Weezer's Mikey Welsh back in action?
Weezer's bassist Mikey Welsh, who has been away from the band since August due to a "medical condition", has turned up in recording sessions with Nate Albert, ex-Mighty Mighty Bosstones guitarist. Nate Albert, Mikey Welsh, additional bassist Johnny Rioux, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones drummer Joe Sirois have been holed up in Boston's Wooly Mammoth Studios, working on songs Albert has written for an upcoming project called The Brakes. Nate and Mikey had previously worked together in Boston before their respective careers took off. Weezer are starting their US tour on November 13 in Portland, Oregan, with "temporary replacement" bassist Scott Shriner.
Different strokes. Ex-Bosstone Nate Albert comes out playing. BY TED DROZDOWSKI.
NO SKA: Albert's solo debut takes a break from the Bosstones sound but otherwise pays homage to '70s punk.
"I�m gonna go get a sandwich," engineer David Minehan tells the musicians in his studio�s control room. And as he walks away Nate Albert, former guitarist for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, slips into the chair behind the recording console.
Albert stabs a few buttons and starts sliding faders up as the brutal crunch of guitars pounds the air. It�s the sound of a little ball of fire called "The Good Life," one of the songs from Albert�s first post-Bosstones recording project. Bassist Johnny Rioux sits back quietly and bobs his head. Out in the hall former Weezer member Mikey Welsh, the other bass player on these sessions, laughs as Albert�s best Steven Tyler "auw" slips out of the speakers. And Bosstones drummer Joe Sirois, sitting on a desk behind Albert in Boylston Street�s Wooly Mammoth Studios, leans into the head-ripping music.
"I�m tracking just two guitars, resisting doing the Bob Mould thing, so it keeps them really present, like AC/DC," Albert shouts as he cranks the volume a little more.
Suddenly the sound cuts in half.
"Oh my God," says Albert "I blew the speakers." He looks around, slightly wide-eyed, and slides the faders back down.
"Dude, those are like $3000 speakers!" Sirois injects.
"Was it loud?", Albert asks, a bit sheepishly.
There�s a long, pregnant silence.
"Naw" Rioux finally deadpans. "That was usual studio volume." Then both speakers start making sounds again as the mechanism that keeps them from frying when they�re punished shuts off. False alarm.
A half-hour earlier, Albert had been cutting lead vocals, something he�d never done with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. And as the tapes spun and he stood in his socks singing in an isolation booth, crisp pop songs sailed by, echoing the punchy, tuneful writing and arrangements of the Pixies, the Replacements, Guided by Voices, the Clash, and even Van Halen and Aerosmith more than the hardcore thrum, ska up-ticks, and punk-vibed balladry that have been the Mighty Mighty Bosstones� mien since Albert helped start the band more than a decade ago.
"I always knew that Nate had this in him" Sirois offers as more of Albert�s tight pop rumbles by in two-and-a-half-minute bursts. "It�s just that with the Bosstones, other people have their fingers in the pie." He�s referring to that Boston institution�s amiable singer and bassist, Dicky Barrett and Joe Gittleman, who along with Albert�s replacement, Lawrence Katz, are currently penning tunes for the next Mighty Mighty disc.
"The Bosstones have been off the road for three months, and after six weeks I was ready to go back," Sirois adds. "Nate is feeding my hunger to rock right now, and it feels great because we played together for so long that it�s natural for us to lock on. Plus, I can�t believe it when I look over as we�re laying down the basic tracks and this fucker is standing there playing next to me" - he nods toward Welsh. "Mikey, me, and Nate came up jamming together, and it�s so unbelievably cool to be together again after all these years."
"It�s actually fun to just be playing in the studio without some major-label idiot standing over your shoulder" Welsh chimes in.
A few weeks later, Albert and I regroup in Harvard Square�s Caf� Algiers over strong coffee. He has now finished the tracks he was cutting at Wooly Mammoth, and he�s produced a debut album for the Lost City Angels, a new band whose members straddle Boston and Connecticut. And it appears that what he started as a solo project is evolving into a band. Which is okay with Nate.
"I�m much more interested in making music with other people and seeing what comes from it. When I was recording my first batch of songs with (drummer) Paul Buckley and (bassist) David Aronoff, those guys really pulled things out of me I didn�t expect." Those songs were almost Albert�s solo debut, an EP he�d planned to release in early October under the name the Plastics that clocked 10 numbers in just 24 minutes and 11 seconds. But because of complications in the schedule of Albert�s manager, ex-Bosstones wrangler Ami Bennitt, the release was pushed back to January. That gave him license to record more of the tunes he�d been writing, and the project began to take on its own life. Now he plans to begin performing as regularly as possible with his own band after the year turns - and after he figures out who will be in that band, whom he�s calling the Brakes.
Albert began writing songs for himself before the Mighty Mighty Bosstones released their platinum-selling smash "Let�s Face It" (Mercury) in 1997. "They just weren�t right for the Bosstones, so in between touring cycles for "Let�s Face It" I�d book studio time and record," he recounts. "I started playing them for friends and they got really stoked, which encouraged me."
By the time he left the Bosstones - in December 1999, after that year�s series of annual holiday "Hometown Throwdown" shows - he had dozens of recorded songs stockpiled and no particular design for them. Instead, he resolved to stay home after a decade on the road so he could spend more time with his mother, who is ill, and obtain a degree in political theory from Brown University. He earned that degree this spring, upon completing his thesis on John Stuart Mill�s nervous breakdown and the formulation of liberal politics. Afterward he celebrated by rocking out as a member of Evan Dando�s re-formed Lemonheads for a string of dates.
Albert�s enthusiasm for the liberal agenda (as general as that term may be) is something he and his fellow Bosstones were awakened to by the Clash, the Specials, and other white-flag-waving bands from the punk era - "In the days when we would hang out and get drunk and listen to records together," as he puts it. As the Mighty Mighty Bosstones blossomed, so did opportunities to bring members of anti-racism organizations and other human-rights interest groups on tour to help educate their fans. Social concerns also became a bigger part of the band�s songwriting around the time of "Let�s Face It." That title track and "Numbered Days" ponder the irrationality of racism. "The Impression That I Get" is a reaction to the mid-90s gunshot murders at two Brookline abortion clinics.
Albert is no less passionate about the state of the world�s affairs; he intends to pursue an advanced degree in political studies and perhaps eventually teach. But so far the songs he�s gathering for his debut seem blissfully apolitical, often inspired by the rowdy spirit of the Replacements� 1984 smart-ass American punk manifesto "Let It Be". There�s "Black & Blue" a dirty gem that�s all vocal and guitar hooks coated in hard-assed heartache, with its bloody-knuckled love story. Albert salutes the raw spirit of 1976 in "Diamonds to Ashes," and he dives into pure pop for "Fake in Love." He even orchestrates touches of pedal steel guitar (played by Rich Gilbert) into the ballad "Crash and Burn," and he delivers a zephyr version of Blondie�s "Hanging on the Telephone."
Whether any of these make the final cut is, of course, his call. The one striking absence from these new recordings is the sort of loud 'n' clean ska chord he perfected, through artfully precise fret-hand muting, with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. "I decided "no ska" on this record" he explains. "I�m not ruling anything out for the future, but for now I want to work in an area apart from what I did with the Bosstones."
For a guy who�s just turned 30, which is typically an age of reassessment as well as the last possible year in which he can ever be trusted, Albert seems to be in a very comfortable place. "I came to the realization while I was at school that I was doing exactly what I wanted, which is music and study. When you�re in the cycle of major-label recording and touring, there�s only one thing really demanded of you, which is to be there to write the records, do video shoots, and concerts. But you�re forced to neglect other parts of yourself and your family and friends. Studying and songwriting are both a part of me. I�d never want to consign myself to the academy and not rock. So my goal is to bring the two together as much as possible."
Meanwhile Mikey is currently not at liberty to discuss his departure from Weezer for "legal reasons" and probably doesn't really want to either...though that matter has been resolved in a way...but he did have this to say in Entertainment Weekly on the topic; "I took some time to get some help for something and they basically took off on me, abandoned me. The way it went down was pretty lame. Being in a band with guys that long and being as good friends as we were, having them just kind of split was definitely cold." Whatever the reasons for Mikey "leaving" Weezer I respect them as I respect him, I won't go into details because thats a matter than doesn't bare my discussion...besides, this just paved the way for something new and more exciting...The Kickovers!
I have been lucky enough to have met Mikey on a few occassions and spend some time chatting with him, I was honoured to have been given such an awesome chance to hang out with the whole band back in April; from meeting them prior to the soundcheck (which was super-funny, nobody has ever soundchecked by repeating my name before...thanks Nate) to seeing them kick ass live (again, this rocked...I got a song dedicated to me and an invitation to get up onstage...once again I thank Nate) and I found Mikey to be a really genuinely kind, warm and considerate person, incredibley smart and witty, funny beyond belief and he's a very very cool person indeed...he can be very serious and sensitive too; like a tortured artist maybe? It was an absolute pleasure to have met him and the rest of the band because they're just the sweetest and coolest people you could ever wish to encounter...I'm a fan for life! When I returned to Boston in September our paths crossed again...though Mikey was on leave from the band at that point (for personal reasons that I am not at liberty to discuss) he was still as generous and respectful to me as ever, a truly genuine and beautiful being. We discussed art amongst other things and his genuine passion for this subject is completely awe-inspiring to me, so refreshing and invigorating, as an ex-art student who loves nothing more than discussing artwork with one of her favourite people I was stoked to say the least!
Random stuff the other Kickovers have to say about Mikey; JOHNNY had a few things to say that I wanted to mention; "Mikey plays the bass the way a bass should be played, not too busy, and with rhythym and personality." and "Mikey brings art (to The Kickovers)." and finally; "Mikey and Nate fight over who will play with my baby daughter and who she likes better." Poor Isabella, she definitely has her work cut out for her with that choice! JAMIE had this to add; "Mikey's an excellent frog catcher. When in his hotel room, it's a good idea to thoroughly check the ice bucket and bathtub before each use. He practices catch and release though, so it's totally cool." After comparrisons and weird questions from fans (Are you Mikey?) JON had this to say; "I don't think I look like the guy, but people have said there is a resemblance. Moppy hair, big Irish head..."
Inspite of what you might hear or read about Mikey onlne or off I still choose to support him and wish him all the best in whatever he chooses to do in the future...plus he loves Cadbury's chocolate from the UK (as do all The Kickovers) and I supply him with that quite often, but thats a whole other story!!! The opinions stated on this webpage are my own, I respect that many people will not agree with those opinions as they might respect my right to have them. The beauty of the internet is that everything needs to be taken with a pinch of salt and people will never agree on everything...and why should they? It's used by people the world over who will never agree on everything and to me thats the best part; the fact that we all have our own views and opinions and an outlet for them...the thing we need to remember is that we shouldn't let others dictate our views and opinions, through this website I try my best not to influence anyone and I would never dare to take on that task...anyways, thats my little disclaimer, now back to the task in hand!
So more recently Mikey's presence in The Kickovers has come under close scrutiny, given that Mikey chose to take indefinite leave from the band...Jon McGerry has done a mighty fine job on bass duties with The Kickovers and everyone seems happy with the outcome so far. Mikey hasn't been idle though, far from it...his debut art show "Infections" opened in Boston, October 2002. This provided him with a much needed creative release. Speculation was expected about Mikey's band status and many have done just that; speculate. The following interview shows a more grounded Mikey, finding his way and dealing with the pressures of life in general...with the strong and calming influence of art in his life again.
Mikey Welsh is only 31, but he may be enduring a mid-life crisis. Who could blame him? Welsh, originally from Brookline, achieved rock star status as the bass player for Weezer.
Their 1994 debut album landed on the Billboard chart at number four. Within days, Weezer played on "Saturday Night Live," and the jets, parties, movie stars and models followed, along with the requisite "Behind the Music" tensions in the band.
But there was nothing funny about the consequences - Welsh's close friendship with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo eroded into a clash of egos, money and band politics. The result has been a messy, yearlong legal battle, and Welsh - his friendship with Cuomo long gone - has returned home to heal.
"It's been like this gaping wound with (Cuomo), pouring salt in it for a long time,"says Welsh, who now lives in Cambridge. "It's been a very difficult year for me. It's been traumatic in a lot of ways."
These days, he's finding solace and inspiration in his art. Fate may decide that Welsh will always be best remembered as the Weezer bassist, but he's far more passionate now about his painting. The folks over at the Paradise in Boston are pretty excited, too. The enduring rock club this week launched its new art gallery with an exhibit of about 50 of Welsh's paintings.
With songwriting "you have to coordinate things with other people, especially when you get to an enormous level like Weezer. It's a very serious dynamic. People have to be able to put their egos aside and listen to other people," says Welsh. "So painting is incredibly liberating, because it's just me, working in my house. I work all morning, all day and all night. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and start painting. It's an incredibly direct way to express myself."
And "express" is the right word, as in expressionist. These are bold and biting works of art - acrylics, oils and mixed media. There's a shock value that one might expect from a rock musician - some of the images are sexual, some are violent. Stylistically, it's not surprising that he prizes the work of Robert Rauschenberg and Jackson Pollock. Some observers have noticed a cubist, or Picasso influence in his work.
But what's the story with the words and numbers that appear on many of his canvasses?
"Sometimes I just like the way words look, regardless of what they mean," says Welsh. "Sometimes I use words to make a point, sometimes I use them for confusion, and sometimes just because they look nice. That's an influence from some of my favorite songwriters, who use words because of the way they sound. I like things that are open for interpretation. You let people's minds do the work for them. I can't stand obvious things."
That sentiment is reflected in the title of the show - "Infections." At first, Welsh just liked the sound of it, but then he also realized it had connections to the work.
"It applies to how I feel about painting" he says. "I'm incredibly inspired, but it's almost like this disease to paint." And the word, like some of his graphic images, is "kind of disturbing."
It's not exactly the kind of painting that his mother, who's a classically trained artist, might produce. But no one who knew Welsh as a Brookline boy would be too surprised at the way he's turned out. He grew up in a household that prized art and music, and it's little wonder that they have remained two of the big influences in his life.
But music is only playing in the background of Welsh's life these days. It would be understandable if that were one of the repercussions of his fallout with Weezer. But he's just about to sign a settlement with the band, which should bring him some of his hard-earned monetary success, and more importantly, some peace of mind.
Asked if there's both music and art in his future, Welsh pauses, and then says "Pretty much just art. I'm taking a break from music. I really feel the need to reinvent myself and move on, and I couldn't be happier painting. Music is still an important part of my life, but I really have no desire to actually play it."
"Infections," paintings by Mikey Welsh, is on display through Dec. 25, at the Paradise Lounge, 967 Commonwealth Ave., in Boston. Call 617-562-8814.
The show was a great success and paved the way for future artistic ventures in Mikey's life. He continues to paint very regularly and his art will make an appearence at another show, "Between Rock and an Art Place" showcases artwork from many Boston based musicians with an artistic talent to share, featured alongside Mikey are Willie Alexander, Jonathan Richmond, Asa Brebner, Adam Sherman, Dana Colley, Cynthia Von Buhler, Jeff Hudson, Jane Hudson, Doug Slade, Wayne Viens, Robin Lane, Joey Pesce, Steve Morel, Roger Miller, Mark Dwinell, Chris Shurtleff, Scott Getchell, Billy Borgioli and Reeves Gabrels. The show runs from February 12th yntil March 2, 2003 and will take place at the Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge Street in Inman Square, Cambridge, MA. Presented in association with Boston Magazine.