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Cuomo initially intended to return to Harvard for the fall semester of 1997, but decided not to at the last minute.<ref>Riesman, Abe J. "Rivers' End: The Director's Cut" ''The Harvard Crimson''. 26 April 2006. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/4/26/rivers-end-the-directors-cut-the/</ref><ref name="weezine11">Koch, Karl. ''[[Weezine]]'' Issue [[Weezine Issue 11 - Fall 1997|#11 - Fall 1997]]</ref> Cuomo instead focused on songwriting again, in addition to performing shows with friends in the Boston music scene.<ref name="weezine11" /> Cuomo fronted a handful of small-venue concerts to try out new material and audition potential new bassists for Weezer following the departure of [[Matt Sharp]], experimenting with both "goofball"<ref name="weezine11" /> songs (under the moniker "[[Homie]]") that didn't fit with the darker, more personal songs of ''Pinkerton'', as well as minimalist, "drone rock" compositions utilizing as few chords as possible (a reaction to the negative response to ''Pinkerton'', which featured numerous chords and key changes).<ref>"Lovely" ''[[Riverpedia]]''. https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Lovely</ref> | Cuomo initially intended to return to Harvard for the fall semester of 1997, but decided not to at the last minute.<ref>Riesman, Abe J. "Rivers' End: The Director's Cut" ''The Harvard Crimson''. 26 April 2006. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/4/26/rivers-end-the-directors-cut-the/</ref><ref name="weezine11">Koch, Karl. ''[[Weezine]]'' Issue [[Weezine Issue 11 - Fall 1997|#11 - Fall 1997]]</ref> Cuomo instead focused on songwriting again, in addition to performing shows with friends in the Boston music scene.<ref name="weezine11" /> Cuomo fronted a handful of small-venue concerts to try out new material and audition potential new bassists for Weezer following the departure of [[Matt Sharp]], experimenting with both "goofball"<ref name="weezine11" /> songs (under the moniker "[[Homie]]") that didn't fit with the darker, more personal songs of ''Pinkerton'', as well as minimalist, "drone rock" compositions utilizing as few chords as possible (a reaction to the negative response to ''Pinkerton'', which featured numerous chords and key changes).<ref>"Lovely" ''[[Riverpedia]]''. https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Lovely</ref> | ||
===''The Green Album''=== | ===''The Green Album''=== | ||
[[Image:Essay 97-98 05.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Mikey Welsh and Cuomo, 1998]]Cuomo ultimately selected bassist [[Mikey Welsh]] to join Weezer, and the two moved into a townhouse at Park La Brea in Los Angeles with Pat Wilson.<ref>Mikey Welsh [[Facebook posts by Mikey Welsh|Facebook post]]. Original link: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10150292201982717</ref><ref name="wpqa042024">[[Weezerpedia Discord Q&A with Karl Koch - April 2023]]</ref> Weezer resumed rehearsals, primarily at [[TK demos|T.K. Rehearsals]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="rechist10">[[Recording History - Page 10|Weezer Recording History - Page 10]]</ref> Cuomo and Welsh later moved into an apartment on Sepulveda Boulevard. By the beginning of 1999, however, Cuomo had failed to write any material in which he felt confidence.<ref name="aloneiilinernotes">''[[Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'' [[Alone II liner notes|liner notes]]</ref> "My band-mates each were pursuing other projects." Cuomo reflected in [[2008]], "Weezer's manager and record company rep stopped calling me regularly. Friends and family grew distant. I encouraged the space so that I could be alone. I determined that with enough concentration and effort, I could analyze my way out of the predicament I imagined myself to be in, the predicament of 'poor songwriting'." Cuomo began an analytical process of regarding his songwriting sessions as "experiments," assigning each a number and maintaining a log dubbed "[[The Catalog o' Riffs]]." "I analyzed a large number of writing methods, varying what seemed to be every possible facet of the process: the order of the steps (guitar, melody, lyric, beat, riff, etc.); the tempo; the feel; the level of distortion on the guitar; whether I was composing aloud or in my head; the time of day; my emotional state; whether I had eaten or not; the number of drinks I had imbibed, if any. My goal was to ascertain the one method by which I could write the best songs."<ref name="aloneiilinernotes /> | [[Image:Essay 97-98 05.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Mikey Welsh and Cuomo, 1998]]Cuomo ultimately selected bassist [[Mikey Welsh]] to join Weezer, and the two moved into a townhouse at Park La Brea in Los Angeles with Pat Wilson.<ref>Mikey Welsh [[Facebook posts by Mikey Welsh|Facebook post]]. Original link: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10150292201982717</ref><ref name="wpqa042024">[[Weezerpedia Discord Q&A with Karl Koch - April 2023]]</ref> Weezer resumed rehearsals, primarily at [[TK demos|T.K. Rehearsals]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="rechist10">[[Recording History - Page 10|Weezer Recording History - Page 10]]</ref> Cuomo and Welsh later moved into an apartment on Sepulveda Boulevard. By the beginning of 1999, however, Cuomo had failed to write any material in which he felt confidence.<ref name="aloneiilinernotes">''[[Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'' [[Alone II liner notes|liner notes]]</ref> "My band-mates each were pursuing other projects." Cuomo reflected in [[2008]], "Weezer's manager and record company rep stopped calling me regularly. Friends and family grew distant. I encouraged the space so that I could be alone. I determined that with enough concentration and effort, I could analyze my way out of the predicament I imagined myself to be in, the predicament of 'poor songwriting'." Cuomo began an analytical process of regarding his songwriting sessions as "experiments," assigning each a number and maintaining a log dubbed "[[The Catalog o' Riffs]]." "I analyzed a large number of writing methods, varying what seemed to be every possible facet of the process: the order of the steps (guitar, melody, lyric, beat, riff, etc.); the tempo; the feel; the level of distortion on the guitar; whether I was composing aloud or in my head; the time of day; my emotional state; whether I had eaten or not; the number of drinks I had imbibed, if any. My goal was to ascertain the one method by which I could write the best songs."<ref name="aloneiilinernotes /> Meanwhile, he unplugged his phone, painted the walls and ceiling of his apartment bedroom [[Alone VI: The Black Room|black]] and covered the windows with fiberglass insulation.<ref>Rockland, Kate. "Student With a Past" ''The New York Times'' 16 February 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/16/garden/16weezer.html</ref><ref name="olderandweezer">Brunner, Rob. "Older & Weezer" ''Entertainment Weekly''. 25 May 2001. ([[Entertainment Weekly interview with Rivers Cuomo - May 25, 2001|Transcript]])</ref><ref name="whativebeenupto">Cuomo, Rivers. "[[What I've Been Up to Since I Left School]]" Essay. 2004.</ref> He began studying and dissecting the songs of the bands [[Nirvana]], [[Oasis]], and [[Green Day]], assembling his studies into a three-ring binder he called "[[The Encyclopedia of Pop]]," in hopes of discovering a formula for writing pop songs.<ref name="eliscucode">Eliscu, Jenny. "How the Weezer frontman cracked the code of the perfect song" ''Rolling Stone'', Issue 898. 20 June 2002. ([[Rolling Stone article - June 20, 2002|Transcript]])</ref> By late summer of 1999, Cuomo felt despondent in his efforts and briefly considered returning to school, but missed the registration deadline.<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> Weezer performed secret shows during this time—under the pseudonym "[[Goat Punishment]]"—wherein the band (sans Pat Wilson) covered songs from Nirvana and Oasis' respective debut albums. | ||
In December 1999 | In December of [[1999]], Cuomo moved into [[6145 Rodgerton Dr.|a house]] and built a rehearsal studio in the garage.<ref name="wpqa042024" /> | ||
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==Personal life== | ==Personal life== | ||
Cuomo met [[Kyoko Ito Cuomo|Kyoko Ito]] in [[1997]] at one of his | Cuomo met [[Kyoko Ito Cuomo|Kyoko Ito]] in [[1997]] at one of his solo concerts<!--I'm not sure it's ever been 100% confirmed which show he met her at.--> in Cambridge, Massachusetts.<ref>"Kyoko" ''Riverpedia''. https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Kyoko</ref> The two married on [[June 18]], [[2006]].<ref>Weezer.com archived on Archive.org, July 1 2006: https://web.archive.org/web/20060701010316/http://weezer.com/</ref> The pair have two children. | ||
Cuomo has been a vegetarian since childhood.<ref>''The Bad Penny''. https://thebadpennyblog.com/2010/09/17/weezers-rivers-cuomo-in-2002-i-think-i-had-a-falling-out-with-the-fans/</ref> | Cuomo has been a vegetarian since childhood.<ref>''The Bad Penny''. https://thebadpennyblog.com/2010/09/17/weezers-rivers-cuomo-in-2002-i-think-i-had-a-falling-out-with-the-fans/</ref><ref name="latimesspreadsheet">Wood, Mikael. "Being Rivers Cuomo: Why Weezer’s frontman put his life into a spreadsheet" 22 February 2019. ''Los Angeles Times''. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-rivers-cuomo-weezer-teal-album-black-album-20190222-story.html</ref> | ||