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Rivers Cuomo: Difference between revisions
Late aughts
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Dissatisfied with his management, Cuomo sought to manage the band himself. He had dinner with [[Wikipedia:Fat Mike|Fat Mike]], frontman of the self-managed band [[Wikipedia:NOFX|NOFX]], who encouraged Cuomo not to pay someone a percentage.<ref name="riversedge" /> Immediately following the release of ''the Green Album'', Weezer fired their management, Atlas/Third Rail, and longtime manager [[Pat Magnarella]] (who subsequently sued).<ref>Pollack, Marc, and Simutis, David. "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: You Need A Scorecard To Keep Track, So We've Provided One" ''Hits Daily Double''. 3 July 2001. https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=274861&title=UNDER-NEW-MANAGEMENT</ref><ref>RIVERS CUOMO, an individual; PAT WILSON, an individual; BRIAN BELL, an individual; and MIKEY WELSH, an individual; collectively and professionally known as “WEEZER” vs. ATLAS/THIRD RAIL MANAGEMENT, INC., a California corporation; and PAT MAGNARELLA, an individual, https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/TAC/2001-21%20Rivers%20Cuomo%20et%20al%20v%20Atlas%20Third%20Rail%20mgmt%20inc.pdf</ref> According to [[Karl Koch]], the firing was a "statement of intent" and Cuomo felt that the band didn't need management, and could simply fund their next album with their own money and pay themselves back when the album sold.<ref name="vaultdive1">Weezer Fan Club Vault Dive #1 https://archive.org/details/wfc-vault-dive-1</ref> "I sought to cultivate the same ruthless practicality in my business that I had achieved in my music." Cuomo later reflected in an essay,<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> "I studied the lives of Napoleon and David Geffen, Machiavelli’s ''The Prince'', and contemporary texts on leadership and management. I gradually took over all of the business responsibilities from our manager and managed the band completely by myself. My performing, writing, and recording continued but were now joined by my business activities, all of which together I viewed as converging on the one goal of 'world domination'." | Dissatisfied with his management, Cuomo sought to manage the band himself. He had dinner with [[Wikipedia:Fat Mike|Fat Mike]], frontman of the self-managed band [[Wikipedia:NOFX|NOFX]], who encouraged Cuomo not to pay someone a percentage.<ref name="riversedge" /> Immediately following the release of ''the Green Album'', Weezer fired their management, Atlas/Third Rail, and longtime manager [[Pat Magnarella]] (who subsequently sued).<ref>Pollack, Marc, and Simutis, David. "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: You Need A Scorecard To Keep Track, So We've Provided One" ''Hits Daily Double''. 3 July 2001. https://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=274861&title=UNDER-NEW-MANAGEMENT</ref><ref>RIVERS CUOMO, an individual; PAT WILSON, an individual; BRIAN BELL, an individual; and MIKEY WELSH, an individual; collectively and professionally known as “WEEZER” vs. ATLAS/THIRD RAIL MANAGEMENT, INC., a California corporation; and PAT MAGNARELLA, an individual, https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/TAC/2001-21%20Rivers%20Cuomo%20et%20al%20v%20Atlas%20Third%20Rail%20mgmt%20inc.pdf</ref> According to [[Karl Koch]], the firing was a "statement of intent" and Cuomo felt that the band didn't need management, and could simply fund their next album with their own money and pay themselves back when the album sold.<ref name="vaultdive1">Weezer Fan Club Vault Dive #1 https://archive.org/details/wfc-vault-dive-1</ref> "I sought to cultivate the same ruthless practicality in my business that I had achieved in my music." Cuomo later reflected in an essay,<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> "I studied the lives of Napoleon and David Geffen, Machiavelli’s ''The Prince'', and contemporary texts on leadership and management. I gradually took over all of the business responsibilities from our manager and managed the band completely by myself. My performing, writing, and recording continued but were now joined by my business activities, all of which together I viewed as converging on the one goal of 'world domination'." | ||
Within weeks of the release of ''Green'', Weezer began recording new demos for the follow-up album. Cuomo shut out record label [[Geffen]] from the recording process, and the band financed and produced the record themselves, sharing in-progress recordings with fans online during studio sessions and sending CDs with finished songs to radio stations without the label's foreknowledge.<ref name="vaultdive1" /> Using this leverage, the band was able to renegotiate their contract, but the finished album, ''[[Maladroit]]'', under-performed, selling less than a million copies. Cuomo's behavior also became pointedly antagonistic, demanding a publicist exit his tour bus and walk back to the hotel before consenting to [[Kerrang! article - April 27, 2002|an interview for ''Kerrang!'']] and referring to fans as "little bitches" in [[Guitar World interview with Rivers Cuomo - May 2002|an interview for ''Guitar World'']]. He also began interacting with fans on internet message boards under the handle 'ace.'<ref>Curated archive of Weezer forum threads: https://web.archive.org/web/20120610003630/http://www.members.shaw.ca/ridd2/</ref> | Within weeks of the release of ''Green'', Weezer began recording new demos for the follow-up album. Cuomo shut out record label [[Geffen]] from the recording process, and the band financed and produced the record themselves, sharing in-progress recordings with fans online during studio sessions and sending CDs with finished songs to radio stations without the label's foreknowledge.<ref name="vaultdive1" /> Using this leverage, the band was able to renegotiate their contract, but the finished album, ''[[Maladroit]]'', under-performed, selling less than a million copies. Cuomo's behavior also became pointedly antagonistic, demanding a publicist exit his tour bus and walk back to the hotel before consenting to [[Kerrang! article - April 27, 2002|an interview for ''Kerrang!'']] and referring to fans as "little bitches" in [[Guitar World interview with Rivers Cuomo - May 2002|an interview for ''Guitar World'']]. He also began interacting with fans on internet message boards under the handle 'ace.'<ref>Curated archive of Weezer forum threads: https://web.archive.org/web/20120610003630/http://www.members.shaw.ca/ridd2/</ref> Cuomo has referred to this period as his nadir.<ref>"Maladroit Preview 2021-12-27 14.38.mp3" ''[[Alone VIII: The Maladroit Years]]''</ref> "The end of 2002 was a period of just massive self-indulgence," he said in [[2010]],<ref name="louderweirdo">Brannigan, Paul. "“I know some people think I'm a weirdo. I'm working on it.” How Weezer's Rivers Cuomo learned how to embrace life following a near-death experience" ''Louder''. 30 May 2024. https://www.loudersound.com/features/weezer-how-rivers-cuomo-learned-how-to-embrace-life-following-a-near-death-experience</ref> "I was out at a Hollywood club one night doing who knows what with who knows whom, and when the club closed down I knew some people there so I was allowed to stay inside with a few friends as everyone else was ushered out onto the street. So I was just inside the door when suddenly there was all this commotion outside, and some people got dragged back into the club. They'd just been shot and they were bleeding and in obvious agony. So I was standing there in the midst of these downed people and I was thinking, This isn't where I want to be, there's got to be a better lifestyle to support my creativity." | ||
===''Make Believe'' and discovering meditation=== | ===''Make Believe'' and discovering meditation=== | ||
{{Small quote box|[W]hen Hafiz says, “Self-Effacement is the emerald dagger you need to plunge deep into yourself upon this path to …God”, I read it as “Self-Effacement is the emerald dagger you need to plunge deep into yourself upon this path to Musical Creativity."|Rivers Cuomo, 2004<ref name="whativebeenupto" />}}Songwriting and demoing for Weezer's fifth album had begun before ''Maladroit'' had even been released, but plans were halted in the summer of [[2002]]. Soon after, producer [[Rick Rubin]] agreed to produce the record. The band continued demoing new songs, but Cuomo wasn't pleased with the music he was making.<ref name="weirdworld">Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Weezer's Weird World" ''Rolling Stone'' Issue 973. 5 May 2005. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rivers-cuomo-weezers-invisible-man-76590/</ref> Said drummer Pat Wilson, "He didn’t believe in the music, because he didn’t believe in himself [...] Didn’t matter how many times we said, 'That’s rad, Dude.' There were times he was physically ill coming out of the studio." Rubin, wanting to help Cuomo, gave him a copy of ''The Gift'', a book of poems by the fourteenth-century Sufi poet Hafez.<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> Hafez, who wrote hundreds of ''[[Wikipedia:Ghazal|ghazals]]'' about different forms of love, led Cuomo to an epiphany: "If the feeling these mystics get in union with their God is analogous to the feeling I used to get in union with my music, then their teachings for how to achieve their union should likewise serve to instruct me how to achieve my union." Cuomo subsequently sold his house and most of his possessions, moved into an empty apartment next to Rubin's house, and began volunteering six days a week at Project Angel Food in Hollywood, providing meals to people with HIV.<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> Although initially skeptical when Rubin suggested meditation, Cuomo found himself drawn to the technique of Vipassana.[[Image:Sngoenka.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cuomo with Vipassana teacher [[S.N. Goenka]] in [[2005]].]] | {{Small quote box|[W]hen Hafiz says, “Self-Effacement is the emerald dagger you need to plunge deep into yourself upon this path to …God”, I read it as “Self-Effacement is the emerald dagger you need to plunge deep into yourself upon this path to Musical Creativity."|Rivers Cuomo, 2004<ref name="whativebeenupto" />}}Songwriting and demoing for Weezer's fifth album had begun before ''Maladroit'' had even been released, but plans were halted in the summer of [[2002]]. Soon after, producer [[Rick Rubin]] agreed to produce the record. The band continued demoing new songs, but Cuomo wasn't pleased with the music he was making.<ref name="weirdworld">Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Weezer's Weird World" ''Rolling Stone'' Issue 973. 5 May 2005. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rivers-cuomo-weezers-invisible-man-76590/</ref> Said drummer Pat Wilson, "He didn’t believe in the music, because he didn’t believe in himself [...] Didn’t matter how many times we said, 'That’s rad, Dude.' There were times he was physically ill coming out of the studio." Rubin, wanting to help Cuomo, gave him a copy of ''The Gift'', a book of poems by the fourteenth-century Sufi poet Hafez.<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> Hafez, who wrote hundreds of ''[[Wikipedia:Ghazal|ghazals]]'' about different forms of love, led Cuomo to an epiphany: "If the feeling these mystics get in union with their God is analogous to the feeling I used to get in union with my music, then their teachings for how to achieve their union should likewise serve to instruct me how to achieve my union." Cuomo subsequently sold his house and most of his possessions, moved into an empty apartment next to Rubin's house, and began volunteering six days a week at Project Angel Food in Hollywood, providing meals to people with HIV.<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> He also took a two-year vow of sexual abstinence<ref>"Celibacy rocks, says Weezer frontman" ''NME''. 27 October 2005. https://www.nme.com/news/music/weezer-132-1367131</ref> that he would maintain even longer,<ref>''Today''. "Weezer singer continues vow of celibacy" 19 December 2005. https://www.today.com/popculture/weezer-singer-continues-vow-celibacy-wbna10533327</ref> until his marriage in [[2006]]. Although initially skeptical when Rubin suggested meditation, Cuomo found himself drawn to the technique of Vipassana.[[Image:Sngoenka.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cuomo with Vipassana teacher [[S.N. Goenka]] in [[2005]].]] | ||
The effect of meditation had an effect on Cuomo's songwriting. One song, "[[Pardon Me]]," was written after Cuomo attended a meditation course in which the teacher told him to repeat over in his mind "I seek pardon from all those who have harmed me in action, speech or thought."<ref name="weirdworld" /> Another song, "Hold Me", was written while fasting. Weezer's fifth album, ''[[Make Believe]]'', was released on [[May 10]], [[2005]], eleven years to the day after ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|the Blue Album]]''. The album received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, debuting at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart.<ref>''Billboard'' 2005-05-28: https://books.google.com/books?id=4RQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Weezer&pg=PA54#v=snippet&q=Weezer&f=false</ref> | The effect of meditation had an effect on Cuomo's songwriting. One song, "[[Pardon Me]]," was written after Cuomo attended a meditation course in which the teacher told him to repeat over in his mind "I seek pardon from all those who have harmed me in action, speech or thought."<ref name="weirdworld" /> Another song, "Hold Me", was written while fasting. Weezer's fifth album, ''[[Make Believe]]'', was released on [[May 10]], [[2005]], eleven years to the day after ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|the Blue Album]]''. The album received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, debuting at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart.<ref>''Billboard'' 2005-05-28: https://books.google.com/books?id=4RQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Weezer&pg=PA54#v=snippet&q=Weezer&f=false</ref> | ||
Cuomo resumed classes at [[Harvard]] in December of [[2004]].<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> | Cuomo resumed classes at [[Harvard]] in December of [[2004]].<ref name="whativebeenupto" /> On [[June 8]], [[2006]],<ref name="spingrad">"Rivers Cuomo’s Harvard Graduation" ''Spin''. 9 June 2006. https://www.spin.com/2006/06/rivers-cuomos-harvard-graduation/</ref> he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and was elected to the academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.<ref name="spingrad" /> A few weeks later, Cuomo married [[Kyoko Ito]].<ref name="rivwedding" /> | ||
===Late aughts=== | |||
In [[2006]], Cuomo began writing demoing new songs for Weezer's sixth album. In [[2007]], Cuomo released the first in a series of [[Alone (series)|compilation albums]] of song demos, titled ''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]''. A follow-up, ''[[Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo|Alone II]]'', was released the following year. Weezer's eponymous ''[[Weezer (The Red Album)|Red Album]]'' was released in [[2008]]. | |||
In [[2008]], Cuomo embarked on a collaborative songwriting project with fans through his YouTube channel. Dubbed "[[Let's Write a Sawng]]," Cuomo attempted to facilitate the writing of a pop song via crowd-sourced suggestions,<ref>"Let's Write a Sawng (Step 1 and Step 2)" ''YouTube''. 19 March 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thYRy9MBY_c</ref> ultimately culminating in the song "[[Turning Up the Radio]]." Although the song did not make the cut for inclusion on Weezer's seventh album, ''[[Raditude]]'', it appeared on the compilation ''[[Death to False Metal]]'' in [[2010]], featuring sixteen credited co-writers in addition to Cuomo. | |||
On [[December 6]], [[2009]], Cuomo's tour bus crashed outside of Albany after hitting a patch of black ice.<ref name="louderweirdo" /> Cuomo suffered three cracked ribs and some internal bleeding. Weezer subsequently canceled several dates on the then-underway [[Raditude Tour]]. | |||
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Cuomo was in an quasi-relationship (referred to by Cuomo as his "sort-of-girlfriend"<ref name="aloneiilinernotes" /> or "'girlfriend'" in quotes<ref name="elliott" />) with musician [[Jennifer Chiba]] in the 90s. Several songs written by Cuomo were inspired by Chiba, and she was the basis for the character of [[Maria]] in the aborted ''[[Songs from the Black Hole]]'' concept album. The cover for ''[[Pinkerton]]'' was based on a postcard sent to Cuomo by Chiba.<ref>"Pinkerton Cover Art" ''[[Riverpedia]]''. https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Pinkerton%20Cover%20Art</ref> Chiba was in a relationship with musician [[Elliott Smith]] at the time of his death in 2003, and the Weezer song "[[The Other Way]]" was written by Cuomo about his conflicting feelings about attempting to comfort Chiba.<ref name="elliott">"Elliott Smith" ''[[Riverpedia]]''. https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Elliott%20Smith</ref> | Cuomo was in an quasi-relationship (referred to by Cuomo as his "sort-of-girlfriend"<ref name="aloneiilinernotes" /> or "'girlfriend'" in quotes<ref name="elliott" />) with musician [[Jennifer Chiba]] in the 90s. Several songs written by Cuomo were inspired by Chiba, and she was the basis for the character of [[Maria]] in the aborted ''[[Songs from the Black Hole]]'' concept album. The cover for ''[[Pinkerton]]'' was based on a postcard sent to Cuomo by Chiba.<ref>"Pinkerton Cover Art" ''[[Riverpedia]]''. https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Pinkerton%20Cover%20Art</ref> Chiba was in a relationship with musician [[Elliott Smith]] at the time of his death in 2003, and the Weezer song "[[The Other Way]]" was written by Cuomo about his conflicting feelings about attempting to comfort Chiba.<ref name="elliott">"Elliott Smith" ''[[Riverpedia]]''. https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Elliott%20Smith</ref> | ||
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 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 name="rivwedding">Weezer.com archived on Archive.org, July 1 2006: https://web.archive.org/web/20060701010316/http://weezer.com/</ref> The pair have two children. | ||
===Beliefs=== | ===Beliefs=== | ||
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> | 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> | ||