers Cuomo, whom she recognized from the night previous. The two began to strike up a conversation and it was not long before a strong friendship between Weezer and the sisters was formed. As time went on, Rivers began to work on a song called "Please Pick Up the Phone", which eventually morphed into "[[Mykel & Carli]]". | |||
After two "do-it-yourself" tours, Weezer were finally generating a buzz. Accordingly, the band decided it was time to record a proper demo. On August 1, 1992 Weezer recorded [[The Kitchen Tape]]. It featured their five most professional songs, but in total eight were recorded. Three months later, in November, Weezer recorded their [[Weezer's third demo|third demo album]]. Fans refer to this album as ''The Real Demo''. The next month on December 11, Weezer played a show with [[Carnival Art]] and met [[Brian Bell]]. Although at the time it seemed rather insignificant, Brian's skills would stick in the minds of the band and would eventually be asked to join. | |||
====Signing to Geffen Records==== | |||
As 1993 rolled on, Weezer finally started to catch the attention of record labels, specifically one [[Todd Sullivan]] of [[Geffen Records]]. Todd asked Rivers and Matt to join him for dinner one night, Matt did most of the talking. Negotiations were discussed for what the band wanted and what kind of record they sought to make. On June 25, 1993, in a move somewhat questioned by Geffen (mostly because of Weezer's anti-rock star appearance), Sullivan signed Weezer. | |||
After the signing, Rivers felt mixed emotions. Part of him was excited about the future ahead of him. This emotion prompted songs like [[Buddy Holly]] and [[Holiday]] to come shortly after the signing. Another part of him was very unsure as to whether the life of a rock star was the one he wanted. This emotion prompted more uncertain songs like [[In the Garage]], [[Getting Up and Leaving]], and [[Negativland]]. Furthermore, the thought of everyone watching Rivers' next move prompted the song [[Chess]]. | |||
Weezer's request was to produce their first album themselves, but the idea was frowned upon by Geffen, who was encouraging a producer. The band (somewhat jokingly) mentioned [[Ric Ocasek]] (of The Cars) because they figured that if they needed a producer it might as well be someone who made good music. Geffen asked Weezer to record a demo to send to Ric. Weezer was fairly certain that it was a joke, but one day Patrick was in a local shop when he saw Ric. He went back and told the band and they realized that it was possible that he actually was coming in to meet them. | |||
Ric, at the time, was fairly perplexed by the band's image. Having never seen them, and only heard future classics like [[No One Else]] and [[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here]], Ric considered the possibility that they were metal heads. This is most likely because of the technical guitar work, especially the solos. Still, he believed the lyrics too smart for metal. When Ric finally did meet Weezer, they all got along very well. | |||
===''The Blue Album''=== | |||
====Recording the Debut Album==== | |||
On August 11, the band flew to New York City at the request of Ric and recorded a practice demo with Ric Ocasek. Ric hit it off with the band, specifically Rivers. In between takes, Weezer performed Cars covers for the entertainment and adoration of Ric. Karl shot video. | |||
The band recorded the following songs: Undone, Mykel & Carli, Buddy Holly (against Rivers' will, but at the urging of Ric), Say It Ain't So, Surf Wax America, Only In Dreams, Holiday, The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, No One Else and My Name is Jonas. In addition, Getting Up and Leaving, I Swear It's True and an In The Garage coda experiment were all recorded, but never to satisfaction. Mykel & Carli was also omitted for not being satisfactory to the band. As the album neared completion, Rivers kicked Jason Cropper out of the band. Although the details of Jason's departure are relatively clouded in legal documents, it is believed that Jason was asked to leave because he received news that his girlfriend was pregnant. It is speculated by fans that Jason and the band were all concerned about the girlfriend's well-being as well as Jason's. For a new band, it was important that every member was 100% focused. | |||
According to Ric Ocasek, Rivers re-recorded all of Jason's guitar parts in one day, but the band insists otherwise. After Jason was kicked out the band was starting to feel incredibly nervous and insecure about their future. Losing a founding member before achieving success felt like the end of Weezer. The band called [[Brian Bell]] of Carnival Art, and asked him to join. Brian ecstatically said yes and recorded a demo tape of him signing and playing over No One Else, Undone, Say It Ain't So and The World Has Turned and Left Me Here. Brian brought a new excitement and enthusiasm to an otherwise sullen Weezer camp. It was just what the band needed. In October 1993, the recording of their debut album was finished and Weezer returned to Los Angeles. | |||
====Modest Success==== | |||
Weezer's debut album, ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|Weezer]]'', referred to now as ''The Blue Album'' was released on May 10, 1994. The album's debut single, "[[Undone - The Sweater Song]" received regular rotation on college radio. It was not until a video, directed by [[Spike Jonze]] propelled the song into MTV rotation that everyone began to talk about Weezer. Unintentionally, and perhaps unforeseeable, a debut single about a sweater prompted many to write the band off as a gimmick. Others penned the band (and perhaps rightfully so) as nerds. Some felt that singing about a sweater was an attempt to be ironic, others thought it was hilarious. | |||
====Weezer blows up==== | |||
With Undone still receiving frequent radio play, the band decided it was time to release a new single. "[[Buddy Holly]]" was chosen as the next single and Spike Jones was asked to direct another video for the band. The Buddy Holly music video featured the band dressed up in '50s attire playing at a recreation of Arnold's Drive In from the 1970s sitcom, ''Happy Days''. The songs hooks, brilliant chorus, and pop culture references were heavily emphasized by the nostalgic value the video retained. Buddy Holly took off and so did Weezer. The Buddy Holly video went on to win an MTV Video Music award, a ceremony for which Rivers was not present. At a time when the band was blowing up, Rivers was drawing in. Devastated by the success of the Buddy Holly video, Rivers grew uncertain as to whether it was his songwriting that made the band famous or if it was Spike Jonze's video. Rivers quickly began to shun anything that could be perceived as a gimmick or as ironic. He removed his glasses, declined an interview with ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' and cut his hair. The band took notice of Rivers reclusive persona and began to slowly exhibit distaste for him both in private and in public interviews. | |||
In 1995, Weezer released their third single, [[Say It Ain't So]]. Unlike previous videos, Spike Jonez was not invited to direct. Instead, the band performed at the site of their old [[The Garage|garage]] at the [[Amherst House]]. The single enjoyed success and is considered by many Weezer fans to be an all-time favorite. | |||
===Pinkerton=== | |||
====Songs from the Black Hole==== | |||
After Weezer blew up, Rivers took complete control of the band's songwriting. He began to question if the life he wanted as a rock star was actually the life for him. When Rivers went home for Christmas in 1995, his music began to reflect his new mood as he penned new songs like [[Longtime Sunshine]]. In the song, Rivers sings about returning home and contemplates the idea of an east coast college education. Rivers, being a fan of opera like ''[[Madame Butterfly]]'' began to work on an opera of his own, ''[[Songs from the Black Hole]].'' It was an ambitious project. Serving as a metaphor for his growing distaste with the rock star life, Songs from the Black Hole required that each member of Weezer be assigned to play a character, two female vocalists be asked to temporarily join, and for Weezer's sound to evolve into a spacey moog/synth focused act. For a man who wanted to shun gimmicks, it's uncertain if the Black Hole was a larger gimmick than Buddy Holly, or a genius idea which Rivers anticipated to self-deflate the band's reputation akin to Nirvana's ''In Utero''. | |||
====Side Projects, Writing and Recording==== | |||
While Rivers contemplated the band's new direction, Matt began to form a band of his own, [[The Rentals]]. The Rentals were a band focused on strong male/female harmonies, synths, moogs and even featured lyrics about space and machinery. It is perhaps simply fan speculation that Matt purposely borrowed elements of the Black Hole concept, but Rivers himself seemed to believe that Matt had copied him. Rivers did not wanting to appear a copycat of Matt's new side project. Although he was uncertain of the Black Hole's future, he was certain that he wanted to disappear for a while. Rivers grew a beard, had a painful leg surgery to correct the length of his left leg and enrolled at Harvard. | |||
Karl wrote of the time, ''"A lot of stuff was happening all at once. The Blue album touring had finally been wrapped up. Rivers had gotten himself accepted at Harvard for the upcoming fall semester, and was looking forward to escaping the limelight for a while. The band was up for 5 different Mtv Video awards and the awards show was coming up on the 7th in NYC. I was to help the still leg-braced Rivers move to Boston immediately after the awards (which he ironically ended up not attending.) Studio time was booked, in order to get a head start on the new album, which was only partly written at this point. Rivers was still holding out a torch for his "Black Hole " idea, but as recording got underway, the songs were laid down as before, one at a time- no story, no theatrics, no characters."'' Songs practiced during these sessions were made up mostly of songs intended for SFTBH, but still songs that could stand independent of the Black Hole such as "Tired of Sex", "Waiting on You" and "Getchoo". | |||
At last, Rivers went to Harvard while Pat Wilson began to work on his own side-project, tentatively unnamed. In the wake of the Black Hole writing spree, Rivers found himself struggling with writer's block. While at Harvard, his ego suffered greatly. Each day, Rivers walked to class hid behind a beard and limping with a walking cane. One day, Rivers received a letter from a Japanese girl who was a fan of Weezer. Karl recalls this being a turning point in the direction of the second album. Rivers obsessed over the letter and even went so far as to sniff it and lick it (although it is uncertain if this is simply hyperbolic for the purpose of a song). Rivers used the event to write his first new song, [[Across the Sea]]. Finding himself heavily influenced by the themes and melodies of ''Madame Butterfly'' and being feeling very insipred from his Harvard classes in English and Music, Rivers slowly continued to write new songs about his experiences at Harvard such as "[[Pink Triangle]]" and "[[El Scorcho]]". With ''Madame Butterfly''-esque themes and recurring characters (the Japanese girls, the cellist), Rivers new songs began to create a concept of their own. Additionally, Rivers wrote "[[The Good Life]]", which all-too-intimately told the tale of a crippled Rivers walking around Harvard and "[[Falling for You]]", which continued where El Scorcho left off. Between breaks, Rivers and Weezer would reconvene to rehearse new songs. Slowly, SFTBH died off as the new songs came to the forefront. Finally, Rivers wrote "[[Butterfly]]"-- a song which placed Rivers into the shoes of [[Colonel Pinkerton]] from ''Madame Butterfly''. The song closed up the themes of the as-of-yet unnamed album. | |||
===Releasing Pinkerton=== | |||
In early September, the new album was finally being finished up-- almost too close to the deadlines (Rivers was checking mixes as they drove the tapes to Geffen). Days before the album was scheduled to be released, it sparked up a lawsuit over it's name. Weezer had to go to court and battle to keep the name. On September 24, 1996 Weezer's second album, ''[[Pinkerton]]'' was released to mostly mediocre and negative reviews. The first single, [[El Scorcho]] received minimal radio play and had a flop video which Rivers ultimately had to direct himself. The album was raw, and without any gimmicks. Still, it retained a complex and subtle theme. Perhaps all of this was lost on the reviewers. ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' went so far as to declare ''Pinkerton'' the second worst album of 1996. | |||
==Members== | ==Members== | ||