Weezer

Weezer biography

Weezer is an American alternative rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1992. The band now consists of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals, keyboards). The band has changed lineups several times since its formation in 1992. They have released seven full-length albums, six EPs, and a DVD. Weezer have sold more than nine million records in the US to date.

The band is best known for their successful singles The band took an experimental approach for the recording process of their fourth album by allowing fans to download demos from their official website in return for feedback. After the release of the album, the band said that this process was somewhat of a failure, as the fans did not supply them with cohesive, constructive advice. Cuomo eventually delegated song selection for the album to the band's original A&R rep, Todd Sullivan, saying that Weezer fans chose the "wackest songs." Only the song "Slob" was included on the album due to general fan advice.

The recording was also done without input from Weezer's record label, Interscope. Cuomo had recently had what he then described as a "massive falling out" with the label. In early 2002, well before the official release of the album, the label sent out a letter to radio stations requesting the song be pulled until an official, sanctioned single was released. Interscope also briefly shut down Weezer's audio/video download webpage, removing all the MP3 demos. Online Weezer fans staged a brief protest, with several websites proclaiming "Free Maladroit".

In April 2002, former bassist Matt Sharp sued the band, alleging, among several accusations, that he was owed money for cowriting several Weezer songs. The suit was later settled out of court.

The fourth album, Maladroit, was released on May 14, 2002, only one year after its predecessor. The album served as a harder-edged version of the band's trademark catchy pop-influenced music, and was replete with busy 1980s-style guitar solos. Although met with generally positive critical reviews, its sales were not as strong as those for "The Green Album". Two singles were released from the album. The music video for "Dope Nose" featured an obscure Japanese motorcycle gang, and was put into regular rotation. The music video for "Keep Fishin'" combined Weezer with The Muppets, and had heavy rotation on MTV. Both videos were directed by Marcos Siega.

As soon as Maladroit had wrapped up, the band immediately began work on their fifth album, recording numerous demos between tours (often recording as many as 24 songs in a day). These songs were eventually scrapped, and Weezer took a break after the release of two albums in quick succession. During this break, Bell and Wilson released LPs from their respective side projects Space Twins and The Special Goodness.

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