Weezer History

When looking back at the nineties, the period of a million alt rock bands, only a few records really made a cultural impact. Green Day's with Dookie, The Offspring's with Smash, Nirvana's with Nevermind, and Weezer's self-titled debut of course.

The best part of loving a band for a long long time is being able to see all the band's done to progress and become the band they are today. And one of the best offenders of this opinion is Weezer.

Weezer, the best band ever, was formed February 14, 1992 at 1711 Stoner Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Although unnamed, Weezer were actually unofficially formed far earlier.

On February 14, Valentine Day, Weezer held their first rehearsal at a local studio. At the time, the band's lineup was:
Rivers Cuomo - Lead vocals, Electric Guitar
Patrick Wilson - Drums
Jason Cropper - Acoustic Guitar
Matt Sharp - Bass

Cuomo said, "When we first started practicing, I mean from our very first rehearsal, I thought to myself, 'We're amazing. This is incredible! Everybody's going to love us!" Matt felt differently. "We were doing this just because we liked the music. Not because we were all great at what we did. It was like, 'Wow, we suck. We don't know how to play well and we're not together.' But it was probably the most pure experience I'd been through as far as dealing with people. It was great."

Weezer continued to play clubs around Los Angeles throughout the remainder of 1992. On August 1, 1992 Weezer recorded The Kitchen Tape, It featured their five most professional songs, in November, Weezer recorded their third demo album. Fans refer to this album as The Real Demo. The next month on December 11, Weezer played a show with Carnival Art and met Brian Bell. Although at the time it seemed rather insignificant, Brian's skills would stick in the minds of the band and he would eventually be asked to join.

After recording The Kitchen Tape in hopes of creating interest in L.A., Weezer eventually attracted attention from major-label A&R reps looking for alternative rock bands while performing on the same bill as the band that dog.

On August 11, the band flew to New York City at the request of Ric and recorded a practice demo with Ric Ocasek. While prepping for the studio sessions, the band focused on their vocal interplay by practicing barbershop quartet-styled songs, which helped both lead singer Rivers Cuomo and bassist Matt Sharp achieve a newfound collaborative comfort during rehearsals. Sharp, who never sang before joining Weezer, gained his falsetto background vocal abilities. "I had to sing an octave higher than Rivers. After a lot of practice, I started to get it down." Fifteen songs were rehearsed for the album during early practice sessions in New York in preparation for the Electric Lady Studios album recording. Ten of the songs appear on the album, but four of the songs were cut: "Lullaby for Wayne", "I Swear It's True", "Getting Up and Leaving", and a reprise version of "In The Garage." The other song, "Mykel and Carli", was attempted during the Electric Lady sessions, but was also abandoned. It would be recorded a year later and became a popular B-side, and eventually get a proper release on the "Undone - The Sweater Song" single.