Karl's Corner - 05/06/2000 (b)

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Weezer rehersals...

I came to LA about a week after the guys started rehearsing, and sat in on almost all of them for the next 2 weeks. They were, and still are, rehearsing every day, starting at 6 pm. The rehearsals have been lasting anywhere from 1 - 3 hours, and are pretty intensive, with only a few short breaks. They are working at an undisclosed space in Hollywood, that was quite familiar to me, as theyve been there numerous times before. Rivers's new garage studio was shut down before construction was completed by the zoning inspector, (d'oh!), so there is no plans to start working there anytime soon.

Rehearsals were for the most part going really well. Early on, there were a few days where the mood was a little down. Rivers was pretty quiet about just about everything at first, so there was a little confusion as to what was going on. However, after a few days of re-acquaintance, things seemed to brighten up considerably, and the songs started to really rock.

When i left , they were consistently practicing 13 songs. 2 were introduced by Rivers to the guys in the time i was there, so I got to watch them whip those songs into shape from scratch. Very cool. Of the 13 (I cant say their possible titles) 5 are what i call classic weezer style, very melodic, very catchy, and with a few of those distinctive unusual chord changes. 3 songs are more "straight ahead", kind of like a Cars or Green Day song. 2 are what I call "riff" songs, designed around repeating guitar patterns. 2 are slow songs, in effect "classic weezer", just not uptempo. And one song doesnt fit any category, it contains verses that can only be described as ska! All the songs feature very catchy melodies and would fit in nicely with what people would call the "weezer sound".

I talked to Rivers after practice one night and learned that he has between 5-10 more songs that hes working on at home, and plans to introduce to the guys in practice soon. Several of the 13 songs that are currently being practiced will eventually be scrapped, replaced by newer songs that he hopes will come together better when played by the band. I would say that 4-5 of the songs currently being practiced aren't coming out quite as well as the others, and i would expect its those songs that will get "phased out".

Rehearsals are expected to continue indefinitely, I would guess at least another 2 months. The plan is to get into a studio when the songs are ready. I would personally guess that this wont happen until sometime after the short Japan tour in August.