Karl Koch: Difference between revisions

Karl Koch graduated in the spring of 1991 from art school in Baltimore and soon went out to LA in a 1988 Ford Bronco at the urging of [[Pat Finn]].  "I had somewhat of a mixed bag," he said.  His parents (specifically his father) were a bit skeptical about his decision to move to LA.  Karl said, "I was introduced to Pat Wilson in Buffalo by Pat Finn, shortly before they took off to LA.  A year later, I followed and Pat [Finn] introduced me to Matt, Rivers and Jason.  Pat and Jason were very messy roommates.  [Pat Finn] said, 'You gotta come out here man!  Whatever you want to do, this is the place to do it!'  I was like, 'Alright.' So I kinda packed up, against my parents' wishes."  Karl didn't know anyone that would eventually end up in Weezer, but eventually met the members through Pat Finn.  Karl recalled an early memory of Matt Sharp as a sad guy wearing little round glasses, black turtlenecks, and new wave hair.  "It was a nice apartment, but they couldn't afford anything.  So he'd sit on the lawn furniture...and watch Woody Allen films."  Karl soon got a job with Jason selling dog shampoo as a telemarketer.  They then went out of business three paychecks later.  "They said, 'Okay.  You're all fired, but you can have your job back at minimum wage', which was like, $3.25 an hour.  And I was like, 'Screw this.'  So I went and got a job as a cook at an Italian Restaurant/deli, and we still weren't playing in a band with Rivers, but he was around and there was music going on," said Karl.

Karl recalls the band's primary interests revolving around the sub-pop grunge sound and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' funk sound.  "I remember being in college...and we were like, 'Oh Mudhoney', but Nirvana was just another sub-pop band...who the hell knew what Nirvana was?  Obviously, when ''Nevermind'' came out everyone took notice... It was kind of this realization that ''this is the sound''.  These guys [Pixies and Nirvana] have it right."

Karl recalls that the night Weezer was signed was 'chaos.'  "I just remember this insane party.  Todd, our guy, came over.  It was just nuts.  But that paled in comparison to the going away party."  Karl was able to fly out to New York City with [[Weezer]] under the Geffen contract.  In New York City, Karl documented the entire process of recording in video.  Much of this material is viewable on the [[Video Capture Device|VCD]].

In a 2008 interview with Weezerpedia, Karl expressed interest in "Paper Planes" by M.I.A., The Bird and the Bee, Band of Horses, and The Shins.  Still, Karl says he's always exploring the past.  "90% of the new music I listen to is in the past.  The best record is one that has some killer songs, but also something I can sample on it."

Karl is a huge fan of the Clash.  "They always destroy me.  I listened to them so many times between 13 and 18...thousands of times...too many times.  They're just in my blood stream."  Karl also enjoys DJ Shadow, James Brown, Jay-Z's ''American Gangster'', The Beatles, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys."