Mikey's musical history: part 4.
Weezer continued...
It was summer 2001 and after the surprising success of Hash Pipe, or H**h Pipe as it had become known on certain popular music channels (*cough cough - MTV!) that chose to wipe out when Rivers sang the word HASH (albeit very badly bleeped) Weezer were set to release Island In The Sun - according to Patrick the band had gained access to a telescope that enabled them to actually look at the sun AND it became apparent that there really was an island in the sun (but I don't recommend you try looking for it) and on this island was just one palm tree with a guy sat underneath looking pretty bummed (honestly - this is according to Patrick, wouldn't you believe everything that man says?) Patrick and the band apparently thought this solitary man needed a little representation in the pop world; "So we wrote a song about him..." Mikey added. Okay, if you believe what they said you'll believe anything but its a well thought out and genuinely sweet story that I felt I just had to include here. The following report is from MTV's website;
"Island In The Sun" Video: Siega Proposes, Weezer Accept. 07.19.2001 5:20 PM EDT
The winning video treatment for Weezer's new single, "Island in the Sun" was one sentence long: "Weezer perform at a Mexican wedding in East Los Angeles." Director Marcos Siega's concept caught the band's eye in part because...unlike every other video proposal for the yearning, languid track...it didn't have the
band performing on an island, Siega said.
It also couldn't have hurt that Siega...known for such videos as Blink 182's "All the Small Things" and Papa Roach's "Last Resort"...helmed the sumo-themed clip for the first single from Weezer (a.k.a. The Green Album), the comeback hit "Hash Pipe". Siega hired a wedding coordinator to create an authentic-looking Mexican ceremony in East L.A. and cast 50 locals and then plopped Weezer in the middle of it.
In the video, Siega said, Weezer "isn't the wedding band...it's almost as if the wedding becomes a set for them."
The director said he expects to turn the video over to MTV by the end of the week after making a few final edits. Shooting the video may have been relatively easy, but recording the song was an arduous process.
During the sessions for Weezer, producer Ric Ocasek found "Island in the Sun" among a bunch of demos Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo had made without his bandmates.
"Rivers had recorded 'Island' all by himself, (playing) all of the instruments in his house," bassist Mikey Welsh recalled. "He made this really beautiful little version of it...it was really scrappy sounding and really pretty and kind of melancholy."
The effort that went into re-creating the demo's feel meant that "Island in the Sun" took longer to record than any other song on the album.
"We did it a bunch of times...we kind of tried a bunch of ways, " Ocasek said. "The demo did have a good spirit...because of the way Rivers played drums...(a) loose feeling and everything."
The resulting track's layered, clear-toned guitars and behind-the-beat groove stand out amidst the straight-ahead power-pop on Weezer.
"I really love that one...it seems like a nice summer song," Welsh said.
...but not everyone was happy with the Mexican wedding video;
Taken from Rolling Stone; Weezer to Redo "Island" : Jonze to direct new clip.
In a curious move, Weezer, with strong encouragement from their record company, have decided to shoot a second video for their present single, "Island in the Sun." While the first clip, directed by Marcos Siega, was a relatively non-conceptual piece (one that flirted with TRL success for a few days), this second version, to be lensed by boy-wonder artiste Spike Jonze, promises to be something entirely more.
Ironically, Weezer had said previously that what attracted them to Siega's original treatment was its simplicity and the fact that it in no way involved an island, but what's good for the goose isn't always good for the Interscope. The label apparently felt Jonze's penchant for eye-catching quirk could do the single better justice, and so Rivers Cuomo and the gang will shoot "Island" Version 2.0 tomorrow in Los Angeles.
However, Weezer may have to tear a page from the Guns N' Roses video training manual and hold a sign aloft asking, "Where's Mikey?" (as GN'R did for Izzy Stradlin when the guitarist was a no-show on their "Don't Cry" set). Bassist Mikey Welsh has left the band indefinitely and returned to his native Boston because of a "private medical condition."
Besides preparing to shoot with Jonze, Weezer are deep into rehearsals for a lengthy fall tour (in which they'll be most curiously paired with metal-heads Cold) and writing oodles of material for the follow-up to this year's self-titled "Green Album," which they hope to record this year. All of this has left the band no choice but to begin thinking about a replacement for Welsh, who himself replaced original bassist Matt Sharp in 1998. While auditions have begun, there is no official word yet on who is trying out. GREG HELLER(August 14, 2001)
With Mikey missing in action, a replacement was needed and the rumours were coming thick and fast...
Rolling Stone; Welsh in Psychiatric Hosp. Weezer's new "Island" video plenty wild.
After days of speculation about the whereabouts of Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh, band members learned late yesterday that the Boston native has checked into a psychiatric hospital in his hometown. "We unfortunately still don't know what's wrong with him and continue to find it very difficult to find out any more from those who might know," reports Weezer assistant Karl Koch on the band's official Web site.
"We wish him the very best, and we hope he comes back soon," Koch continues. "But in the meantime, due to the circumstances at hand with the upcoming tours and such, we are indeed hastily scheduling tryouts for a replacement player for the upcoming gigs, just in case Mikey isn't able to return." The band is currently planning a lengthy fall tour with Cold as openers.
Welsh is the band's second bassist, having replaced original member Matt Sharp when he departed in 1998 to pursue his side-project, the Rentals, on a full-time basis.
Although Welsh had recently announced a leave of absence from Weezer because of a "private medical condition," he had been expected to join band mates Rivers Cuomo, Pat Wilson and Brian Bell in Los Angeles on Tuesday for a Spike Jonze-directed video shoot of "Island in the Sun" the following day. Without explanation, Welsh missed his scheduled flight from Boston to Los Angeles, leaving the remaining members of the group to ponder the severity of his condition.
A spokesperson for Weezer's record company, Interscope Records, declined to comment on Welsh.
As for the video, it was filmed Wednesday at a private ranch at the top of Browns Canyon, in the hills of Chatsworth, California. According to Koch, the second clip for "Islands" - which comes on the heels of a Marcos Siega-directed performance clip - will feature Weezer hanging out with a bevy of wild animals, including a 500-pound bear, a black panther, a chimpanzee, a giraffe and a trio of wild squirrels. JOHN D.LUERSSEN (August 16, 2001)
...but that is just one of the many stories...
Here is MTV's versions of events;
Weezer Bassist Checks Into Psychiatric Hospital - August 17, 2001.
Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh has checked into a psychiatric hospital for treatment of an undisclosed ailment, leaving his bandmates to shoot a video without him, according to band assistant Karl Koch. Although they hope that Welsh will recover in time to join them on their upcoming tour, Weezer are holding auditions for a temporary replacement, Koch wrote on the band's official Web site (www.weezer.com).
"We unfortunately still don't know what's wrong with [Mikey], and continue to find it very difficult to find out any more from those who might know," Koch said. "We wish him the very best and we hope he comes back soon."
An Interscope Records spokesperson said Thursday (August 16) that Koch is a reliable source of information on Weezer, but declined further comment.
The other three members of Weezer spent Wednesday shooting a new video for "Island in the Sun" with director Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich," Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice").
According to Weezer's Web site, the video will include shots of the band with a menagerie of animals: giraffes, bears, panthers, squirrels, dogs and cats.
Hard-rockers Cold issued a press release Wednesday touting tour dates with Weezer, beginning September 11 in San Jose, California. However, an Interscope spokesperson said Wednesday evening that those dates are in the process of being changed.
Weezer have rehearsed as many as 23 new, unreleased songs for the upcoming tour, Koch said. Brian Hiatt (MTV.com)
...a few days later MTV had this to add;
Weezer Pick Temp Replacement For Mikey Welsh - August 21, 2001.
Weezer have picked Scott Shriner, the bassist from Los Angeles hard rock band Broken, as a temporary replacement for ailing Mikey Welsh. Shriner confirmed on Monday (August 20) that he had been "subbing for Mikey Welsh," but added "It's not permanent...it's just kind of a temporary job." He will remain a member of Broken.
Saying he was hesitant to talk without permission from Weezer, Shriner declined to say how he had found his way into the band.
Weezer assistant Karl Koch announced Shriner's appointment as temporary bassist in a post on the band's official Web site (www.weezer.com). Koch, like Shriner, declined to give further details.
Broken's Web site (www.brokenband.com) calls the band's self-titled EP (sold on the site) "four of the most kick-ass rock and roll tracks you've ever heard."
Judging from audio clips available online, Broken's primordial hard rock falls somewhere between AC/DC and the Murder City Devils with a female lead vocalist.
A spokesperson for Weezer's label, Interscope, could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
Welsh recently checked into a psychiatric hospital for treatment of an undisclosed condition, according to Koch.
The band said last week it was auditioning possible temporary replacements in case Welsh fails to recover in time for its tour, which kicks off September 11 in San Jose, California. Brian Hiatt (MTV.com)
However, this next article - also from MTV - seems to shed a lot more light onto the situation, explaining a little more about how Mikey had felt having his life speculated and gossiped about in public, prefering to keep his public persona and in turn his private life apart from eachother. He'd said how nervous talking about these matters made him feel, that he had friends and family who read these articles and could be hurt by such gossip...
Weezer: Where's Our Bassist? - August 16, 2001.
Weezer have lost their bassist, and they have no idea where to find him.
Bass player Mikey Welsh missed a plane flight late Tuesday night to join the band for a video shoot, according to band assistant Karl Koch, who had said earlier that Welsh was suffering from a "private medical condition."
As of Wednesday morning (August 15), Welsh hadn't told his bandmates where he was or why he missed his flight, Koch wrote on the band's official Web site (www.weezer.com).
"At this point, we are wondering if either ... Mikey is in worse shape than we thought (but we still don't know the nature of what could be troubling him, and no one close to him is passing along any such info)," Koch wrote. "Or ... Mikey has chosen not to come on purpose. Without any word from anyone close to the matter, we are about as much in the dark as the fans on this one, and are forced to speculate."
A spokesperson for Weezer's label, Interscope, had no comment on Welsh.
Weezer were set to spend Wednesday filming a new video for "Island in the Sun" with director Spike Jonze, according to Koch.
In an earlier posting, Koch said that Weezer were auditioning bass players as temporary replacements for an ailing Welsh.
In May, Welsh said that he and his bandmates were close friends and called frontman Rivers Cuomo "a sweetheart."
Welsh said that, like Cuomo, he preferred to separate his public and private personas. "[Rivers] keeps his guard up like we all do, because you usually have people trying to take things from you, like your sanity or whatever. People are trying to pick little parts of you off all the time. It's nice to be able to hide and protect yourself because people definitely do like to pick you apart.
"If [Rivers] is nuts, we're all nuts," Welsh continued, laughing. "That must be the reason we all get along. ... We get along very well." Brian Hiatt (MTV.com)
A recurring theme shows in all these and the other reports concerning Mikey and his absence; "A spokesperson for Interscope had no comment on Welsh's illness and the band's plans for a new video" is a popular one although "In a posting on the group's Web site, Koch didn't provide any further information on Welsh's condition, except to say that it is 'not a cliche rock-star drug problem.'" made a lot more sense and gave a little more information. The truth was that a lot of fans were starting to believe the ridiculous rumours and gossip, with a lack of credible information people actually started to speculate about the possibilities, was Mikey an alchoholic? Was he on drugs? What rumours could people start that hungry fans would actually believe? Was it anyone else's business?
Behold - the best was yet to come undone...