Guitar World interview with Rivers Cuomo - May 2002

Brian Bell and Rivers Cuomo sat for an interview with Guitar World magazine in May of 2002. The interview has attained some infamy, as it documents Cuomo at his most antagonistic toward Weezer's die-hard fan community. The term "little bitches" has been used as a kind of badge of pride among folks on Weezer message boards since the interview's publication.
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==Transcript==
Guitar World
May 2002.
Odder Than Hell
He use to look just like Buddy Holly but these days alternative-music icon Rivers Cuomo prefers to be compared to Ace Frehley and Van Halen. In an exclusive interview, Weezer's rugged individualist explains his need to shed his sensitive-guy image and rock like a hurricane.
Rivers Cuomo has decided not to leave his hotel. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue- the Weezer frontman deserves to do what he wants to do on a rare day off from the group's current arena-hopping Hyper Extended Midget Tour 2002. On this day, however, Cuomo is scheduled to be at New York City photo studio for a Guitar World shoot. The guitarist, who essentially manages Weezer himself these days, is fully aware that he agreed to the appointment, but he has suddenly changed his mind. Guitar World can still photograph him, but it will have to to be done in the hotel. And that, as they say, is that.
Sheeny Bang, Cuomo's harried assistant- the person through which virtually all communication with the singer occurs- is appropriately apologetic but goes to great pain to stress the finality of her boss' decision. "He just doesn't want to leave the hotel", she says. "And I know him well enough to know that he's not going to change his mind". None of the normal rock star excuses- sore throat, extreme fatigue- are proffered. Rivers has spoken, and in the world of Weezer, what Rivers says is law.
"Too many musicians kiss the industry's ass and are led around by their managers or record companies, which I think will eventually kill a band", Rivers explains following the shoot, which like our interviews, takes place in the hotel room. "We focus on what we do: playing Weezer shows and making Weezer albums. Everything else is just kind of an annoyance.
For most bands, this sort uncooperative behavior would have devastating results. But Weezer exists outside of the system. In the decade since it first convened in a Hollywood rehearsal hall, the band has amassed an army of fanatically devoted fans who allow the group to make Platinum records and fill arenas without having to resort to traditional promotional measures and undue boot licking.
Not that any- least not the band members- could have predicted Weezer would have attained such success. Following the 1996 release of their sophomore album, Pinkerton, it seemed the band was doomed to follow an all-too-predictable career arc. Weezer's 1994 self-titled debut had become an unqualified smash on the strength of two bubbly singles, "Undone (The Sweater Song)" and "Buddy Holly" and their novel Spike Jonze-directed videos. Like many musicians who are thrust ill-prepared into the spotlight, Cuomo found himself rattled by success and worn down by the vicissitudes of life on the road. When his promotional duties for Weezer were completed, he retreated from the rock world and enrolled at Harvard University, where he majored in music. Weezer record Pinkerton during breaks in the academic year, but the aggressively noisy, heartrending disc failed to generate any enthusiasm at radio stations or in the industry upon release. Cuomo was devastated by Pinkerton's failure and the lesson it taught: that an artist could bare his soul- indeed, scream at the top of his lungs- and no one in particular will bother to listen. Adding to Cuomo's burdens was the ire of his bandmates, who felt that his refusal to repeat the fun-loving song and video-formula of the first album was costing them their career.
"When the second record didn't do so well, everyone wanted to blame someone, and the person to blame, obviously, was me" Cuomo recalls. "Everyone formulated their own theories as to why I was an asshole, and one of the guys (original Weezer bassist Matt Sharp) even left the band. Since then I've gained a lot more confidence. I can stand up for myself and basically say, "This is the direction I want to in. I don't care what happens in terms of album sales, but I'd love to have you come along".
The confidence that Cuomo now wields can be tributed to the fact that, in the five years following its real and its commercial failure, Pinkerton enjoyed something that seems almost impossible to achieve in this day and age of overexposure: a slow burn. While Cuomo retreated into academia and the remaining original members of Weezer occupied themselves with a variety of musical projects, the album that had been written off as a flop continued to sell and sell, largely by word of mouth. Half of a million copies later, it has been a corner stone for a new brand of nice-guy guitar rock (some call it @#%$) that wears its heart and sweet sentiment on its sleeve.
Buoyed by the grass-roots support for Pinkerton, Cuomo slowly reactiveated the band. Says Bell, "I knew that when Rivers came back from Boston and was ready to work again we were going to kick all kinds of ass." He was right: a 2001 tour sponsored by internet giant Yahoo! should out almost immediately, and Pinkerton's long-awaited and untitled follow-up- referred to as the "Green Album" by fans and band alike- reestablished the group as a commercial entity to be reckoned with, even while it clocked in at less than 30 minutes and lacked the fire and depth of the group's previous albums. "That record was about reaffirming what Weezer is", Bell says as a way to explain what some might view as the album's shortcomings. "Now we can move forward".
And they certainly have. After an extended period of hibernation, Weezer- with new member Scott Shriner on bass- have become downright hyperactive. No later then one year since the group released the "Green Album" the group is poised to release Maladroit (Geffen), a new album that eschews the sugary sheen of the Green Album for growling-hard rock infused riffs, squeaking guitar solos and lyrics that dole out equal doses of pain and pleasure. Cuomo grew up on commercial hard rock outfits like Van Halen, the Scorpions and Kiss, as well as progressive hard metal bands like Yngwie Malmsteen (which explains why he was more than happy to wear a Malmsteen t-shirt and hold a genuine Van Halen guitar for his Guitar World photo shoot). And, as it happens, he's been itching to introduce hard rock histrionics and hot licks into songs like the bone crushing "Fall Together' or the sinister "Take Control". "This record is all about my desire to let the guitar fly", he says with a devilish grin.
And what if Maladroit's edgier sound fails to propel Weezer to the top of the charts? Cuomo, it seems, would rather have it that way. "I never wanted to get bigger than we could control", he says. "I like the feeling that we have our nice, happy little routine down, where we're exploring creatively and there's no pressure on us to have to meet or exceed sales figures based on some tremendous hit. Right now everyone's it, and everyone's having fun".
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