Recording History - Page 3

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The Weezer recording history: Page 3

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2/15/92 : weezer rehearses together for the first time

On 2/15/92 Rivers, Pat, Jason (on acoustic guitar, which he would retain untill late fall 1992), and Matt (newly arrived from Berkeley, CA), got together at T.K. rehersal studios, in West LA, and rehearsed for 2 or 3 days straight. On the 2nd or 3rd day, somebody rolled tape for a while...

Note that weezer wasnt actually named yet. On the original tape the following band names were all crammed on the label, a joke on how no one could decide on the name for the band yet. Some were old names, such as "Fuzz", but there was also such notables as "Meathead", "Outhouse", and "Hummingbird", and I know some other names being kicked around were "the Big Jones" and "This Niblet", and something like "The Leafy Green Reefer Machine".

3rd practice, 2/16/92
song comments
"I Can't Forget the Way" first group recording ever
"Undone - The Sweater Song"
"Underground" never quite 60WS, never quite settled in as a ~W~ track
"2 to Tango" "it takes two, to pack yourself a sandwich for lunch..."
"Thief, You've Taken All That Was Me" "thief, of silent dreams...."
"Mega Man" partial take that breaks down, Pat vocals
"Colmusheen" "cold machines..."
"Close Your Eyes and Gimme a Kiss"
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" cut off at end- tape cut off
"Spiderbitch" originally Fuzz, then 60WS, now weezer
"Chasm" heavy as hell
"Ain't Got No Words" originally Fuzz, then 60WS, now weezer
"The Biggest Animal" originally Fuzz, then 60WS, now weezer
"Answer Man" originally Fuzz, then 60WS, now weezer


1st show Thursday, March 19th, '92

(Sadly, no recording exists. The show is mentioned here for historical reference only)

This took place at Raji's, a club on Hollywood Boulevard, later made famous from the photo on that Nirvana 7". The show happened quite suddenly. The band somehow got offered an opening slot for Keanu Reeves's then-brand-new band, Dogstar. Apparently there was no show booked that night at all, and when Dogstar asked to play, there was a need for some opening acts to try and beef up the draw earlier on in the night. Meanwhile the as-yet-unnamed weezer was itching to start playing out, and started calling around that day to try and book some gigs. The guy at Raji's said "how about tonight?", and so it was. They only needed to come up with a band name at this point, and a major brainstorming session ensued. In the end, Rivers stuck with his "weezer" suggestion, and everyone else couldn't quite come up with something that sounded more distinctive. The band called everyone they knew, and got 17 people to show up and watch. Not bad! The other significant event of the day was the moving in of Rivers, Matt and their friend Justin Fisher to the "Amherst House" in West LA. This is the site of "the" garage, where much weezer rehearsals and recording would take place, and eventually the "Say It Ain't So" video would be filmed.

Songs that were played for sure during the approx. 30 min. set were....

and possibly:

2nd show 3/30/92 at the Whiskey a Go Go, in Hollywood

This short show was taped by Karl

3rd show 4/7/92 at the 8121 club

This was the first of numerous acoustic shows the band would play. Pat had just a hi-hat and snare (using brushes), Matt turned his bass way down, and Rivers and Jason played acoustic guitars. Taped by Karl.

4th show 4/13/92 at the Whiskey "no bozo jam night" (short sets)

Taped by Karl.

Late Spring 1992

  • "Martha" (ver. 1) live to microcassette - Pat W: acoustic guitar and vocals, Karl: vocal

This silly song was significant only because it was the first of a long spontaneous somgwriting collaboration between Pat Wilson and Karl (and occasionally Pat Finn too). This team-up eventually became known as Southern Fried Swing. Over the course of 1992-1997, about 50-60 tapes were made, mostly done while on the road with weezer, in hotel rooms and on the bus. Most songs centered around very low-quality beginners' keyboards, found at Salvation Armys and Radio Shacks. I mention all this here due to the impossibility of keeping track of all the recording that has gone into this project.

March-April '92 Pat Wilson 4 track master tape

This is mostly unknown material. I suspect that this tape was forgotten about or lost for a while.

3+4/92 Pat Wilson 4 track master tape
song comments
"Unfamiliar" (prototype) "Unfamiliar" is the song's real name, not a comment
mellow instrumental ="Autumn", I think
unknown instrumental no vocals, shows up nowhere else
"Unfamiliar" (prototype 2)
mellow instrumental #2 w/ evil ending intentional guitar shredding sabotages this attempt
jangly instrumental w/ added "hey hey baby" nonsense at end
(ultra early prototype of) "Somebody Else" no vocals, choruses would much later become S.G.'s "Somebody Else"
(ultra early inst. prototype #2 of) "Somebody Else" another attempt, no vocals
unknown fast tempo instrumental yet another vocal-less song that shows up nowhere else
slow instrumental distinguished by a vaguely "Undone"-ish guitar figure
fast tempo instrumental perhaps a prototype, but I cant quite place it
very nice slow tempo instrumental w/ classic 1-4-5 progression


APRIL(?) 1992 An early band practice, taped in "the garage"

On a few occasions, the guys rolled tape during their practices in the garage, for later scrutiny and study. As far as I can tell, this occasion was taped on Rivers's 8-track, but was all put down directly to 2 track, as a once-and-final mix. Good sound quality was not the goal, as it was not a demo.

4/'92 garage practice tape
song comments
"Only in Dreams" (sounds too rough to be played out yet)
(discussion)
«Why Can't You Be There?» take 1 early version. no vocals. this attempt breaks down
(discussion)
«Why Can't You Be There?» take 2 early ver. no vocals. almost complete
(discussion including working on guitar parts)
"My Name Is Jonas" take 1 (Rivers comments: "sweet jonas") (rough, breaks down part way)
"My Name Is Jonas" take 2 (still sounds too rough to be played out yet)
(discussion)
"Only She Can Hold My Hand" This was a combo of a Sharp/Cuomo collaboration combined with a part that Wilson had come up with.

(Pat's part became the S.G.'s "A Fortunate Mistake")
(This take is just pat's part, no chorus, no vocals)

«Windows Down» AKA «Paper Bag in the Back Seat» («Hitchhiker»?) apparently a Rivers song, possibly written as a band
"Only She Can Hold My Hand" this attempt was just the Rivers/Matt chorus part only
"Only She Can Hold My Hand" semi-complete with Pat's verses, and Rivers/Matt's choruses merged)
"Let's Sew Our Pants Together" (fragment, possibly a later session)


5/7/92 weezer show #6 (? probably 6th show), at Club Dump

This show was videotaped. (track list currently unavailable)

5/11/92 1st Dum Dums show since August '91

Both Pats play. Not recorded. mentioned here to show the bizarre diversity of projects going on even after weezer started gaining some momentum.

March- May 1992: various 8 track recordings

Mostly Rivers tracking everything, some with Pat W. writing input and/or drumming

song comments
"Superman" (Original lyrics to "The Road My Father Paved", below: early mixdown) 5/92
"The Road My Father Paved" these vocals were taped over the original "Superman" ones on the master 5/92
"Why Are We?" a weird Rivers song, possibly not intended for weezer at all. 5/92
"Paperface" Rivers's very different original version. 5/92
"Say It Ain't So" Rivers, somewhere between March and June 1992
"Say It Ain't So" different version. master tape is missing. exact date unknown
"Why Can't You Be There?" Rivers and Pat (Pat goes bonkers at the end, hilarious lyrics)
"Dawn Sets Upon Us" master tape is missing. exact date unknown. Music by Pat, lyrics by Rivers.
«Simply State (and the Girl Will Follow You)» intro riff later becomes the riff in "El Scorcho"

5/21/92 7th show at the 8121club

Another acoustic performance at 8121. Karl tapes, starting with some nonsense in the car on the way to the club!

5/?/92 Weezer Demo #1 (of 3)

Somewhere in May the band decided it was time to prepare a demo tape, to try and book shows at a wider range of clubs in LA. The whole band recorded their parts in layers, on Rivers's 8 track. A few copies were made on whatever blank cassettes were lying around, and given to several clubs to try and get shows booked. made in the garage

Demo #1 5/92
song comments
"Thief, You've Taken All That Was Me" (all 3 songs were the best recording they'd made to date, but they were still a little shaky....)
"Let's Sew Our Pants Together"
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here"


early June 1992: taped garage practice #2

Another rehearsal recording, put direct to 2 tracks

6/92 band practice
song comments
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" (country twang vox near the end by R.C.)
"My Name Is Jonas" raging!
"Superman"/"The Road My Father Paved" lyrics are a combination of the 2 demo versions
"Dawn Sets Upon Us" (possibly the only remaining recording of this song)
"Only in Dreams" getting it together
"Say It Ain't So" (beginning is cut off)
"Paperface" (false start, then full version)
(comments at end) J.C.: "let's play "The Biggest Animal" now!"; others: "(laughter, groans, etc)"


6/10/92 : 8th show at English Acid, Hollywood

This was taped off the mixing board, the vocals are too loud in relation to the rest of the mix.

6/11/92 : 9th show another 8121 acoustic show

Karl's "bootleg"

Brian records another Carnival Art record, May+June 1992

Meanwhile Brian (who was not to meet the other weezer guys till December), went into Greene Street Recording Studios in New York City, with Carnival Art, to record what I believe is their second album (I do know for a fact that it's their final album.)

This album was released on the Beggars Banquet in fall 1992.

By this time, Keith (the drummer, who would later drum for Shufflepuck) had left the band. Ed, however, was still in.

7/9/92 : Show #11 (?) Another Club Dump show

videotaped

7/18/92 : 12th show Another acoustic show at the 8121.

Karl's "bootleg"

7/27/92 show #13 at Hollywood's Coconut Teaszer

videotaped by Karl

Summer 1992: Rivers 8 Tracks

July and August multitracked recordings by Rivers...
song comments
"The Purification of Water" (the first of several attempts- Rivers was never satisfied. not sure if intended for weezer
«The Bottle of Wine Song» was in fact played live once at a Coconut teaszer show. Pat music, Rivers lyrics.
"Please Sweet Peepers" a REALLY weird and funny "vocal exercise"
"No One Else" (8/92) Master is missing
«Why Do We Hurt Each Other?» not sure if band ever tried this one


8/1/92 weezer demo tape #2; AKA "The Kitchen Tape" AKA "weezers 1st ablum"

This was a more serious attempt at getting a demo put down on tape. the name The Kitchen Tape started because the drums were recorded in the kitchen , adjacent to "the" garage. This sounded good but sure bummed out the neighbors!

The purpose of this tape was once again, to get shows and also try and make an impression. There were no aspirations yet to try and generate real label interest, but the concept of "creating a buzz" was being thrown around. About 12 copies were made back in the day, on whatever blank cassettes that were lying around.

Somehow, 5 of these songs were at some point "leaked" out, and are fairly well available now as mp3's (or will be soon). To avoid future questions, I've included an extra column on the chart below. The "booted?" column refers to which songs are the 5 mentioned here. A "yes" indicates so.

Note that not all the songs in this chart were part of the "final product". This chart represents the contents and labeling of the original 8 track master tapes. The "final product" demo tape included, in some cases, just the the 5 songs that are now mp3's. In other versions the demo was 8 songs, with the addition of "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here", "Undone - The Sweater Song" and "Say It Ain't So"

Please note that "Thief, You've Taken All That Was Me" has been mis-labeled "Silent Dreams" in many cases.

Demo #2 ("The Kitchen Tape")
song on final demo? (if yes, demo sequence #) bootlegged? comments
(drum sounds) no no incl "World Has Turned" test instrumental
"Let's Sew Our Pants Together" yes, #3 yes
"Let's Sew Our Pants Together" (alt.) no no (no vocals)
"Only in Dreams" (#1-abandoned) no no master taped over/no mix exists
"No One Else" (unfinished) no no no vocals, no guitar
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" yes, #8 no
"Thief, You've Taken All That Was Me" yes, #1 yes
"My Name Is Jonas" yes, #2 yes
"Say It Ain't So" yes, #6 no
"Say It Ain't So" (alternate) no no no vocals
"Paperface" yes, #5 yes
"Undone - The Sweater Song" yes, #4 no
"Only in Dreams" (#2, abandoned) no no master taped over, no mix exists
"Only in Dreams" (#3) yes, #7 yes
«I Said So» no no possibly all Rivers playing, a long forgotten demo


8/12/92: show #14 Another at the Coconut Teaszer

Karl "bootlegs"

8/13 - 8/16, 1992 northern california tour

Karl's home videos

mid August '92- early Sept. '92 Rivers 8 tracks

None of these turned up till much later, possibly never intended for weezer

summer/fall 1992 8 tracks:

9/15/92 : 1st live performance of "No One Else" at the Coconut Teaszer

Unfortunately no recording has turned up for this show, which was in my opinion, a turning point for the band. They played tighter than ever before, had a better sound, and (after internal debate) debuted "No One Else", a song that started to steer the band in a previously invisible direction.


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