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Rivers Cuomo

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Rivers Cuomo

Rivers Cuomo (born June 13, 1970) is a Grammy-nominated musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter of the rock band Weezer. He has also released work as a solo artist; he released his debut album, Alone - The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, in December 2007, which featured home demos that Cuomo has recorded from 1992-2007. Cuomo mainly plays electric guitar, and acoustic guitar, but he can also play drums, bass guitar, clarinet, harmonica, and piano.

Early years

Cuomo was born in a Manhattan hospital to parents of Italian and German/English descent and raised on an ashram run by the late yoga master Sri Swami Satchidananda in Pomfret, Connecticut.[1] His mother Beverly named him Rivers because he was born near the running river in New York. Beverly liked the sound of the running water and that's where she got her idea for his name.[2] His father Frank Cuomo was a musician who played drums on the album Odyssey of Iska by jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter.[2][3] For his early childhood he attended a private school on an ashram farm where his parents raised him and his brother Leaves.[4] Cuomo's parents moved to nearby Storrs, Connecticut when the ashram (known as Yogaville) was relocated to a plot of land along the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.[5] Cuomo attended Edwin Oscar Smith High School,[6] Santa Monica College,[7] Berklee School of Music,[8] and Harvard University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.[9] In high school Rivers played the role of Johnny Casino in the stage production of Grease.[10][11]

Musical projects

One of Cuomo's earliest music projects was a progressive metal band known as Avant Garde.[12] Cuomo played under the name Peter Kitts, Kitts being the surname of his stepfather. The band played several shows in Connecticut. He moved with the band to Los Angeles in March 1989.[13] In late 1989 Avant Garde changed its name to Zoom though the band dissolved in the late spring of 1990.[14][15] After a series of musical projects in Los Angeles, Cuomo formed Weezer on 14 February 1992 with members from '60 Wrong Sausages' including drummer Patrick Wilson. The original Weezer cast included Rivers Cuomo on vocals and guitar, Wilson on drums, Matt Sharp on bass, and Jason Cropper who at first played exclusively on acoustic guitar. Weezer signed with DGC, a subsidiary of Geffen Records, on 25 June 1993. They began recording Weezer (also known as The Blue Album) in August 1993 at Electric Lady Studios in New York with producer Ric Ocasek.

Like many other musicians Cuomo has had a very close relationship with his fans online. Throughout 2002 Cuomo frequently posted on Weezer message boards as 'Ace' to discuss music with fans. He once had a website called the 'Catalogue of Riffs' ('COR') in which he shared old demos of songs as well as scans of many personal items (letters, schedules, records).[16][17] Since 2003 he has kept a MySpace page in which he has posted many blog entries including his original admission essay and two subsequent readmission essays to Harvard. Additionally he uses his MySpace blog as a clearinghouse for clarifications, corrections, and addenda to interviews and press reports about him. (This has included responding to misinformation on his Wikipedia entry.[18])

For most of Weezer's existence, Cuomo has not been known for his on stage banter, offering only occasional comment or letting then bassist Matt Sharp do all the talking. Yet in late 2001 and throughout 2002 Cuomo became quite talkative onstage resulting in many strange and humorous statements.[19] The first leg of the band's 2005 Make Believe tour saw a return to more reserved stage behaviour but that fall's joint tour with Foo Fighters featured an appreciably more ambulant and emotive Cuomo.[citation needed]

In May 2007 Cuomo was named as a 'potential inductee' for the proposed Connecticut Music Hall of Fame.[20]

Musical output and techniques

Cuomo has written and recorded nearly 800 songs in his life,[17] either with Weezer, with earlier bands, or as self-recorded demos.[21] Of these songs, despite the large amount of unreleased material that has been made available by Cuomo on the internet, large chunks of his work remain unheard by fans. These include certain demos for The Blue Album,[22][23][24] various songs from the scrapped Songs from the Black Hole project,[25] over a hundred songs he composed and demoed throughout 1999[26][27][28] (songs which he has described as ranging from "drone-y Romantic," "abrasive dissonance" and "riffy pop-rock"[16]) and well over a hundred songs that didn't make the cut for Make Believe.[29][30] Recently on Cuomo's MySpace he began satisfying fans need to hear these unreleased demos "in the most legal way" he could by posting sheet music and lyrics for the Songs From the Black Hole tracks "She's Had A Girl", "Oh Jonas" and "Who You Callin' Bitch?" as well as the Blue Album-era demo "Getting Up and Leaving."

He has been known to use experimentation to inspire his writing, for example, fasting for a day and then writing a song, as he did on "Hold Me."[31] Cuomo has familiarity with a wide array of musical instruments: besides the guitar, he is also skilled at the piano, bass guitar (he frequently demoed songs on his own, a la the 1995 Fort Apache Studios Pinkerton demos, and can be seen playing the bass in the Weezer DVD Video Capture Device), clarinet, drums, and harmonica.

Cuomo has cited a wide variety of musical influences throughout the years, from artists as diverse as Kiss, Nirvana, Lou Barlow, Pixies, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Brian Wilson, and Giacomo Puccini. He took it upon himself to become a student of rock and pop music when in the late 90s, Cuomo created "The Encyclopedia of Pop" for himself, a three-ring binder which broke down the mechanics of pop and rock songs featuring songs by Nirvana, Green Day and Oasis.[32][33]

He is known to perform with customised Warmoth Stratocasters. Throughout his career he has frequently played Warmoth stratocasters that are covered in stickers.[34] Cuomo also notably played Gibson V's[35]and Explorers onstage in late 2001 and throughout parts of 2002 . Today, he almost exclusively plays a red Gibson SG with the Thai word Farang on it, meaning "a white foreigner."[36] The sticker is found on his SG with E flat tuning; a second SG, tuned to E, does not have this sticker.

Other bands

Before Weezer, Cuomo played in various music projects, including Avant Garde, Zoom, Sixty Wrong Sausages, and Fuzz. During a Weezer hiatus, Rivers formed a musical project called Homie, or by fans, the Rivers Cuomo Band, on certain dates in 1997 and 1998. Cuomo has contributed to recordings by various other musicians (Crazy Town, Cold, Mark Ronson). He also briefly managed the band AM Radio in 2002 and 2003.

In early 2004 he made a surprise appearance onstage with ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp at his California State University, Fullerton show to play two old Weezer favorites ("Say It Ain't So" and "Undone"), a rare Weezer demo that they worked on together ("Mrs. Young"), and a new song they wrote together, "Time Song." Also, Sharp announced that they might work on a collaborative record together. But later that year, Sharp announced on his website that although they had come up with "15 or 16 new song ideas, some good, some not so good" for their new album, their "special brand of dysfunctionality" kept them from finishing the project.[37]

Additionally, Cuomo has had cameos in a number of music videos. These include Crystal Method's "Murder" and the video for The Warlocks' "Cocaine Blues."

Personal life

Cuomo married Kyoko Ito on June 18, 2006, a woman he had known since March, 1997. He proposed to her in Tokyo shortly before Christmas of 2005.[38] The wedding was held at a secluded beach on Paradise Cove in Malibu and was attended by over a hundred people, including six of the seven members who played in Weezer (Mikey Welsh being the only no show) as well as notables Justin Fisher, Kevin Ridel and Rick Rubin.[39]

In a recent interview in Japan, when asked if he had a child, Cuomo replied with a yes. But it has not been confirmed on weezer.com if Cuomo has a child or not. [40] However he mentioned about having a daughter in his diary on Japanese website Mixi on February 13, 2008.

Numerous press clippings refer to the perception of Cuomo as having an affinity for Asian women.[41][42][31][43] One time in 1996, Cuomo himself said "I suppose it's fair to say I'm fascinated by Asian girls."[44]

Before Weezer, Cuomo worked as a roadie for King Size on their Guatemala tour before recording The Blue Album.[16]

Some of Cuomo's fashion trademarks include his horn-rimmed glasses and his lightning bolt guitar strap. He has sported a bowl cut, most notably in the music video for "Undone - The Sweater Song." Other notable fashion trends include sporting a life preserver-styled vest in early 2001, growing a thick beard in mid-2002[45] and a brief suit-and-tie phase in summer 2002.[46]

In 2003 he vowed to remain celibate for two years and said in late 2005 that not only has he succeeded, but he has continued past his self-imposed deadline. Cuomo said that his status as a rock star has not made avoiding sex difficult because Weezer "never had any serious groupies, anyway."[47] Also during this time, Cuomo began practicing Vipassana meditation. He considers his first Vipassana course in May 2003 to be "the turning point" of his life.[16] He soon after sold his house and car and began volunteering at a food bank serving HIV patients.[31]

Cuomo recently helped acquire music rights and provided financial support to a documentary titled The Dhamma Brothers about Vipassana mediation being instituted in an Alabama State Prison.[48]

Cuomo was born with his left leg 44 mm (1 3/4 in) shorter than his right leg. After the success of The Blue Album, Cuomo underwent a procedure to correct the condition. This involved the surgical breaking of the bone in his leg, followed by several months of wearing a steel brace which required self-administered "stretching" of the leg 4 times daily; Cuomo likened the ordeal to "crucifying (his) leg."[49] An x-ray of the leg is part of the album art for "The Good Life" single, and the experience inspired him to write the song. Cuomo can be seen wearing the brace on an episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, which can be found on their DVD "Video Capture Device".

Cuomo is a big fan of soccer. He can be seen as he is shown playing in the "Photograph" video and even planned his band's 2002 "World Cup Tour" around World Cup games. In 2006 reportedly wrote a song titled "Our Time Will Come" in tribute to the U.S. men's soccer team.[50] He claims his favorite player is Landon Donovan, enjoys watching the Premier League and is both a Los Angeles Galaxy and New England Revolution fan.[16]

During Weezer's hiatus between the albums Pinkerton and Weezer (Green Album), Cuomo had gotten braces on his teeth. They were evidently removed before the release of the Green Album.[51]

It's a popular misconception that Weezer is named after Rivers' supposed asthma. Rivers himself has openly admitted that although "Weezer" was his childhood nickname, it wasn't because he had asthma.[52]

Cuomo has announced that he is working on "an amazingly cool creative project that is just as much musical in nature as it is literary. It may or may not be released by a book publisher. It is not a 'memoir'."[53] Rivers has since revealed that the multimedia project will be an extremely detailed account of Cuomo's life from 1992 to May 10, 1994 including photos, journal entries and poems. This period of Cuomo's life will document the formation of Weezer through the release of their debut album. As of October 2007, the tome is already more than 400 pages in length.[54]

Cuomo is a vegetarian and a supporter of PETA.[citation needed]

Discography

With Weezer

Main article: Weezer discography

Solo albums

Guest contributions

References

  1. ^ Luerssen D., John. Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. ECW Press, 2004, ISBN 1-55022-619-3 p. 4
  2. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 3
  3. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Odyssey of Iska > Overview". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  4. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 5
  5. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 8
  6. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 15
  7. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 50
  8. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 22
  9. ^ "Rivers Cuomo's Harvard Graduation". Spin. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  10. ^ "Rivers 10.15 Interview with Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  11. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 20
  12. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 17
  13. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 31
  14. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 37
  15. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 40
  16. ^ a b c d e "Rivers Cuomo Fan Interview 2006". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "RCFI" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b "The RCDotCom Archive". weezed.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "COR" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Clarifications, Corrections, and Supplemental Materials". RiversCuomo.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  19. ^ "Weezer Riff-Raff". weezed.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Danton, Eric. "Connecticut Music Hall of Fame". courant.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  21. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 1". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  22. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 3". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  23. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 4". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  24. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 5". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  25. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 7". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  26. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 10". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  27. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 11". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  28. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 12". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  29. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 14". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  30. ^ Koch, Karl. "The Weezer Recording History: Page 15". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  31. ^ a b c Sullivan, Kate. "I, Songwriter: Rivers Cuomo and the search for the perfect hook". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  32. ^ Eliscu, Jenny. "Rivers Cuomo's Encyclopedia of Pop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  33. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 270
  34. ^ "Rivers: Outlook Tour Equipment". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  35. ^ "Rivers: Extended Midget Tour Equipment". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  36. ^ Atlas, David. "Weezer: Photo Gallery: Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  37. ^ "Note To Fans From Matt Sharp". In Music We Trust. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  38. ^ Chen, Lena (2006-12-21). "Hey, Rivers Cuomo! What did you do for Valentine's Day?". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  39. ^ "06/18/06 kongurachure-shonzu". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  40. ^ "Rivers Cuomo Interview with the Japanese Press". riverspodcast.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  41. ^ Goodman, Elizabeth (2006-12-21). ""Rivers Reveals Squeamish Response To Violence, Thing For Danity Kane"". Rolling Stone Rock & Roll Daily. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  42. ^ Chang, Vickie (2006-11-08). "Asian Fever: They got it bad, and that ain't good". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  43. ^ Inoue, Todd (2004-10-22). "Half Japanese Girls, Unite". Hyphen Blog. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  44. ^ Goldberg, Michael and Clare Kleinedler (1996-12-01). "Weezer Revealed: The Rivers Cuomo Interview". Addicted to Noise. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  45. ^ Canova, Tara. "Weezer: Photo Gallery: Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  46. ^ Vassallo, Edward. "Weezer/ Dashboard Confessional: Concert Review". Music Head. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  47. ^ Kandell, Steve. "Dear Superstar: Rivers Cuomo". Blender. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  48. ^ "The Dhamma Brothers". Frizzy Logic. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  49. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 148–149
  50. ^ Montgomery, James. "Rivers Cuomo Says Weezer Are 'Done' For Now — Again". MTV. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  51. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 280
  52. ^ Karafin, Amy. "Rivers in the Stream". Tricycle. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  53. ^ "Weezer's Rivers Cuomo Publishing Diaries?". Chart Attack. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  54. ^ Heisel, Scott. "Web Exclusive: A conversation with Rivers Cuomo". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  55. ^ Erlewine, Stephen. "Meet The Deedles > Overview". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  56. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 257
  57. ^ D'Angelo, Joe. "Weezer's Rivers Cuomo Records With Crazy Town". MTV. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  58. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Year of the Spider > Overview". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  59. ^ Collar, Matt. "Here Comes the Fuzz > Overview". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  60. ^ "Brian Bell Fan Interview 2006". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2007-10-17.

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