here are the band members of weezer speaking re: themselves.
name: rivers cuomo
birthday: june 13th, 1970
sign: gemini
rivers on rivers: "my name is rivers cuomo. i'm 23 and i sing and play guitar in weezer..." "i grew up in various little farm towns in upstate connecticut, completely sheltered from anything remotely "cool." at 18, i freaked out and moved to los angeles to become a rock star. i soon realized that i was an idiot and gave up. at the same time, my girlfriend broke up with me. i was really sad and started to write songs. most of them sucked, but it became a habit that stuck with me. because I'm so terrible at expressing my feelings directly, and because no one really cares, and because anything real is impossible to talk about, i've come to rely on music more and more to express myself.
name: brian bell
birthday: december 9th, 1968
sign: sagittarius
brian on brian: "raised in tennessee, little brian knew he wanted to be a rock star at an early age. lucky enough to catch and elvis (presley, that is) concert at the age of four, he wanted nothing else but to be a hounddog. studying "geetar" pickin' on tv from such fine eastern tennessee programs as "the barneyloo and buster show" and, of course, "hee haw," little brian learned how to pick 'n' grin on a ukelele his grandma won at a bingo game. brian's dad, a wacky absent-minded professor and ex-college dj, turned him onto cool music he had from the 50's and 60's. so, armed with his first turntable, a fisher price lo-fi stereo system, little brian managed to scratch and destroy most of dad's valuable 45's. as brian grew older, he began to feel isolated and out-of-place with the other reindeer. while the "normal" tennessee boys were out hunting possum, chewing tobacco and making up fish stories, he preferred to stay home and watch billy mumy movies. ah, movies, music and show biz. Why was it all based in one glorious place -- los angeles? so, just like the clampetts, brian packed up my bags and moved to yucca St., hollywired (cause everyone he met at first was on crystal meth.) not at all like the movies."
name: mikey welsh
birthday: april 20, 1971
sign: taurus
mikey on mikey: "i was born on april 20, 1971 in syracuse, new york. i have hazel eyes and dark brown hair. some of the bands i listen to are: the cow, flaming lips, unsane, slint, chet baker, drive like jehu...um, what else? oh, some bands i've played and toured with are: juliana hatfield, chevy heston, jocobono, heretix...i have tattoos all over my arms - that's one of my occasional hobbies. i also enjoy eating sushi, going out for cocktails with my friends, movies, sleeping late, cigarettes, girls, shopping (shoes, clothes, etc.)i'm sure you're getting the picture here."
name: patrick wilson
birthday: february 1, 1969
sign: aquarius
patrick on patrick: "my name is patrick wilson and i play drums for weezer. as i write this on a friday morning, i'm listening to our cd. it's a good feeling, but very strange. four years ago i was a guy with a bad haircut from buffalo, new york. the music scene there is lame, consisting largely of cover bands and bad metal. it seems that musicians in small towns have a gunslinger attitude that is also faintly bitter. some of them just have attitude. i decided to quit my day job and move to los angeles with my new friend pat finn (pat is responsible for us knowing each other.) after many growing pains, weezer was formed. since then, i've tried to understand what it means to be in a band. all i know about music is instinctual or from a record; i haven't witnessed much live music. as far as i can tell, being in a band can be just as important as any other occupation -- and so far, it's far more rewarding. we recorded this with ric ocasek and chris shaw at electric lady in n.y. i loved the experience and feel honored to have worked with them. the record sounds the way it does because the drums aren't the loudest thing in the mix. some how, phil collins' style of recording has taken over, and we didn't want that. the only effects used are fuzz bass on "in the garage" and a little compression here and there. Certainly not as much as they put on ringo. our live show is different from the record in terms of sheer power, so c'mon out when we roll through yer town. thanks for listening."
