f.a.q.'s
* what do some of these songs mean?
‘my name is jonas’
‘explains how "the plan" is reaming is all. especially my brother. it's a good introduction to the album.’
‘no one else’
‘the jealous-obsessive asshole in me freaking out on my girlfriend.’
'the world has turned and left me here'
'the same asshole wondering why she's gone.'
'buddy holly'
'it's about a particular girl i knew... it's about my commitment to her... our relationship... and, er, my willingness to defend her. it's very platonic. not a romantic thing at all.'
'undone - the sweater song'
'the feeling you get when the train stops and the little guy comes knockin' on your door. it was supposed to be a sad song, but everyone thinks it's hilarious.'
'surf wax america'
'a total sarcastic call to hedonism, so sing along, drink and be merry. i hate drinking and only do so when i aboslutely have to [which in these days, seems to be quite often.]'
'say it ain't so'
'also about beer.'
'in the garage | holiday'
'written in a sudden burst of confidence and optimism right after we got a record deal. those positive emotions have since dissipated - along with out cash advances - but i still like the songs.'
'none of these songs are perfect, but i think you can hear that we're trying hard to be honest and real. pat really kicked ass on the drums and brian, matt and i sang with a lot of feeling. the record sounds kind of weird, but if you turn it up extremely loud and lie down, it can be rewarding.' -rivers cuomo [talking about the blue album]
* who is that talking on undone and WHAT are they saying?
matt: hey bra', how we doin' man?
karl: awright.
matt: it's been a while man, life's so rad! this band's my favorite man, don't ya love 'em?
karl: yeah.
matt: aw man, you wan't a beer?
karl: awright.
matt: aw man, this is the best. i'm so glad we're all back together and stuff. tThis is great man.
karl: yeah.
matt: hey, d'you know about the party after the show?
karl: yeah.
matt: aw man, it's gonna be the best, i'm so stoked! take it easy bra'.
mykel: hey, what's up?
karl: not much.
mykel: did you hear about the party?
karl: yeah.
mykel: i think i'm gonna go but, um, my friends don't really wanna go. could I get a ride?
notes:
01. bra' as in bro' as in brother. i think you get the point.
02. matt as in matt sharp, the bass player for weezer.
03. karl as in karl koch [cook], the amazing 5th member of weezer.
04. mykel as in mykel allan. she ran the weezer fanclub w/her sister carli, until passing away in 07.97
05. these words seem to change during the live shows. sounds like they basically make them up as the go along. you can hear some sound samples of the different versions here.
06. it was recorded in the garage [pictured inside the s|t CD cover] which is featured in the video for 'say it ain't so'
* what should i tell my parents when they ask, 'what's a weezer?'
there have been various ideas to this, the most respected was that it was rivers old nickname, but even that hasn't been confirmed. the band just usually says, "we had a bunch of names and we all just agreed on that one." there have been many different obscure weezer references spotted from books, t.v., etc in the past [my favorite is the name of paul's hamster on the wonder years... that show rules, by the way] and to list them all would take too long.
* when was weezer formed?
first rehearsal: 02.14.92
* when are their birthdays?
matt sharp: 09.22.69
rivers cuomo: 06.13.70
pat wilson: 02.01.69
brian bell: 12.09.68
* who is jason cropper?
'jason cropper was an original member of weezer. in the earliest incarnation he played acoustic guitar and lent backup vocals. one of the best things about jason is his smile that seems a permanent part of his face. when weezer used to have to actually 'flyer' for a show, long before the days of sold-out pre-ticketed shows, jason would be somewhere at every show in town with a smile and a flyer. jason was replaced by brian bell while weezer was in new york recording their album. jason returned to los angeles and released a daughter, kiefer rain, instead of an album. one of our most glamorous moments was at jason's wedding on the beach at malibu. we felt like we were on the set of a melrose place wedding, it was beautiful.' - mykel & carli
* who are mykel & carli?
'we moved to hollywood together in 1989 as parents planned another family move. carli converted mykel to seeing live music and since then we have spent most of our nights standing too close to thumping speakers and becoming the "jaded-scenesters" that we are. while in hollywood we saw literally thousands of bands, some good and some not so good. It didn't take long to make a list of favorites and meet the people involved. 07.09.92 we were at club dump [johnny depp bought the place, called it the viper Room, river phoenix died there] to see a good band crux [no longer a band]. at someone's suggesion we stuck around to see the next band, weezer. we were impressed and put them on the mental-list of bands to go see again. the following night we were at a birthday party for our friend bryan ray. bryan is the bass player in a band called black market flowers, the first band to write a song called "mykel & carli". at the party we recognized the guy with long hair sitting alone by the refrigerator. it was rivers, from weezer, and he had his eyes for the birthday cake we had brought. we told him we has enjoyed his band the night before, he seemed amazed that we had liked it so much. the three of us sat on the couch and talked about music, food and growing up - we had wierd names and hippie parents in common. rivers told us when the next weezer show was and we remained anti-socially on that couch wondering how long it had taken some of the people there to get dressed. we made sure he got a piece of the cake and visited until his ride was ready to go. we continued going to weezer shows [60 at last count] whenever we could. We met the rest of the band and provided a spectator's viewpoint and sideline reviews, whether they wanted to hear it or not. we made cookies and road trips. the band got better and the audience grew. weezer signed with geffen and was actually going to release an album! they asked us if we would send lyrics for them so they could include the picture of the garage inside the cover. not knowing what we were in for we agreed, "of course, anything for you guys." after all, rivers had written a sweet song for us called "mykel & carli". just sending lyrics wasn't enough. stuffing envelopes isn't much fun and we wanted to share what we knew about them with other people who care about them. so the "fanclub" began. At the end of february we moved out of hollywood. we left some good friends to come to portland, oregon but it's nice to have a garage to spread the weezer stuff out in and some time to keep up with all the mail. somethimes we miss seeing weezer and it's members all the time. however, it's fun to have some people to jump up and down to see the band happy.' - mykel and carli allen.
* what was up with rivers' leg?
rivers had an operation, it was to stretch out his right leg that has always been shorter that the other. they broke his leg and then attatched a brace that streched his leg a little bit at a time. during the process he said, "it hurts but it will be worth it." a few weeks ago [more than a few weeks ago now] rivers bumped it and had to go to the hospital. some tour dates had to be cancelled... sorry if one of them was yours!
* i must know nothing about weezer. who is on the cover of the first album?
from left to right:
patrick wilson [drums]
rivers cuomo [vocals, guitar]
matt sharp [bass, vocals]
brian bell [vocals, guitar]
* who's on those posters in the garage? [inside s|t album]
poster on left: the cover of the judas priest album called british steel. the album came out in 1980 but the band has been together since 1969.
poster on right: carlos cavazo and kevin dubrow from the l.a. band "quiet riot".
* what is the joke about the album cover?
there is no real joke about the album cover. apparently, chris robinson of the black crowes was misquoted in rolling stone magazine. he refered the the band weezer's cover as a joke, when he actually meant the band ween.
* what is a pinkerton?
pinkerton is a character in a play called madame butterfly, which is rivers favorite opera. There was a litle bit of controversy when the album was released. there is an old corporation called pinkerton [as in pinkerton detective agency] who felt weezer was unlawfully using thier name so they sued them. they managed to halt sales for day. the case has since been settled with weezer, of course, winning.
* what does the italian writing around the rim of the pinkerton cd mean?
it says [in italian]
"dovunque al mondo lo yankee vagabondo si gode e traffica sprezzando i rischi. Affonda l'ancora alla ventura."
it says [in english]
"everywhere in the world the wandering yankee has a good time and trades headless of the danger. he drops the anchor to the fortune."
* whats up w/this map in pinkerton?
there is a 'secret' map behind the black casing side of the cd case. you can easily open it and take a look, although the print is kinda small.
some notables things on the map are:
·the island of mykel and carli.
·the sharpless mountains.
·weepel.
·cio cio san.
·u.s.s. pinkerton
·jonas
* some phrases on the map are:
"iIsola della farfalla"
it means
"island of the butterfly"
which is actually japan.
"penisola di cane"
it means "peninsula of the dog"
* what is up w/jeneane garfolo and weezer?
apparently, jeneanne wore a weezer hat on an episode of saturday night live. in answer, matt sharp made a shirt that said i love jeneanne garofalo and wore it for a picture that appeared in entertainment magazine. i guess they met sometime, but so far as i know, there are no plans for marriage yet.
* whats the relation between weezer and star wars?
pat wilson directed the trilogy. actually, weezer just likes star wars. apparently, when weezer was intervieing for a new guitarist [because jason cropper left], rivers asked brian bell what his favorite star wars action figure was. he said hammerhead, and that was that.
* what does the lush song 'ladykillers' have to do with weezer?
the lead singer of lush admitted that a few lines of the song where about matt sharp. the lines that deal with him are the ones that start with "blondie was with us for a month" which refers to when matt had bleached his hair, and was touring with lush. I guess he was hitting on her, and she didn't like it.
* is it true chewbacca went on tour w/weezer?
well, sort of. "august 1995 [i think it was the 5th actually] weezer played montreal. it was a great show as usual and i was lucky enough to meet the band before the show with a few friends. a friend of mine named scott had 'acquired' the chewbacca cut out from a local music store and decided to hand it over to the boys. i guess they liked it a lot because chewy went on stge with them that night and along for the tour too!!! by the end of the tour it was really beat up." -viv
* what happened to mykel and carli?
mykel, carli and their younger sister, trysta, died in a car accident driving home from a weezer show in denver, co on 07.08.97. mykel and carli were the founders of the official weezer fanclub, as well as long time friends of weezer and all the weezer fans around the world. for more information on these girls, go here.
* whats w/rivers playing shows w/out weezer in boston?
rivers has played some shows in the boston area w/members of chevy heston, the shods, the gigolo aunts, pat wilson and tracy bonham's back.up band. almost all of the songs played at these shows are new. they might even show up on future weezer albums! if you want to find out more information about these shows, click here.
* i heard rivers got married to lisa loeb. this true?
no, im afraid its not. all you lisa loeb lovers out there can sleep better at night knowing she's still available.
* whats this about sugar ray writing a song about rivers?
sugar ray has a song on the 'scream2' soundrack. its titled 'rivers' here's mona to tell you ALL about it! "i decided to go to the music store to check out the scream2 soundtrack and see what the big deal is about this new song about rivers. i was soo excited to see that, yes, in fact it does have this song on the soundtrack. i listened to it, anticipating a song ABOUT rivers. well, it's not. however, you must listen to this song. i absolutely HATE to say a song SOUNDS like a weezer song [b/c we all know how unique and beautiful their sound is] but let me tell you, if i didn't know it was sugar ray, i might have freaked out thinking it was a weezer song if i wasn't listening very closely."
* whats up w/the pink triangle import single?
the pink triangle import single will not be released. the only single ever released for this song is the radio promo, which contains pink triangle [remix] and pink triangle [live acoustic]
* can i still join the fanclub?
yes you can! the fanclub is still running. karl and tiffany are the new people in charge. right now, all merchandise will be temporarily dropped. if you have already sent in money for merchandise, you will have your money sent back to you asap. weezines will not be sent out as often, due to the ammount time needed to make and send issues out to over 4000 people. it's amazing that mykel and carli ran such a huge fanclub all by themselves. it's a lot of work. they will be missed very much.
* when is weezer coming to my town?
looks like weezer wont be touring for a while [as of 01.24.98] just be patient! after the third album comes out, im sure there will be a LOT of touring going on.
* who is e. smith?
e. smith is rivers publishing name. you may have noticed it on various singles, as co-written by e. smith. by having a publishing name, as soon as rivers writes a song, he owns it. that's why no one can take them.
