Brian Bell

Brian Lane Bell (born December 9, 1968, Iowa City, Iowa) is an American musician and singer/songwriter, best known as the rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist for Weezer. He has also fronted the rock bands the Relationship and Space Twins.
Bell, who previously played bass guitar for the band Carnival Art, joined Weezer in 1993, during production of the band's eponymous debut album, following the departure of founding member Jason Cropper. Bell has occasionally sung lead vocals on Weezer tracks, and is a credited songwriter on several songs, including "L.A. Girlz" and "Thought I Knew."
==Early life==
Brian Bell was born in Iowa City, Iowa to parents Tom Bell, a geography professor at the University of Tennessee,Dr. Thomas L. Bell | Department of Geography, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Archived by Wayback Machine from the original. and Linda Menasco, an elementary school assistant principal.Luerssen, John D. Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. 2004. ECW Press He was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. He first gravitated to music at the age of four when his parents took him to an Elvis Presley concert at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. Soon after, Bell became obsessed with his father's record collection, playing them constantly. At a young age, Bell asked his mother to let him take piano lessons, refusing to let him take guitar lessons until high school because she "wouldn't believe that he would practice." Eventually, during his freshman year in high school, his parents allowed him to take guitar lessons from Knoxville musician Ben Bolt. Bell first performed with brothers Glenn and Tim Maloof (later of Space Twins) during this time, playing in a group called the Blue Shrooms.Beyond, Chris. "NO-FI 'MAGAZINE' interview with Space Twins" 1998.Karl's Corner - Spring 1997
==Music career==
===Carnival Art===
At the age of eighteen, Bell moved to Los Angeles, California, and enrolled at the Guitar Institute of Technology. Soon he became a member of Carnival Art, an alternative rock band who had previously released an indie album in 1989. After Bell joined as the bass player, the group released two albums, two EPs, and several singles through 1993. The band failed to gain traction and were eventually dropped by label Beggars Banquet.Bledsoe, Wayne. "A Decision in the Desert, A Message on a Machine Equaled Good Fortune for Weezer's Brian Bell" Knoxville News-Sentinel. 23 July 1995. (Newspapers.com archive)
In 1993, Bell also formed the projects Space Twins, with then-girlfriend Susan Fox on bass and Mike Elliot on drums, as well as a short-lived band called Jerkwater.Historic event: 07/16/1993
===Weezer===
Around the time of Carnival Art's dissolution, Bell became acquainted with the members of Weezer. "They started playing on the scene, and I instantly saw something unique in them" said Bell in 1995, "I didn't necessarily want to be in their band. They for some reason were in with the wrong crowd and playing at the wrong venues. I wanted to help them out any way I could and I wanted to play a show with them." Bell particularly found himself amazed with "Say It Ain't So." He believed it possessed a rare "classic" sound and expressed surprise that songs like that were still being written. 
One night, after resolving to quit Carnival Art, Bell returned home to find an answering machine message from Weezer bassist Matt Sharp. Sharp called again the next day, "Matt was just beating around the bush, and Rivers took the phone from him and said, 'Do you wanna join our band?'"
Bell then joined Weezer in 1993 during the recording of The Blue Album, replacing Jason Cropper. Since then he has remained a member of Weezer. Besides doing backup vocals and playing rhythm guitar and lead guitar on the Pinkerton classics "El Scorcho" and "Why Bother?", as well as on Van Weezer, Bell takes on many of the multi-instrumental duties during live shows. When songs call for the use of a keyboard or harmonica, Bell often plays them.
===The Relationship===
In 2006, Bell began recording an album for his new band, The Relationship. Multiple demos were posted onto the band's Myspace page that year and later in 2008 and 2009, reworked versions of these demos were released. The Relationship opened a few California shows on Weezer's 2008 Troublemaker Tour. On November 17, 2010, the album artwork for the band's debut album was posted onto Facebook along with a release date of November 30.
==Other projects==
In November 2006, Lyon introduced a limited edition guitar series called "the Brian Bell Limited Edition guitar package," each of which had been hand-signed by Bell, and were in the same "strat" body style that Brian prefers to play.
Bell was planning to release his own solo album which he stated would come out sometime in August of 2010. Ultimately, this album was never released and there are no details about its tracklist.
In 2011, Bell played guitar on Ringside's second album, Lost Days, which also features drums from former live drummer Josh Freese and band friend Jon Pikus.
On September 28, 2014, Bell performed guitar on Chase Cohl's "For You Blue" at George Fest, a festival celebrating the music of George Harrison.
===Film appearance===
In 2006, Bell and Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson were cast as Velvet Underground members and , respectively, in the film Factory Girl, based on the career of . The two also covered the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" for the film.
Bell plays the character "Dave" in the 2023 film Family Switch, wherein the members of Weezer portray members of the fictional band Dad or Alive.
==Discography==
===With Weezer===
This section lists only full-length albums. For more detail, please see Weezer discography.
*Weezer (The Blue Album) (1994)
*Pinkerton (1996)
*Weezer (The Green Album) (2001)
===With Carnival Art===
This section lists only full-length albums. For more detail, please see Carnival Art.
*1991 - Thrumdrone
*1992 - Welcome To Vas LLegas
===With Space Twins===
*1994 - "No Show" (single)
*1997 - "Osaka Aquabus" (single)
*1998 - "TV, Music & Candy" (single)
*2003 - The End of Imagining
===With Homie===
*1998 - Meet the Deedles Soundtrack (backing vocals on "American Girls")
===With The Relationship===
*2010 - The Relationship
*2015 - "Oh Allen" (single)
*2017 - Clara Obscura
*2020 - Together Tomorrow (Archival release)
== Interviews ==
==See also==
*Sass
*The Impossible Bend
*The Power Rise
*Brian Bell's equipment
==External links==
*The 2006 Brian Bell Fan Interview
*Space Twins web page
*MySpace page for "The Relationship"
==References==
Category: Weezer members
Category: Space Twins members
Category:Carnival Art Members
Category:Goat Punishment members
Category:The Relationship members
Category: Brian Bell
Category:Guitarists