Weezer: Difference between revisions

1,204 bytes removed ,  17 November 2021
→‎History: Hiatus and Matt Sharp's Departure. What a terrible section. This is very rough but I just had to replace it ASAP.
(I'm not really happy with this intro paragraph but the old one was so bad I just had to change it. Feel free to fix up if anybody else wants to make it better.)
(→‎History: Hiatus and Matt Sharp's Departure. What a terrible section. This is very rough but I just had to replace it ASAP.)
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In a last ditch effort to save Pinkerton and get a song on the radio, the band went into the studio to re-record [[Pink Triangle]]. Matt, being absent to record the new Rentals album, was replaced temporarily by studio bassist Scott Riebling (of Letters to Cleo). Without Matt to help finish up the remaining Pinkerton demos ([[Getting Up and Leaving]], [[I Swear It's True]]) the label decided to release Pink Triangle as a radio promo disc rather than a commercial single. Accordingly, [[Karl Koch]] directed the Pink Triangle video. Pink Triangle was fairly unsuccessful as a single.
In a last ditch effort to save Pinkerton and get a song on the radio, the band went into the studio to re-record [[Pink Triangle]]. Matt, being absent to record the new Rentals album, was replaced temporarily by studio bassist Scott Riebling (of Letters to Cleo). Without Matt to help finish up the remaining Pinkerton demos ([[Getting Up and Leaving]], [[I Swear It's True]]) the label decided to release Pink Triangle as a radio promo disc rather than a commercial single. Accordingly, [[Karl Koch]] directed the Pink Triangle video. Pink Triangle was fairly unsuccessful as a single.


===Hiatus===
===Hiatus and Matt Sharp's Departure===
Following Pinkerton's commercial disappointment, the band went their separate ways to work on side projects. Matt Sharp went to Europe to write and record the next Rentals album, Brian continued his work on Space Twins and Pat began to organize what he envisioned to be the Special Goodness album. Meanwhile, Rivers dropped out of Harvard and moved back to New England.
Following Pinkerton's commercial disappointment, the band went their separate ways to work on side projects.  
====Rivers in Boston====
Living in Boston, Rivers began to heavily focus on songwriting. Most likely a direct result of Pinkerton flopping, Rivers wrote far less personal songs that told stories. In the winter of 1998, he wrote Romantic, Medieval type songs such as [[Lover in the Snow]]. Afterward, he began writing songs for a new project, which he would commonly refer to as "goofball" or "country" songs.


===Homie and the Rivers Cuomo Band===
Rivers Cuomo moved to Boston, Massachusetts and shifted focus to two separate projects. The band [[Homie]], largely comprised of songs written alongside ''Pinkerton'' and without a consistent lineup of members, played two live shows in Cambridge, MA throughout November 1997. Attempts at recording a Homie album with drummer [[Fred Eltringham]] and bassist [[Drew Parsons]] fell through and the master tapes are believed to have been left behind in the recording studio, abandoned.{{Citation needed}}
{{Main|Homie}}
Looking for an outlet other than Weezer, Rivers began to work on a project called [[Homie]]. Homie would allow Rivers to release songs that did not fit into the Weezer catalogue. To decide what songs would become Weezer songs and what songs would become Homie songs, Rivers played several shows in local Boston clubs. The shows where Rivers tested out new Weezer material are referred to by fans as the [[The Rivers Cuomo Band|Rivers Cuomo Band]].


Cuomo formed another band around this time titled [[Lovely]] with bassist [[Mikey Welsh]] and drummer [[Zeph Courtney]]. Lovely played two live shows in October 1997, but the band was very short-lived and did not last through the end of the year.<ref>Cuomo, Rivers. ''Riverpedia'' archived from riverscuomo.com. https://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/Riverpedia_archive_-_12/18/2020</ref> In [[1998]], Homie released "[[American Girls]]" on the soundtrack for the movie [[Meet the Deedles]]. The song is notable for being the last recording to feature all four members of Weezer's 1993 lineup. Brian Bell contributed backing vocals, Patrick Wilson drummed, and Matt Sharp co-produced the song. However, this song was the only release from Homie and the project was retired soon after.{{Citation needed}}


====Show 1: Weezer tryout 1 of 3 (10/?/97 at "T.T. the Bear's Place" in Cambridge, Massachusetts)====
Between March and April of 1996, Patrick Wilson recorded a solo album with the intent of releasing it on Geffen Records. While promo copies were produced, the album went unreleased. In 1998, Wilson released the album, titled ''[[The Special Goodness (album) | The Special Goodness]]'', exclusively in Japan on [[Rock Records]]. A year later, Wilson began touring with a band named [[The Special Goodness]] after his album. Along with Wilson on lead vocals and guitar, the touring lineup featured Mikey Welsh on bass and [[Lee Lorretta]] on drums. During the [[1999]] and [[2000]] tours, the band sold hand-made reissues of Wilson's solo album while working for releases under [[Vast Records]] and [[Loosegroove Records]], both of which fell through.{{Citation needed}}
With Rivers, there was [[Mikey Welsh]] (of Chevy Heston, later to join Weezer) on bass, Kevin (of the Shods) and Zeph (from Chevy Heston and Stompbox) on drums.


# [[Rosemary]]
Brian Bell shifted focus to his side-project [[The Space Twins]], which had formed in 1993 with his at-the-time girlfriend [[Susan Fox]]. After the hiatus began, Bell recruited [[Tim Maloof | Tim]] and [[Glen Maloof]] along with [[Mike Elliot]] to play bass, guitar, and drums respectively. In November 1997, The Space Twins released the [[Osaka Aquabus]]/[[Goddess of Love]] 7" single on [[Duck Butter Records]]. Several months later in spring 1998, the band released the [[TV, Music & Candy]]/[[Headache]] single on the same record label.
# [[1,000 Years]]
# [[The Prettiest Girl In The Whole Wide World]]
# [[Baby]]
# [[Fun Time]]
# [[American Girls]] (this is the "hard rock" version)
# [[Undone]]


====Show 2: Weezer tryout 2 of 3 (10/?/97 at "The Paradise" in Boston, Massachusetts)====
On February 6, 1998, Matt Sharp left Weezer in order to focus on his band [[The Rentals]] full time.<ref>Koch, Karl. ''Super Chrono'', archived from weezer.com. https://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/Super-Chrono_-_1998</ref> After this, he began work on the next Rentals album, which was released in April 1999 as [[Seven More Minutes]] on [[Warner Bros. Records]]. The album features the only officially released songwriting collaboration between Sharp and Rivers Cuomo, titled "[[My Head is in the Sun]]."
# [[Rosemary]]
# [[1,000 Years]]
# [[The Prettiest Girl In The Whole Wide World]]
# [[Little Sister]]
# [[Baby]]
# [[Say It Ain't So]]
# [[Fun Time]]
# [[American Girls]] (this is the "hard rock" version, which may be the bootlegged mp3 version- see solo show #1 above)
# [[Undone]]
[[Image:Rivers Cuomo, Mikey Welsh - RC band.jpg|right|thumb|Rivers Cuomo and Mikey Welsh at a Rivers Cuomo Band show.]]
====Show 3: Homie tryout 1 of 2 (11/4/97 at "The Middle East" in Cambridge, Massachusetts)====
With Rivers, there was Kevin Stevenson of the Shods.
# [[Autumn in Jayne]]
# [[Hey M'Darlin']]
# [[Sheila Can Do It]]
# [[Think About]]
# [[No One Else]]
# [[Wanda (You're My Only Love)]]
# [[Sunshine O]]
# [[Stay Right Here]]
# [[Hot Tub]]
 
====Show 4: Homie tryout 2 of 2 (11/21/97 at "T.T. the Bear's Place" in Cambridge, Massachusetts)====
# [[Autumn in Jayne]]
# [[Hey M'Darlin']]
# [[Sheila Can Do (It)]]
# [[Think About (AKA' sesame street')]]
# [[The Good Life]]
# [[Stay There]]
# [[Wanda]]
# [[Sunshine O]]
# [[Fun Time]]
# [[American Girls]]
# Encore -- [[Hot Tub]]
# [[No One Else]]
 
====Show 5: Weezer tryout 3 of 3 (1/14/98 at "T.T. the Bear's Place" in Cambridge, Massachusetts)====
With Rivers, there was Pat Wilson on drums, Jake Zavrachy of Quick Fix and Boy Wonder, and others.
 
# [[Rosemary]]
# [[Getchoo]]
# [[The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World]]
# [[No One Else]]
# [[Baby]]
# [[Say It Ain't So]]
# [[Undone - The Sweater Song]]
# [[Only in Dreams]]
 
===Matt Sharp's departure===
In a move that Karl has since claimed to save the band, Matt Sharp left Weezer in late 1997. With tensions between the band high since Rivers took control, and with Matt's growing dissatisfaction as simply being a bass player, Matt decided that he wished to take The Rentals as his only project of focus. Despite Rivers and Matt growing to have differences, the two remained fairly close shortly after his departure. In fact, a bit after Matt left, he and Rivers co-wrote the song "[[My Head is in the Sun]]", which was featured on the second Rentals album, ''[[Seven More Minutes]]''.
 
====Homie's Debut====
Although Homie demo tapes exist (and have yet to be heard) and an album has been rumored to have been started (which Karl claims to be completed), the only "official" release from Homie was a recording of [[American Girls]] released in 1998 on the "''Meet The Deedles''" movie soundtrack. Recorded in a Boston studio, it marks the final recording between the band and Matt Sharp. Many fans were surprised with the song's release because it greatly differed from the fast paced rock version bootlegged from Rivers' Boston shows.


====Weezer begins rehearsing====
====Weezer begins rehearsing====
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