Rivers Cuomo: Difference between revisions

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 Cuomo has described himself as a "very somber child." Said Cuomo, "My teacher asked my mother what was wrong with me because I never looked happy.  So, my mother advised her to say, 'Let me see that smile,' and then I would smile.  So she did that -- in front of the whole class.  She got the whole class to turn around, look at me and say, 'Let me see that smile.'"<ref group="lower-alpha">Cuomo would later reference this in the [[Weezer]] song "[[Feels Like Summer]]."</ref><ref>Daley, David. "Happy [cancelled] Days" ''Alternative Press''. January 1997. [[Alternative Press interview with Weezer - January 1997|Weezerpedia transcript]]</ref> While attending Mansfield Middle School and E.O. Smith High School, Rivers and Leaves Cuomo went by the more "ordinary" names Peter and James Kitts, respectively.
-Cuomo was greatly interested in soccer from a young age, initially wanting to be a professional soccer player when he grew up.<ref>U.S. Soccer "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK8vvrcbTmM Studio 90: Rivers Cuomo Interview]" ''YouTube''. 24 June 2010.</ref> "...because I rarely saw my dad as I was growing up, I romanticized everything about him. One of the things I romanticized was his passion for soccer; I tried to cultivate it in myself. I took my first step trying to kick a soccer ball." Cuomo also played on a boy's soccer team.<ref>Rivers Cuomo "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMiLwwjK-0w&t=120s Rivers Cuomo - Lover in the Snow]" ''YouTube''. 16 June 2009.</ref> However, in 1981, Cuomo learned that he had been born with a congenital femoral deficiency in his right leg. Though his legs were of equal length at birth,<ref name="ilizarov">"[https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Ilizarov%20Procedure Ilizarov Procedure]" ''[[Riverpedia]]''</ref> by the time of his diagnosis in 1981, Cuomo's right femur had grown 1¼ inches shorter than his left,<ref>[[Beverly's letter|Letter by Beverly Shoenberger]], May 1981</ref> reaching a 2-inch differential at his full height.<ref name="ilizarov" /> Cuomo's interests later pivoted to music.
+Cuomo was greatly interested in soccer from a young age, initially wanting to be a professional soccer player when he grew up.<ref name="studio90">U.S. Soccer "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK8vvrcbTmM Studio 90: Rivers Cuomo Interview]" ''YouTube''. 24 June 2010.</ref> "...because I rarely saw my dad as I was growing up, I romanticized everything about him. One of the things I romanticized was his passion for soccer; I tried to cultivate it in myself. I took my first step trying to kick a soccer ball." Cuomo also played on a boy's soccer team.<ref>Rivers Cuomo "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMiLwwjK-0w&t=120s Rivers Cuomo - Lover in the Snow]" ''YouTube''. 16 June 2009.</ref> However, in 1981, Cuomo learned that he had been born with a congenital femoral deficiency in his right leg. Though his legs were of equal length at birth,<ref name="ilizarov">"[https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Ilizarov%20Procedure Ilizarov Procedure]" ''[[Riverpedia]]''</ref> by the time of his diagnosis in 1981, Cuomo's right femur had grown 1¼ inches shorter than his left,<ref>[[Beverly's letter|Letter by Beverly Shoenberger]], May 1981</ref> reaching a 2-inch differential at his full height.<ref name="ilizarov" /> Cuomo's interests later pivoted to music.
 [[Image:Rivers Cuomo - Guild Flying Star.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Cuomo as a teenager]]Cuomo was first exposed to American rock band [[Kiss]] at age 7.<ref name="manofsteel">Beaujour, Tom. "Man of Steel" ''Guitar World''. March 1995. [[Guitar World interview with Rivers Cuomo - March 1995|Weezerpedia transcript]]</ref> "This little girl came through the ashram for a visit, and she brought a Kiss record, ''Rock and Roll Over''. She came over to our house, and while we played the Kiss record, we recorded ourselves running around in circles as the tape played. It was like, 'this kicks ass.'"<ref>"[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rivers-cuomo/id1678378239?i=1000612593978 Rivers Cuomo]" ''This Little Light'' (podcast). 2023 </ref><ref>Coffman, Tim. "[https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-kiss-changed-rivers-cuomos-life-forever/ How KISS changed Rivers Cuomo’s life forever]" 12 June 2023. ''Far Out Magazine''.</ref> Cuomo later joined the Columbia Record Club and bought every Kiss album he could,<ref>Edwards, Gavin. "Rivers' Edge" ''Details''. February 1997. [[Details interview with Rivers Cuomo - February 1997|Weezerpedia transcript]]</ref> eventually bonding over his love of Kiss in the sixth grade with friend [[Justin Fisher]], the son of a friend of his mother's.<ref name="riversedge" /> Cuomo was first inspired to learn guitar after witnessing classmates perform "[[Wikipedia:Metal Health (song)|Metal Health]]" by {{Wikipedia|Quiet Riot}} at a school assembly.<ref>Leatham, Thomas. "[https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/rivers-cuomo-how-weezer-got-their-name/ Rivers Cuomo explains the true story behind how Weezer got their name]" ''Far Out''. 6 February 2023.</ref><ref group="lower-alpha">The influence of "Metal Health" by Quiet Riot is referenced in the Weezer tracks "[[Heart Songs]]" ("Quiet Riot got me started with the banging of my head") and "[[I Need Some of That]]" (which cribs the drum intro from "Metal Health")</ref> "I just couldn’t believe that kids my age were playing these real instruments and playing this song I loved... it just blew my mind! And so I got my own guitar shortly after that, and I started learning all the metal songs of the day."<ref>Gardner, Josh. "[https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/weezers-rivers-cuomo-talks-the-white-album-channelling-james-hetfield-and-his-enduring-love-of-guitar-641477 Weezer's Rivers Cuomo talks The White Album, channelling James Hetfield and his enduring love of guitar]" ''MusicRadar''. 18 August 2016.</ref> Cuomo received his first guitar on his fourteenth birthday, in 1984.<ref name="cor">http://weezerpedia.com/catalogofriffs.html</ref> Cuomo's first band was a Kiss cover band, called [[Fury]], consisting of himself and [[James Kitts|his brother]] on guitar, Justin Fisher on bass, and [[Eric Robertson]] on drums.
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 On [[November 1]], [[2019]], Cuomo performed songs at Yangapalooza!, a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate {{Wikipedia|Andrew Yang}}. Cuomo did not explicitly endorse Yang.<ref>Hogan, Mark and Bloom, Madison. "[https://pitchfork.com/news/heres-what-happened-during-rivers-cuomos-yangapalooza-set/ Here’s What Happened During Rivers Cuomo’s Set at the Andrew Yang Rally in Iowa]" ''Pitchfork''. 1 November 2019.</ref>
+===Soccer===
+Cuomo was an avid soccer fan for several years, originally wanting to be a soccer player when he grew up.<ref name="studio90" /> On [[January 26]], [[2008]], Cuomo competed in the Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra Celebrity Soccer Challenge.<ref>Thompson, Paul. "[https://pitchfork.com/news/28510-rivers-cuomo-plays-in-celebrity-charity-soccer-game/ Rivers Cuomo Plays in Celebrity Charity Soccer Game]. ''Pitchfork''. 28 January 2008.</ref> Cuomo wrote the 2010 Weezer single "[[Represent]]" for the U.S. Soccer team ahead of the World Cup. In January of 2013, Cuomo received a diagnosis of an unspecified condition in his knee that prevents him from playing soccer. Said Cuomo, "Once I realised I couldn’t play, it became too emotionally painful to watch the sport and I haven’t since."<ref>Ryan, Gary. "[https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/does-rock-n-roll-kill-braincells-weezer-rivers-cuomo-3765447 Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo: “If Taylor Swift ever wants to make a rock album, I’d love to help out!”]" ''NME''. 21 June 2024.</ref>
 ==Discography==
 {{Main|Rivers Cuomo discography}}