Weezer Biography

news-details The origin of Weezer is tightly related to its frontman, Rivers Cuomo (born June 13, 1970), since he has been the initiator of this alternative band. Performing as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band, he had gathered Patrick Wilson (born February 1, 1969) to be the drummer, Matt Sharp (born September 22, 1969) to be the bassist, and Jason Cropper (born 1970) to be the guitarist. Established on February 14, 1992 in Los Angeles, California, these four guys at that time still looked for a proper name for their band when they came to a club on Hollywood Boulevard called Raji's. Apparently there was a need for an opening act for Keanu Reeves' band, Dogstar. Cuomo and his band mates were offered by the club to perform at that night. After debating on naming the band, Rivers suggested to call the band �Weezer.� Since the other members could not find something else that sounded more distinctive, they all agreed to apply �Weezer� as the name of the band. The performance at Raji's then became their first show which marked their initial music career.

Weezer started to perform at local clubs while writing their compositions to make a demo. After hanging around for 16 months, an A&R representative from Geffen Records named Todd Sullivan offered them a recording contract. The band afterwards was signed to DGC label/Interscope in 1993 and moved to New York to work on an album. During the recording process at Electric Lady Studios, Jason quitted the band to tend his future wife and their first child-to-be. His position then was replaced by Brian Bell (born December 9, 1968), the former guitarist of Carnival Art. Their debut album finally was released on May 10, 1994. It was a self-titled one, but was more commonly known as �The Blue Album.� Having produced by Ric Ocasek, this album made a breakthrough with its hit tracks, such as �Undone (The Sweater Song)� and �Buddy Holly.� Both songs were reinforced by innovative music videos, making them became well known throughout the world.

Those two fabulous singles apparently triggered the album to reach 4th rank at Billboard 200 Chart. It eventually sold nearly one million copies, automatically received double Platinum. Following this huge success, the band held their first tour for several months before had their Christmas break. It was when Rivers began to compile materials for the band's upcoming album. Being affected by musicals and rock-operas, he came up with a concept album called �Songs from the Black Hole.� The band quickly set out to conduct the recording sessions, beginning from early 1995. By fall, they decided to have the concept omitted since the sessions failed to come together in a desirable way. Rivers then put his efforts to re-compile a new track list while entering Harvard University. In the meantime, Brian worked with another band called Space Twins. Matt and Patrick developed a side project by forming The Rentals. This band later produced a hit single entitled �Friends of P.�

After spending almost one year to establish their next album, Weezer launched �Pinkerton� on September 24, 1996. Three singles of �Songs from the Black Hole� were also included in this sophomore album. Although it was praised by critics, the album unfortunately could not surpass its predecessor. It was partially because Rivers refused the idea of making another innovative music videos. As a result, the album could only secure 19th position at Billboard 200. The sale was also disappointing, far from the band's expectation. Despite this glum situation, they eagerly embarked on their tour. In summer 1997, Rivers abruptly announced the hiatus of the band. The members afterwards were busy with their own projects. Patrick established The Special Goodness, Brian was deeply involved with Space Twins, while Matt left to concentrate on The Rentals. Rivers went back to study at Harvard, but shortly thereafter decided to drop out. Together with Mikey Welsh (born April 20, 1971) he founded a new band called Homie.

In late February 1998, all members of Weezer gathered in L.A., except Matt. Officially quitted in April, he was replaced by Mikey. This new formation focused their attention to construct their third album. Dissatisfied with the process of rehearsals, Patrick revealed his wish to leave the band for a while. A friend of Mikey named Todd Phillips was chosen as the temporary drummer before the band eventually put off the rehearsals in early 1999. The personnel spontaneously formed Goat Punishment, performing the cover version of Nirvana's songs as well as Oasis'. In spring, the management advised Weezer to take another break, so each member once more returned to his own affairs. Patrick and Brian devoted their time to their side projects, while Mikey collaborated with his former band mate, Juliana Hatfield. As for Rivers, he persistently did a series of demo recordings as well as wrote numerous compositions. It was until April 2000 that the members gathered again to rehearse for Fuji Festival in Japan which planned to be held in August.

After recording some demos in L.A., Weezer participated in a festival of punk/ska music and extreme sports named Warped Tour on June 23, 2000. It turned out very well and the band continued to perform by conducting a summer tour. The tunes that they had sung during this tour were labeled the Summer Songs of 2000 or SS2k. Some of them later appeared in their long awaited album, �Weezer� (2001) which was often called �The Green Album.� This was the band's turning point for one of its tracks entitled �Hash Pipe� became a smash hit, reaching 2nd rank at Billboard Modern Tracks. Its success was followed by �Island in the Sun� and �Photograph� which both were included in top 20 of the chart. The band afterwards went to hold their live shows for the rest of the year. By July 2002, �The Green Album� had sold over one million copies so that Weezer once more was certified Platinum.

They later continued to produce another album, �Maladroit,� which was released on May 14, 2002. To their relief, it strived to 3rd rank at Billboard 200, becoming the band's first album to enter top three of the chart. This year also was marked by the mysterious departure of Mikey after being together in Weezer for 4 years. Scott Shriner (born July 11, 1965) came in to fill his position. The band soon began to collect materials for the next album. Conducting many demo sessions, they concluded to abort the songs they had recorded, thus took their fourth break for about one year. They reunited in December 2003 with the determination to complete the recording process of their upcoming album. �Make Believe� ultimately appeared on May 10, 2005. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album soared to 2nd rank in U.S. charts due to the success of its brilliant single, �Beverly Hills.� In the meantime, �Make Believe� received various responses and reviews. Some fans considered it as an attractive album, but others, along with music critics, detested and scorned this particular album.

The band fell into another uncertain future after Cuomo hinted a break-up during an interview with MTV in 2006. A media turmoil soon occurred, reporting the band was indeed splitting for good. It was however denied by each members, particularly Cuomo who made it clear that he was misquoted. The band was in fact in full speed to write for the next album that was confirmed coming out through an online post by Cuomo on their official website in June 2007. If everything goes smoothly then the sixth album should be out by early 2008.