Crossbeat interview with Weezer - September 1997
| Print interview with Weezer | |
|---|---|
| Magazine cover Magazine cover | |
| Publication | Crossbeat |
| Published | September 1997 |
| Author | Oguchi Masaki |
| Interviewer | Oguchi Masaki |
| Interviewee | Weezer |
| Title | "Switching girls left and right made me feel like a total scumbag." |
| Sub-title | The day after the Fuji show cancellation, the still-drunk Rivers vents his frustrations! Plus, the band members reveal their emotional rollercoaster journey as Weezer for the first time! |
| Format | |
| Associated album | Pinkerton |
| References | See where this article is referenced on Weezerpedia |
Translation for Weezerpedia by Windii Gitlord.
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"Switching girls left and right made me feel like a total scumbag."
Interview: Oguchi Masaki I wrote the introduction for Weezer in the festival pamphlet, ending with these words: "Welcome back to Japan." Oh, what an utter shame. Of course, I was eager to see the second day's acts, including Prodigy, Beck, Seahorses, and Green Day, but more than anything, I wanted to enjoy Weezer right there and then. I wanted to sing along at the top of my lungs to "Tired of Sex," "Buddy Holly," and "Across the Sea." At the Osaka show, Rivers looked straight at the audience and the band's vibe was great, so it seemed like they had really stepped up their game since their last visit to Japan... It's truly regrettable. Just an hour ago, I heard about Dave Grohl's disappointment, but Rivers's shock was indeed huge. When asked for a comment on the cancellation, he slumped his shoulders and lowered his eyes. He probably went out drinking with Dave Sunday night to blow off steam. Truth be told, he was apparently drinking every single night, practically drowning in booze (laughs), but it's true there was an unusually rich exchange between artists, something unthinkable during a typical Japan tour. The much-discussed collaboration between the Foo Fighters and the Prodigy is one example, and the fact that Rivers was the first to drink with Dave Grohl in Japan is another. These backstage dynamics, clearly demonstrating the festival's sense of unity even among the artists, make one eager to see what developments lie ahead. Who knows? Perhaps an incredible collaboration within the "Fuji Rock All-Stars" might not be such a far-fetched dream after all. Rivers: Sorry I'm late! I went to the club last night and got pretty wasted. Brian: You were wasted the whole time, and you went again?! Oguchi Masaki: I hear you went drinking with Dave Grohl. Rivers: Yeah, I did. Oguchi: Dave said he was really bummed the show got canceled. Rivers: (in broken Japanese) Sad... Pisses me off. Dave said the audience was crazy. He said the fog was so thick while they were playing he couldn't see 30 meters ahead. Oguchi: Yeah, he got that right. Speaking of which, you came to see Green Day's club gig with Matt on Friday night (July 25th), right? I was there too. Rivers: (in Japanese) Really? Oguchi: Yeah, I was having fun so I didn't say anything. Rivers: It was a really good concert. Japan's the only place you can see them play on such a small scale. Oguchi: The members of Green Day seem to be really into Weezer, even naming your first album as one of the best albums. Have you guys been friends for a while? Rivers: Nah, we never hung out before coming to Japan. Well, we'd run into each other at shows... they were at the club we went to yesterday, and we had drinks together for the first time. Oguchi: Wow, so you've had all kinds of interactions. So, today, I'd like to have all the members talk about Weezer. First, before Weezer, I'd like to ask about your musical roots. Brian: I listened to mostly standard stuff. My dad had Beatles and Stones records, plus American classic rock, British rock — the originators of Britpop, I guess (laughs). Pat: I grew up in Buffalo, New York. As a kid, I was influenced by the classic rock played in Buffalo in the '70s — Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen — Not exactly great music, huh? (laughs) I'm still trying to erase that subconscious influence now (laughs). Matt: Hmm, I'd say my answer's pretty much the same as Brian's. Brian: Must've been rough having the same dad, huh? (all burst out laughing) Oguchi: Hahaha. So, Rivers was a heavy metal kid. Rivers: Yeah, I was especially into Kiss. Oguchi: What bands were you guys in before Weezer? Rivers: The first band I started in my teens was called Fury, a Kiss cover band. Then I played in several metal cover bands. Eventually I started an original metal band, but it was awful (laughs). Pat: I had zero band experience before Weezer... Rivers: Hey now (laughs), you were playing with me before Weezer! Pat: Oh, I forgot! 60 Wrong Sausages (bursts out laughing). I don't even remember doing a live show. Rivers: But we did! Matt: Yeah, you did. Just once. I went to see it (laughs). Pat: Ah, now I've totally lost credibility (laughs). Rivers: And then the band Fuzz after that was pretty cool, right? Oguchi: Well, I suppose. What about Matt and Brian? Matt: When I was 15, I was in this punk band called Rancid Decay. Only lasted four weeks, though. That's about it. Brian: I was in a band called Carnival Art. We signed with Beggars Banquet and released a few records. I was 21, and it was my first band, so it was a great experience. That band is why Weezer noticed me. Oguchi: Everyone has their story (laughs). So you all ended up in LA separately, but did you all have this solid goal from the start of "making it big with a band"? Brian: Yeah, we dreamed about it every night. Pat: Yeah, we're pretty ambitious (laughs). Brian: Having that dream of making it as musicians is what got us through the tough times. We believed if we just kept pushing, it would work out. As the results started piling up, the dream just became reality. Oguchi: So, I want to ask about your first rehearsal now. What was that like? Rivers: It was so much fun. We already had a few songs for the first album at that point, and playing together for the first time was unbelievably enjoyable. And we were just playing together, that's all. By the end of practice, my voice was completely shot and everything. Pat: It was pretty emotional, yeah? We ran through the whole set. Matt: Around that time, I was traveling all over America by train. Before that, Pat gave me a tape with 30 songs on it. It had Rivers's songs, Pat's songs, and some they wrote together. I was really moved. I went into rehearsal full of enthusiasm. Rivers: But man, that Jason guy who was in the band before Brian? He stripped naked during rehearsal. That really pissed me off. Matt: Yeah, yeah. A guy running around the room buck naked with an acoustic guitar (laughs). I was a bit worried about what kind of band Weezer was going to be. Oguchi: How would Rivers evaluate what each of you brought to Weezer? Rivers: Before Matt joined... Matt: It was more like Soundgarden. Rivers: Yeah, more grunge and bluesy. Like Jane's Addiction. But Matt's style was more straightforward, bringing in Pixies-like elements. Pat was— Matt: Pat's a total mystery (laughs). Rivers: Hmm, it's hard to pinpoint what Pat brought to the band. We started together, after all. If I had to say, maybe it's that he never does the same thing twice. Brian: I thought so too! Pat: (embarrassed) That's not true. Matt: He's got a small dick (roaring laughter). Oguchi: Bahahaha. Rivers: In that sense, I think the improvisational part comes from Pat. Especially in the early days. When we played a song, we'd keep playing until we thought, 'We wanna stop.' Oguchi: What about Brian? Rivers: He didn't contribute much to the first album, but the second album sounded completely different from the first because of his guitar style. It's messy, he doesn't play regular power chords straight up, he plays these weird, incomprehensible phrases. Oguchi: Oh yeah. And then, after a year and a half of honing your craft, you signed the contract. I heard that when you heard "You can make a record," Rivers and Matt hugged each other and stood frozen for five minutes, they were so moved. Do you still remember that day clearly? Rivers: Actually, right around that time, everyone was starting to worry, like, 'Maybe we won't get to debut after all.' Matt: Looking back, it's ironic we got signed then. At our first meeting with the record company, they said, 'We guarantee right here that you guys can make a record.' Funny thing is, I remember that, but I can't recall the guy's name (laughs). Oguchi: (laughs). And in the end, it was "Buddy Holly" that triggered the breakthrough, right? When you suddenly got that much attention, did you feel like, "This rules!"? Rivers: No, I was feeling absolutely terrible at the time. Oguchi: What? Rivers: I thought I was the worst singer ever, Weezer wasn't a great live band yet, and everyone in the band felt immense pressure. It was uncomfortable, like I wanted to run away somewhere. Oguchi: ...That seems typical of Rivers. Rivers: I guess the sudden popularity just felt weird. Brian: The change was too fast. People kept telling us on tour, 'Do you guys realize how big you've gotten?' We were so wrapped up in touring, we couldn't see the outside world at all. We didn't understand how big we really were. Oguchi: Did Matt and Pat feel the same? Matt: Nah, I was really happy about it. Pat: I was happy about the success too. Oguchi: So it was split right down the middle, 2-2 (laughs). So when Rivers announced "I'm going to Harvard!" right in the middle of that smooth success streak, that's when opinions split? Brian: Well, at that time, we weren't communicating very well as a group. We had absolutely no idea what going to Harvard meant for the band's future... Now I understand why Rivers went to Harvard, but back then it was incomprehensible. Did he want to be a doctor? Matt: Or a firefighter? (laughs)" Brian: Or a lawyer, or something? Pat: At that point, Rivers had already given up on being a rock star. Brian: Anyway, it was a tough time. Matt: Well, I just wanted him to get good grades (laughs). Brian: The truth is, we wanted to keep touring. Rivers: What?! You wanted to keep touring?! Brian: Of course we did. Rivers: No way! We were all at rock bottom. Don't you remember?! Oguchi: (The mood tenses) Now, now. Pat: Just saying, history seems different depending on one's perspective (laughs). Rivers: (Calming down a bit) Looking back now, maybe we could've kept going a little longer. Pat: Nah, it's true we were each getting tired of being together. Brian: It was a good break. Still, I was worried about what would happen next. I didn't even know if Rivers would choose college and quit rock completely. In the end, he said, 'Yeah, I'll put the band first and college second.'" Oguchi: The second album, approached with a fresh perspective, clearly changed from the first, right? Rivers: Every note on the first album's ten songs was polished and rehearsed. So it barely expressed improvisation or spontaneous inspiration. With the second, I'd play them a song I wrote, and we'd record it the next day. It was incredibly creative in the studio. Pat: What's reflected in the second album is a kind of chaotic state. Everyone expressed themselves honestly in the moment. Oguchi: So, what did you think when you heard the autobiographical content on Pinkerton? For example, don't you ever get sick of playing songs like "Tired of Sex" over and over? Matt: We don't play it anymore anyway (laughs). Pat: That happens on tour, yeah? Rivers: It happens with any song if you play it enough. Whether it's autobiographical or fiction, playing the same song over and over makes you feel sick of it. That's why, no matter what song I'm singing, I don't sing while thinking about the literal meaning of the lyrics. I try to connect to the raw emotion behind the words. I wrote 'Tired' three years ago, and I've grown into a completely different person since then. Oguchi: I see. Finally, I'd like to ask about your respective side projects. First, Matt, about The Rentals. It seems the second album is progressing smoothly— Matt: (bursts out laughing) Oguchi: You mean it's made no progress at all? Matt: Well, I wouldn't say it's going smoothly, but it's going okay (laughs). Oguchi: Blur's Damon Albarn is involved, right? Matt: We got to know each other touring with The Rentals and he helped us out a lot. Damon and Blur were a huge inspiration. Back when we were touring, they were practically unknown in America. They get more credit these days, though. Even I only knew 'She's So High' back then. But after seeing them live, I thought, 'These guys are so awesome!' Oguchi: Sounds like we can look forward to the second album. What about Pat and Brian's side projects? Pat: I've been waiting for such a question (laughs). My band is called The Special Goodness, and I play all the instruments myself. I handled everything except the recording alone. It was supposed to come out this year, but things fell through. Brian: I'm continuing with a band I used to do with an ex-girlfriend called Space Twins, keeping the same name. It's a sound close to Sebadoh or They Might Be Giants. I'm planning to record after the Weezer tour wraps up. Oguchi: Looking forward to it. Well, thanks for today— Rivers: (Flips through our August issue, then suddenly points at the 'Pioneer Dissection Theory' piece about Weezer) Hey, what's this mean? Oguchi: It means Rivers's roots were in metal bands like Mötley Crüe. Rivers: No, no! The album cover that should be here is Metallica's 'Kill 'Em All' or Quiet Riot's 'Metal Health'! That's a totally different kind of metal (laughs). Oguchi: But you said you liked Mötley.
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See also
- Category:Rivers Cuomo Interviews
- Category:Pat Wilson interviews
- Category:Matt Sharp interviews
- Category:Brian Bell interviews
| More Weezer interviews from 1997: | |
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| Other band member interviews from this year: | |
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