18,427
edits
Matt Sharp: Difference between revisions
Added details up thru Weezer departure. Will continue writing more later
(Undo revision 58842 by MyNameIsJason (talk) redundant) |
(Added details up thru Weezer departure. Will continue writing more later) |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Matt Sharp''' (born [[September 22]], 1969 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a American bassist and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member and former bassist of [[Weezer]]. Sharp left the band in February [[1998]] in order to focus on his own band [[The Rentals]]. In addition to his work with Weezer and The Rentals, he has also released one EP and one full length album as a [[Matt_Sharp#Solo|solo artist]] | '''Matt Sharp''' (born [[September 22]], 1969 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a American bassist and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member and former bassist of [[Weezer]]. Sharp left the band in February [[1998]] in order to focus on his own band [[The Rentals]]. In addition to his work with Weezer and The Rentals, he has also released one EP and one full length album as a [[Matt_Sharp#Solo|solo artist]]. | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
[[Image:mattsharpbirth.jpg|thumb|200px|Matt Sharp's birth certificate]] | [[Image:mattsharpbirth.jpg|thumb|200px|Matt Sharp's birth certificate]] | ||
Matt Sharp was born in Bangkok, Thailand to American parents on September 22, 1969. When he was one year old, he and his family moved to Arlington, Virginia. At age fourteen, Sharp began listening to punk rock music like Suicidal Tendencies. He then decided that Arlington and its music scene was too boring for him and decided to move west to California. At age sixteen, he arrived in San Diego. | Matt Sharp was born in Bangkok, Thailand to American parents on [[September 22]], 1969. When he was one year old, he and his family moved to Arlington, Virginia. At age fourteen, Sharp began listening to punk rock music like Suicidal Tendencies. He then decided that Arlington and its music scene was too boring for him and decided to move west to California. At age sixteen, he arrived in San Diego. In 1989, Sharp fronted a short-lived "goth" band called [[the Clique]], described by [[Karl Koch]] as having a "somewhat pretentious Cure/Joy Division style" [https://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/Recording_History_-_Page_1#Matt_Sharp:_The_Clique_-_Summer.2FFall_1989]. The band produced a single demo tape that included one song, titled "[[Ice Butterfly]]". | ||
Months later, he met [[Patrick Wilson]], future Weezer drummer. Wilson convinced Sharp to move into an apartment with [[Rivers Cuomo]]. Sharp occasionally played keyboards for the band [[Bush]] (which was comprised of Wilson, Pat Finn, and [[Tom Gardocki]]. Later, after moving to his own apartment in Westwood, Sharp became involved with the social activism group the Black Rock Coalition. Throughout 1990, Sharp and Wilson collaborated on various songs, described by Koch as "funny" and "They Might Be Giants-like" 4-track recordings [https://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/Recording_History_-_Page_1#Pat_Wilson_and_Matt_Sharp_make_funny_4-track_recordings_spring-fall_1990]. | |||
In early 1992, Wilson showed Sharp material from his (Wilson's) and Cuomo's "[[The 50 Song Project|50 Song Project]]". | In early 1992, Wilson showed Sharp material from his (Wilson's) and Cuomo's "[[The 50 Song Project|50 Song Project]]". Sharp liked the material and moved back down to Los Angeles and joined the project that would become Weezer. Sharp moved into the "Amherst House" on [[March 19]], [[1992]]. In May of [[1993]], Sharp wrote a song titled [[Mrs. Young]], collaborating on a demo with Cuomo. Initially considered for an independent Weezer single along with [[Jamie]], the song eventually formed the basis for the Rentals track [[Please Let That Be You]]. Sharp continued working on refining a small number of demos throughout the rest of 1993, including "[[Friends of P]]", "[[California (Rentals song)|California]]", and "[[Brilliant Boy|Stupid Girl]]". | ||
===The Rentals & Exit From Weezer=== | ===The Rentals & Exit From Weezer=== | ||
After the release of Weezer's first self titled release in 1994, Sharp formed | After the release of Weezer's first self titled release in 1994, Sharp formed a side-project in which he was both the chief songwriter and lead-singer. Initially dubbed "That's Incredible!" by producer [[Tom Grimley]], Sharp would eventually settle on the name "[[the Rentals]]". Said Sharp in a [[2015]] interview with the San Diego Reader: "I wanted to find a name that sounded like it could be a band from any era," [https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/jun/03/blurt-experimental-rentals/#]. Sharp recorded demo tapes for two potential albums at [[Poop Alley Studios]]: ''[[Return of the Rentals]]'' and ''[[For the Ladies]]''. The Rentals released their first album, ''[[Return of the Rentals]]'', later that year. The band had a radio hit with the single "[[Friends of P.]]" | ||
Sharp began production on The Rentals' second album beginning in Spring of [[1996]], traveling to London multiple times over the next two years. Sharp was substituted with [[Scott Riebling]] for the final ''[[Pinkerton]]'' sessions. Sharp left Weezer officially in [[1998]] - apparently a mutual and amicable decision between himself and the band - in order to focus on The Rentals. Sharp played with Weezer for the final time on [[August 15]], [[1997]] at [[Weezer concert: 08/15/1997 - Hollywood, CA|a benefit concert]] for [[Mykel and Carli Allan]]. His final collaboration with [[Rivers Cuomo]] would be the [[Homie]] song "[[American Girls]]", released in early 1998 for the [[Meet the Deedles Soundtrack|''Meet the Deedles'' Soundtrack]]. The Rentals released their sophomore album ''[[Seven More Minutes]]'' in 1999. However, the album sold less than ''Return of the Rentals'' and the band subsequently went on hiatus. | |||
===Solo career=== | |||
After nearly four years of no musical output, Sharp released a solo, acoustic EP in 2003 called ''[[Puckett's Versus the Country Boy]]'', followed by a [[Matt Sharp (album)|full length self-titled album]] in 2004. | After nearly four years of no musical output, Sharp released a solo, acoustic EP in 2003 called ''[[Puckett's Versus the Country Boy]]'', followed by a [[Matt Sharp (album)|full length self-titled album]] in 2004. | ||