Draft:Weezer Fan Club revamp
The Weezer Fan Club is Weezer's official fan club, first founded by Mykel and Carli Allan in early 1994. The '90s club was a driving force behind the band's early dedicated fandom; the Allans' efforts in achieving fan connection characterized the band as uniquely down-to-Earth and established the aesthetic of Weezer fandom which would carry on past the original club's eventual shuttering near the end of the decade. Unofficial fan efforts — including a short-lived, partially official fan club in 2002 — followed in subsequent years. In 2014, former club organizer and general band assistant Karl Koch and fan Lisa Eubank officially revived the fan club, now backed by the band's label Crush Music and fan-engagement service 237 Global.
Mykel and Carli Allan fan club (1994–2000)
Formation (1992–1995)
On July 9, 1992, sisters Mykel and Carli Allan attended their first Weezer concert at Club Dump, briefly meeting the band and trading agreeing thoughts on pop culture after the show. Passionate music fans and followers of the Los Angeles rock scene — having earlier befriended contemporary band Black Market Flowers — the sisters saw potential in the Weezer's music and dedicated themselves to seeing all subsequent shows they would play in LA. Said Karl Koch in a 2015 retrospective, "they made the band cookies, helped promote shows, critiqued the shows and demos, and most importantly provided a huge amount of encouragement, at a time when no one in the band felt they were appreciated in the scene".[1] Inspired by the Black Market Flowers song titled after the sisters, and out of appreciation for their devotion and support, lead singer Rivers Cuomo adapted his unused demo "Please Pick up the Phone" into "Mykel and Carli" which tells a fictionalized story of his friendship with the two.
On May 10, 1994, Weezer released their debut album Weezer (The Blue Album) through Geffen Records. The label did not provide sufficient space on the album's packaging to print song lyrics, so the Allans agreed to send out photocopies of handwritten lyrics to fans who sent an S.A.S.E. to the P.O. box on the album's liner notes. As the album began receiving airplay and shot up in popularity, the sisters kept pace with hundreds of requests for lyrics. Amongst the requests were letters asking to join a band fan club, however one did not yet exist. The sisters spoke with the band and received permission to attempt to develop one.
Mykel and Carli began to send out questionnaire forms to fans who had subscribed to a band mailing list (offered at shows earlier in the year) and included them alongside lyric sheets they distributed. The forms gauged interest in a band fan club, suggesting potential incentives and proposing an annual cost of $5 — later upped to $10. There was a strong, positive response to this offer. Satisfied, the sisters developed the first issue of the cut-and-paste-style zine Weezine, containing promotional material, writing from themselves and each band member, and order forms for merchandise and fan club membership. The club, now fully fleshed-out, offered a personalized and numbered membership card, autographed promotional band photographs, a band biography/history, a promotional sticker, a "Secret Surprise", quarterly issues of the zine, and other miscellaneous mail from the band.[2]
Original fan club (1995–1997)
"Fan Club 2.0" (1997–2000)
Suzanne fan club (non-official) (2002–2003)
Karl Koch and Lisa Eubank fan club (2014–present)
See also
References
- ↑ Koch 2016, p. v.
- ↑ Weezine Issue #1 - Winter 1994, p. 13. 1994.
Bibliography
- Koch, Karl (2016), Weezine Omnibus: Deluxe Edition, Lulu Press