THIS VAN’S A-ROCKIN’ ON THE NEW VAN WEEZER.
IVEN THE FACT THAT WEEZER’S LATEST ALBUM IS called Van Weezer (this from a band that has famously fashioned its flying “W” logo after Van Halen’s iconic “VH” wings), one might easily assume that the group’s front-man, lead guitarist and songwriter, Rivers Cuomo, is an avowed fan of the late six-string legend and company. This is a notion that he immediately puts to rest.
“Honestly, I’m not the Van Halen guy in the band,” he states emphatically. “I don’t really know anything about them. I got seriously into music and guitar with the micro generation right after Van Halen, so that would’ve been Ratt, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Metallica. The other guys in Weezer were all super into Van Halen.”
Interesting. However, the album is called Van Weezer, so one might surmise that in some way, even tangentially, it’s a tribute to Van Halen. Right? Cuomo chews on that for a second, and, without sounding the least bit coy, says, “Well, it could be Van Beethoven or Van Morrison. The first person I mentioned the record to said, ‘Oh, it’s a Beethoven reference.’ The second person said, ‘Oh, it’s a Van Morrison reference.’” Finally, he owns up to it: “But you’re right. It’s a tip of the hat to probably the best-known band in the mainstream public consciousness to represent guitar shreddage.”
is the band’s second full-length release in 2021; earlier this year, the foursome (which also includes guitarist Brian Bell, bassist Scott Shriner and drummer Patrick Wilson) issued the transporting, orchestral-pop set (yes, its title is a winking nod to Radiohead’s ). As it turns out, both albums were supposed to come out last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into Weezer’s plans. “This is confusing even to me,” Cuomo admits, “so let me figure this out. We started in 2018, and we were pretty much done. We started thinking about a release date and putting together a theater tour with an orchestra. Just then, our manager called and said, ‘Great news. You guys just got booked on the Hella Mega Tour with Green Day and Fall Out Boy, and you’re
