Impact article - January 1995
| Print interview with Matt Sharp | |
|---|---|
 Magazine cover | |
| Publication | Impact |
| Published | January / February 1995 |
| Interviewer | Jennie Punter |
| Interviewee | Matt Sharp |
| Title | Weird And Weirder |
| Format | |
| References | See where this article is referenced on Weezerpedia |
|
Weird And Weirder "I'm ready for the experience of reaching a new level of weirdness," asserts road-weary Weezer bassist Matt Sharp, leaning over a fruity drink in a bar during the band's second visit to Toronto last fall. The L.A. band's self-titled, Ric Ocasek-produced debut was released without much fanfare a year ago. But soon things started getting, as Sharp would say, weird. "I don't think our record company had any idea it would do well," he continues. "I don't think anybody was too excited about it. Then, it took off" Weezer's wings came from a combination of the imaginative indie pop sentiments of the band's main songwriter, Rivers Cuomo, 23, a clever wordsmith and skilled tunesmith with an endearing touch of poignancy, as well as the hilarious, eye-catching MTV hit videos for the singles "Undone - The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly," directed by hot property Spike Jonze (Beastie Boys' "Sabotage") While life for Weezer grows continually weirder, the band's genesis was actually quite pedestrian. Cuomo, Sharp and drummer Patrick Wilson shared an apartment for a year, unt9l Sharp had enough of L.A. and moved up to San Francisco. "Pat and Rivers' third band, which is this band, needed a bass player. They already had [guitarist] Brian Bell," Sharp recalls "At the exact time they asked me to be in the band, I decided, 'OK, I want to be in a band that rips off the Pixies. And they called me and I was like, 'HEY!!'" They spent nine months practising and didn't play a single show until they had 50 songs. "They were all over the map," says Sharp. "None of us knew what we were doing. But the more we played, certain songs would get knocked away." Sharp, Wilson and Bell all have bands or recording projects outside Weezer a good thing, considering Cuomo got all the attention when Weezer started making headlines. "He certainly deserves it," Sharp says. "But everybody started asking us; 'So what's it like to work with Rivers?' For a couple of months it was kind of weird. But then we realized we could go off and do our own creative things." Further weirdness ensued when Ric Ocasek (The Cars) signed on as producer of their debut. "He came to a rehearsal two days after we sent him a tape," Sharp relates. "He made everyone weak at the knees and nervous. At that point we hadn't been used to being around anyone semi-famous or famous. I don't think we were too relaxed until maybe a week into it. Then after a while, you realize he's funny as hell. He's so low key. He's really dry." The album sat on the shelf for seven months before it was released, as the band went on bended knee to get an opening slot on a tour. "We pretty much begged to be on every single tour," Sharp says. "Nobody would help us out. Then the single started doing well. All we wanted to do was play, get out and play and get better and whatever. Then finally someone helped us." That someone was Lush, the British foursome who taught Weezer the ropes last summer, thus continuing, yes, the weirdness. "They carried our equipment for us when our van broke down, their tour manager would tell us where to be and at what time," Sharp explains. "They also taught me how to party on the road. Playing with Lush, we'd be in front of 1,000 people. It was amazing. We were used to plaving in front of 10 people in L.A., so it was pretty weird. "We all try to say we're not taking this for granted," continues Sharp. "But because of how fast things have happened and how smoothly it's gone, I think eventually you do start taking it for granted. You can't help it. I mean, at some level, you can't be going around saying 'Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone'" Sharp doesn't think Weezer will be heading into the studio too soon, although Cuomo has written half a dozen or so new songs that Sharp says are "way, way better than the old stuff." That old stuff landed Weezer the No. 12 album spot on Toronto's CFNY-FM year-end chart, while their single "Buddy Holly" was deemed the MuchMusic viewers' 41st favourite video of all time, and "Undone The Sweater Song" was No. 33 on Calgary's MIX 1060-AM 1994 charts. With the album hovering just under gold status in Canada, there is an excellent chance Weezer will play sonne Canadian dates in the early spring. While Canada is definitely warm to Weezer's irrepressibly melodic pop, one wonders whether we'll be up to scratch in the weirdness department. "We [played] a Christmas show with Bon Jovi, Green Day and Hole in New York at Madison Square Garden - now that's weird," Sharp says. "I went to this party the other day, and David Hasselhoff was there - now that's really weird." |
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