Rolling Stone article - December 13, 2004: Difference between revisions
Rolling Stone article - December 13, 2004 (view source)
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By JOHN D. LUERSSEN | By JOHN D. LUERSSEN | ||
Posted [[Dec 13]], [[2004]] 12:00 AM | Posted [[December 13|Dec 13]], [[2004]] 12:00 AM | ||
With [[Geffen]]'s backing, Weezer started practicing beyond the confines of their garage in | With [[Geffen]]'s backing, [[Weezer]] started practicing beyond the confines of their garage in July and August [[1993]] on new equipment in the professional facility known as Cole Rehearsals in Hollywood. Running through long-time staples like "[[My Name Is Jonas]]" and "[[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here]]," plus newer tunes like "[[Buddy Holly]]," "[[Surf Wax America]]," and the freshly penned "[[In the Garage]]," the group was prepping for forthcoming studio sessions, slated to begin in late August in New York City. The band began to focus on their vocal interplay, practicing barbershop quartet-styled songs that helped Rivers and Matt achieve a newfound collaborative comfort during rehearsals. | ||
Sharp, who said he never sang before he joined Weezer, got his falsetto background vocals in check to memorably augment future hits like "Say It Ain't So" and "Buddy Holly." "The trick was that I had to sing an octave higher than Rivers. After a lot of practice, I started to get it down." | Sharp, who said he never sang before he joined Weezer, got his falsetto background vocals in check to memorably augment future hits like "Say It Ain't So" and "Buddy Holly." "The trick was that I had to sing an octave higher than Rivers. After a lot of practice, I started to get it down." | ||
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"A day later, two days later, the record company called us up and said Ric's coming to your rehearsal today," Sharp recollected. "We were just like, 'Yeah, right, he's coming to our rehearsal.' But that day Pat saw him in a guitar store and he goes, 'Oh my god, maybe he is coming.' So he came to our rehearsal and hung out, and we were all pretty nervous. We'd never really dealt with anybody outside of the band at all." | "A day later, two days later, the record company called us up and said Ric's coming to your rehearsal today," Sharp recollected. "We were just like, 'Yeah, right, he's coming to our rehearsal.' But that day Pat saw him in a guitar store and he goes, 'Oh my god, maybe he is coming.' So he came to our rehearsal and hung out, and we were all pretty nervous. We'd never really dealt with anybody outside of the band at all." | ||
"I got their demo from [[Todd Sullivan]]," Ocasek said over the phone in | "I got their demo from [[Todd Sullivan]]," Ocasek said over the phone in July [[2003]]. "I had been in L.A. working on another production -- I think the Bad Brains' second album for Maverick -- when he handed it to me. And I remember putting it on in the car and I was driving around and I just flipped out. I just said, 'God these songs are so great.' But I didn't know what the band looked like or anything. I actually thought they were a heavy metal band, because the guitars were kind of heavy on the demo, and the guitars were nice and muddy. I couldn't pinpoint what they were like image-wise. I thought they'd probably be a long-haired band, but at the same time, the lyrics were kind of too intelligent for that. But I really just didn't have a clue. And then I went to a rehearsal while I was in Los Angeles and I was blown away. They were kind of shy but I just loved what they were doing. Once I learned of Rivers' history with heavy metal it made perfect sense. It didn't have metal riffs, but they had real power. And at the time that kind of approach wasn't really available." | ||
During one practice, on [[August 6]]th, the band even finalized a cover of the Cars' 1978 smash single "Just What I Needed" in homage to their new producer. A few days later, Rivers, Pat, Matt and Jason flew to New York City to rehearse in the presence of Ocasek at Manhattan's S.I.R. Studios. Here, Ric -- with his assistant Haig and the project's engineer Chris Shaw in tow -- recorded Weezer on a 12-track machine to, as [[Karl Koch]] described, "get a feel for the sound of the group and try to narrow down the song selection for recording the album." | During one practice, on [[August 6]]th, the band even finalized a cover of the Cars' 1978 smash single "Just What I Needed" in homage to their new producer. A few days later, Rivers, Pat, Matt and Jason flew to New York City to rehearse in the presence of Ocasek at Manhattan's S.I.R. Studios. Here, Ric -- with his assistant Haig and the project's engineer Chris Shaw in tow -- recorded Weezer on a 12-track machine to, as [[Karl Koch]] described, "get a feel for the sound of the group and try to narrow down the song selection for recording the album." | ||
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"We picked him . . . scratch that. I picked him because I liked and respected his songwriting," Rivers later said of Ocasek. "What we learned from him is actually kind of boring and technical. Before we met him, we always had our guitars on the rhythm pickup, which has a bassy, dull sound to it. That was the sound we liked at the time. But he convinced us to switch to the lead pickup, which is much brighter. I think when I wrote those songs originally, I was just sitting in the garage by myself and it sounded great when you're all by yourself, because it sounds heavy and bassy. But in the context of the full band, playing at Club Dump, that pickup just sounds really . . . dull. And he got us to brighten it up. It made a huge difference, I think, in the way we sound." | "We picked him . . . scratch that. I picked him because I liked and respected his songwriting," Rivers later said of Ocasek. "What we learned from him is actually kind of boring and technical. Before we met him, we always had our guitars on the rhythm pickup, which has a bassy, dull sound to it. That was the sound we liked at the time. But he convinced us to switch to the lead pickup, which is much brighter. I think when I wrote those songs originally, I was just sitting in the garage by myself and it sounded great when you're all by yourself, because it sounds heavy and bassy. But in the context of the full band, playing at Club Dump, that pickup just sounds really . . . dull. And he got us to brighten it up. It made a huge difference, I think, in the way we sound." | ||
At Ocasek's urging, the band left the comforts of Los Angeles to record in New York City. "[Ric] was saying your first record should be an experience," Sharp said. "You should get away from L.A. and get away from all these people and really just get into the making of a record. His wife [model | At Ocasek's urging, the band left the comforts of Los Angeles to record in New York City. "[Ric] was saying your first record should be an experience," Sharp said. "You should get away from L.A. and get away from all these people and really just get into the making of a record. His wife [model Paulina Porizkova] was in New York, and she was pregnant, so he couldn't leave so he said, 'Let's go to New York.'" | ||
Fifteen songs were tracked during Weezer's first New York practice session, but four songs -- "[[Lullaby for Wayne]]," "[[Getting Up and Leaving]]," "[[I Swear It's True]]," and an alternate version of "[[In the Garage]]" -- were eliminated as contenders for Weezer. A fifth tune from this session, "[[Mykel and Carli (Weezer song)|Mykel & Carli]]," would be attempted but abandoned only to be recorded the following year when it was relegated to B-side status. For the album, Ocasek and the band came to agreement on ten songs. They were: "[[My Name Is Jonas]]," "[[No One Else]]," "[[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here]]," "[[Buddy Holly]]," "[[Undone -- The Sweater Song]]," "[[Surf Wax America]]," "[[Say It Ain't So]]," "[[In the Garage]]," "[[Holiday]]" and "[[Only in Dreams]]." | Fifteen songs were tracked during Weezer's first New York practice session, but four songs -- "[[Lullaby for Wayne]]," "[[Getting Up and Leaving]]," "[[I Swear It's True]]," and an alternate version of "[[In the Garage]]" -- were eliminated as contenders for Weezer. A fifth tune from this session, "[[Mykel and Carli (Weezer song)|Mykel & Carli]]," would be attempted but abandoned only to be recorded the following year when it was relegated to B-side status. For the album, Ocasek and the band came to agreement on ten songs. They were: "[[My Name Is Jonas]]," "[[No One Else]]," "[[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here]]," "[[Buddy Holly]]," "[[Undone - The Sweater Song|Undone -- The Sweater Song]]," "[[Surf Wax America]]," "[[Say It Ain't So]]," "[[In the Garage]]," "[[Holiday]]" and "[[Only in Dreams]]." | ||
The actual recording of Weezer's debut got underway at Electric Lady Studios in late August 1993. While in New York, the band stayed on the ninth floor of the Gramercy Hotel on Gramercy Park and as they put work to tape, the "tracking roughs" (or immediate results of their efforts) were put on cassettes for listening and scrutiny at the end of each day. | The actual recording of Weezer's debut got underway at Electric Lady Studios in late August 1993. While in New York, the band stayed on the ninth floor of the Gramercy Hotel on Gramercy Park and as they put work to tape, the "tracking roughs" (or immediate results of their efforts) were put on cassettes for listening and scrutiny at the end of each day. | ||
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After laughing at the absurdity of what he just said, Jason became serious. "Rivers makes his living in the public eye and if he does well it benefits me," said Jason, who still earns royalties from the band, and is concerned about breaching his confidentiality agreement with Cuomo, which governs his public relationship with the group. "So, I only want the best for the guy." Cropper went on to have three children with Amy. He fronted the band Chopper One for the release of 1997's Now Playing on Restless Records before retiring from performing to run a vintage music gear rental company based out of Southern California's world-class Ocean Way Studios. | After laughing at the absurdity of what he just said, Jason became serious. "Rivers makes his living in the public eye and if he does well it benefits me," said Jason, who still earns royalties from the band, and is concerned about breaching his confidentiality agreement with Cuomo, which governs his public relationship with the group. "So, I only want the best for the guy." Cropper went on to have three children with Amy. He fronted the band Chopper One for the release of 1997's Now Playing on Restless Records before retiring from performing to run a vintage music gear rental company based out of Southern California's world-class Ocean Way Studios. | ||
So, what really went down? Rewind to | So, what really went down? Rewind to September 1993 as producer Ocasek remembered the whole ordeal a little differently. "They weren't like a happy-go-lucky band anyway," said Ocasek, who has gone on to man the boards for the likes of No Doubt, Guided By Voices, and Bad Religion. "In the middle of that record he fired the guitar player," Ric divulged. "He called me when the record was finished, the day before we were supposed to start mixing, and said, 'Listen, I just fired the guitar player.' So I said, 'What are you gonna do now?' He's like, 'I want all of his parts off the record.'" | ||
[[Category:Interviews]] | [[Category:Interviews]] | ||
[[Category:Transcripts]] | [[Category:Transcripts]] | ||