Hi, my name is Austin, and I'm a long-time, hardcore weezer fan. I'm a little (okay, a lot) older than the average fan, and I live near Los Angeles, which means I've been lucky (and crazy) enough to have been involved in the weezer community since virtually the beginning. I'm not saying I'm better than the next fan, just that I'm in a unique position to share much of the knowledge and experience I've gained through fifteen-plus years of obsessive weezer fandom.
I've been active on weezerpedia since December 2008. I've made quite a few significant contributions, and it will only continue. I look forward to dropping more mad ka-nowledge gleaned from my large collection of weezer (and related) music releases, media articles, and concert and fan club experiences.
I'm a responsible adult with kids of my own, but I still feel like a kid inside, and I love to geek out on any and all of my passions (see below). I love to chat when I'm not too busy, and I have many weezer stories to tell. Catch me at Allthingsweezer some time and pick my brain.
I have recognized Pinkerton as my lord and saviour, and I challenge the notion that Pat Is Dead.
Quick stats
Full name - Austin Welch
DOB - August 13th, 1974
Currently resides - Upland, California
Profession - car insurance sales (just as boring as it sounds)
Children - twin 18 year old daughters who LOVE WEEZER!!
Writer and occasional photographer for the site The RealmCast, covering news and reviews on movies, tv, action figures, comics, music, and all things geek. We also do a regular podcast, and I edit the final broadcast audio.
Webmaster and primary writer of my own music blog, Flashback's Record Rack, started as an offshoot of The RealmCast. Don't bother pointing out how lame it is, I already know. But if you're curious, feel free to check out my reviews of Pinkerton Deluxe, Hurley, Death To False Metal, and Raditude..
Obsessions
music (duh) - although you might be shocked to learn that weezer isn't my favorite band of all time (gasp!), that distinction belongs to Queen. I was into music LONG before weezer came around, and although I treasure them dearly, many of my favorites had already entrenched themselves. As I'm a bit older than the average fan, I come from more of the classic rock/metal/prog/shred side of things, but I have a tremendous weakness for power pop. A brief list, in semi-order of their stature with me: Queen, Scorpions, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Van Halen, weezer, Dream Theater, Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company, The Firm, etc.), Michael Schenker (UFO, MSG, etc.), Ash, Boston, Extreme (and all related bands), Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Eat World, Gary Hoey, Muse, Queensryche, Tesla, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, Cheap Trick, Megadeth, Pink Floyd, Foo Fighters, The Cult, Rush, Sabbath/Ozzy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and solo/side stuff by most of these artists.
sci-fi - among other things I like, I'm completely immersed in the universes of what I call my Big 3: Star Wars, Transformers, and Robotech
animation - Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, Robot Chicken, etc.
comedy - George Carlin, Denis Leary, Chris Rock, Tina Fey, Kids In The Hall, Demetri Martin (sp)
TV - SNL (all eras), The Office (both UK and US), 30 Rock, Heroes, The Clone Wars, That Metal Show, Numbers, House
movies - Star Wars saga, Indiana Jones (although I admit they had faults, I'm a big defender of the prequels and Crystal Skull, so back off!), Back To The Future, and the bulk of the works of: Mel Brooks and cronies, Kevin Smith and View Askewniverse, Wes Anderson and cronies (Bottle Rocket, Tenenbaums, etc.), Simon Pegg and cronies (Spaced, Shaun, Fuzz), Judd Apatow and cronies, Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, Gene Wilder, Al Pacino, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Kaufman, tons more.
baseball - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...Go Halos!!!!!!
Show: July 3/4 2000 (tie), Pomona, CA...I was so damned happy to have my band back in action!
Fan cred
Fan club member late 94 thru mid 98ish (including a few written contributions and a photograph or two in Weezines) and again in 2001/2002, but it just wasn't the same.
Have attended 19 weezer shows (including 4 as Goat Punishment) and several related band shows (see list below).
My pic (along with a friend and Ozma's Daniel Brummel) is in the crowd shot on the cover of "The Good Life" single, taken on Pinkerton's release day September 24, 1996, at the Hollywood Tower Records (where Rivers once worked) parking lot 'in-store' (see above).
Met 6 of the 7 total weezer members (damn that elusive Mikey!), plus Karl and Mykel and Carli, in most cases multiple times.