Jennifer Vineyard
February 4, 2000

Weezer's Rivers Cuomo sets the record straight on
the band's going-ons
 

Disputing a rumor posted on a Smashing Pumpkins Web site
earlier this week, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo says that D'Arcy
(who vacated her SP post last September) has not joined up with
his band. In fact, former Julianna Hatfield bass-player Mikey Welsh,
who joined the band after Matt Sharp's departure in 1998, remains
the band's bassist at large. "I have no idea how they got that idea [about
D'Arcy]," Cuomo said. "But I like to hear crazy rumors. Didn't I die in
a car accident? My mom called me about that one -- she was really concerned.
And then there was the time I raped someone. My mom also called me about
that: 'I'm so disappointed in you!' But she doesn't call me
about them anymore. I banned her from the Internet."

Perhaps some of the speculation stemmed from Weezer's relative absence
from the music scene. The band's other members have been busy with
side projects (guitarist Brian Bell in the Space Twins, Welsh and
drummer Pat Wilson in Special Goodness). And other than contributing a cover of
"Velouria" to the Pixies tribute album Where Is My Mind? on indie label
Glue Factory last spring, Weezer has been rather quiet. The band's anticipated
third album, the follow-up to 1996's Pinkerton, had been expected to come out
on Geffen last year. Industry shakeups may have delayed things, as the band's
longtime Geffen A&R rep lost his position in the Universal Music Group
merger.

Meanwhile, Cuomo is still working on songs for the
album. Having relocated from Boston, he recently
bought a house in Los Angeles, where he hopes to
convert the garage into a studio. However, Cuomo
doesn't plan to start recording until his braces come
off -- which won't be for at least another six months.
"I've got the accelerated program with high-tension
wires," he says. "It hurts twice as much, but it's
worth it. But it makes it tough to sing. I can't get out
certain words clearly, like 'free.' And who wants to
be on MTV with braces?"

Cuomo is vague about the new material. A hint of
things to come, albeit an ironic one, was found on
the band's Web site (www.weezer.net). It cited a
comment supposedly posted Dec. 19 by someone
claiming to be Cuomo on amazon.com (though it's
no longer there): "Our new album will be out soon,
and if you want a preview, let's just say 'Weezer
meets hip-hop and funk.'" Cuomo himself will only
say that it sounds like "Weezer."

Which Weezer, though? The undeniably catchy,
irony-rich Weezer from the band's debut (which
yielded four hits and sold two million copies)? Or the
Weezer from Pinkerton, which is much more
serious and bitter? "A bit of both," he says.
"It's pretty much the same old thing. It's good."