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WEEZER
Author: Al Weisel (US)
Published: March 1995
"BY THE DAY," SAYS WEEZER BASSIST MATT SHARP, "THINGS GET MORE SURREAL" SHARP JUST CAN'T GET OVER THE FACT THAT when the band performs its surf 'n' turf (the Beach Boys meet the Velvet Underground) single "Undone - The Sweater Song," which is meant to be a metaphorical lament about relationships, "frat guys jump up onstage and actually destroy a sweater." But life has a way of imitating art with Weezer. When the group wanted to feature footage from Happy Days in its "Buddy Holly" video, for instance, the original cast was reluctant to have their images used until the Fonz gave it two thumbs up. Then they all followed, "just like in the TV show," Sharp marvels. Only two years ago, Sharp, 25, was selling dog shampoo with drummer Patrick Wilson, 26, by day and playing nearly empty San Francisco clubs with vocalist Rivers Cuomo, 24, the alternanerds' guiding spirit and songwriter, by night. Now Weezer, their debut album of self-proclaimed "stupid songs," has gone gold. Recorded at Electric Lady - the studio founded by Jimi Hendrix - the album has a strange history. The morning the group started recording, Hendrix fans held a seance for him at the studio. Later, band members noticed that the guitar parts were especially loud during playback. Someone - Jimi? - had turned up the amps to 10. But ax-wielding apparitions were the least of Weezer's problems. The day they finished recording, their guitarist quit. They had to re-record all his parts with a new guitarist, Brian Bell, 25, who flew in from California the next day. Now the band can sit back and enjoy the perks of stardom, like tickets to one of their favorite shows - Jesus Christ Superstar. "It gave us chills," says Sharp. And you can be sure that no matter how successful Weezer gets, they'll never say they're more popular than Jesus Christ Superstar.
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