Geezer

Geezer
Unofficial bootleg by Weezer
Released	Spring 1995
Format	CD
Recorded	December 4, 1994
Length	56:25
Label	Kiwi Records

Geezer is an unlicensed bootleg Weezer CD released by the Australian record label Kiwi Records in the Spring of 1995. It is deemed by band archivist and webmaster Karl Koch to be the first Weezer bootleg ever released.

Overview

The bootleg contains fan-recorded audio from Weezer's December 4, 1994 concert in New Britain, Connecticut. The performance includes songs from Weezer (The Blue Album), interspersed with an early performance of "Getchoo" (which would later appear on Pinkerton in 1996) as well as the B-side "Jamie".

Geezer was produced in the city of Findon, South Australia, by the record label Kiwi Records. The label is credited with numerous other bootleg releases from the mid-'90s for bands such as Nirvana, the Foo Fighters, Deep Purple, and other alt-rock contemporaries. The Weezer bootleg uses the same cover art as Weezer (The Blue Album), only with the heads of each member replaced with those of old men, conforming with the title. In its track listing, "Getchoo" is listed as "Get to My Heart" (a mishearing of the song's chorus), as the song's title was not yet publicly known. It is unknown how many copies were produced or how broadly it was distributed, however it is claimed that the CD appeared in an advertisement in the American music collecting magazine Goldmine, its price ranging around $25–30. The CD is now considered to be rare, and is coveted by some as a collector's item.

Legacy

It was first officially recognized by the band when it was mentioned in the Winter 1996 edition of Karl's Corner, a column ran by Karl Koch and (originally) featured in issues of the quarterly Weezer Fan Club publication Weezine. Here, Koch describes the release, ultimately dissuading readers from purchasing it. The bootleg's mention in the column is transcribed:

In other discographic news, it has come to my attention that there is a Weezer bootleg out there. I have seen and listened to this CD. It looks similar to the album at first glance, but says "Weezer...Geezer" across the top, and the guys' heads are replaced with random old men's heads. This CD was apparently made from a "homemade" audience recording at a show last winter at The Sung in New Britain, CT (not the show opening for Live in October 94 but the headlining show in December 1994, where Letters To Cleo and The Dambuilders opened). It doesn't sound too good and is by no means worth the 25 to 30 dollars it sells for. It does contain "getchoo" (listed as "get to my heart", apparently mistakenly interpreted from the line "get-choo, uh huh"). Despite this 'debut' and the general scarcity of live Weezer material out there, I must discourage the purchase of this CD, as not only is it of inferior quality at an outrageous price, but it's illegal and like all bootlegs, all the proceeds go to somebody who snuck in a tape recorder at the show. Unless you can get it for a fraction of its usual price, it really is a rip-off. Preferably only a few people will buy it and everyone else can tape it off of them. Thanks to Jeremy Crum for advance warning on all this. He wrote that he found it in an ad in Goldmine! Sheese! - Karl Koch, Weezine Issue #5 - Winter 1996

Later, in the Spring 1996 edition of the same column, Koch would give the bootleg a rating: "If 10=Album and 1=dog doo, I'll give it a 4. Listenable but annoying." In his online catalog of Weezer releases, the Collectors Discography, which existed on weezer.com from 2001 to 2014, Koch included Geezer as the first in a list of three "'old school' bootlegs", which he states "have attained some historical significance". The other CDs included were American Holiday and Rock Candy, both from later in 1995, which also see mention in early Karl's Corner editions.

Geezer was further canonized as Weezer's first bootleg when it was featured in the "Today in Weezer history" series of social media posts; originally, erroneously, on October 6, 2013 (the day of a different 1994 concert at the Sting), and then later on the correct date alongside the addition of information on American Holiday and Rock Candy. From the 'correction' post:

[...] TODAY'S headlining show at the Sting was illicitly recorded and later turned up on the spring 1995 unauthorized bootleg CD "Geezer", on the Kiwi Records "label". The shows setlist (CD tracklisting): 'intro', my name is jonas, no one else, the world has turned, buddy holly, in the garage, say it aint so, jamie, 'get to my heart' (erroneous title of the eventual Pinkerton track "Getchoo", which the band had introduced to their set around this time), only in dreams, undone, surf wax america. This was first ever weezer show to get bootlegged on CD - but it wouldn't be the last - also pictured here are #2, "American Holiday", and #3 "Rock Candy", both from later in 1995. Many more would follow in the 90s before everything went to Napster and such and bootleg CDs and LPs became just novelties for completest collectors. The 'Geezer' CD is quite rare today, but the audio from this show is not that hard to find as audio files online. - Karl Koch, "Today in Weezer history" (12/04/1994)

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Intro"	2:49
2.	"My Name Is Jonas"	3:17
3.	"No One Else"	3:28
4.	"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here"	4:10
5.	"Buddy Holly"	3:25
6.	"In the Garage"	5:19
7.	"Say It Ain't So"	4:45
8.	"Jamie"	4:06
9.	"Getchoo" (erroneously titled "Get to My Heart")	5:03
10.	"Only In Dreams"	10:52
11.	"Undone - The Sweater Song"	5:26
12.	"Surf Wax America"	3:45
Total length:		56:25

Gallery

• 

  Front cover

• 

  Back cover

• 

  Disc

• 

  Inside Art

See also

• Weezer concert: 12/04/1994
• List of unofficial bootlegs (physical)

External links

• Geezer on Discogs