MCOct14

MC: That’s got to be a great moment.
Shriner: For me, the Cars were one of those
bands that changed my life. There were about
10 or 15 bands that were so influential for me,
that I felt changed my direction, the way I listened
to music, the way I thought about life, and
the Cars were one of those bands. Not to sound
corny, but I was kind of pinching myself when
we were in the studio with him.
MC: Let’s talk some more about Weezer’s
material. What is the usual songwriting process
with band How are you involved
Shriner: We’ve had times when we all wrote
a little bit together. Rivers is obviously the
principal songwriter. There have been a couple
of times that I have gotten to contribute; that
did not happen on this record. There are times
where I’ll make a suggestion, or write my own
bass lines, but sometimes they sound perfect
the way he recorded them on the demo.
MC: Coming from what you described as an
AC/DC influenced band, what are your other
influences that make your participation work so
successfully with Weezer
Shriner: I grew up listening to Black Sabbath,
which is one of the bands that changed my
life, but I also listened to Elton John and the
Beatles. Those bands and Hendrix I would
listen to, and all that kind of got mixed up in
me and made me who I am. I also got into new
wave, and I think I first heard the Cars in eighth
grade, like ‘79, ‘80, and I went more towards the
new wave songs. I never really got into punk
Shriner: As a band, we are active on YouTube
and Facebook and Instagram. We use it pretty
frequently. We have a Web guy who follows
us around, posts photos from backstage and
onstage, and there’s a Weezer Facebook fan
page. It’s definitely integrated into our daily
lives. We’re involved, we try to stay in tune with
it and see how we can participate. Weezer has
had a really strong fan base for a long time. So
it is a great way to keep in touch with the new
record. We have webisodes on YouTube for the
songs on the new record.
MC: With the band’s initial history with a major
label, Geffen, and then semi-independent,
how did Weezer choose to sign with Republic
Records
Shriner: We talked to a bunch of different labels
and found a great A&R person that wanted
us to work at Universal Republic, and we just
felt that was the best choice.
MC: Why not just do a self release as so many
artists are choosing to do in the current music
industry climate
Shriner: We thought about doing that, we’ve
done that, and we just felt that going with a
major label and using all of their powers was
the thing to do. Our last release was kind of
done as an independent, and we wanted to do
something different for this one.
So far it’s working great for us. We’ve gotten
a lot of exposure, a lot of spins, we’re doing a
lot of radio interviews, we’ve hired a great publicist,
Jen Appel, and I’m enjoying it so far.
Contact Jen Appel via
http://pressherenow.com
“AT THE TIME, [Weezer]
were looking for a player whose
sound was a little heavier.
Barry warned them, ‘Hey this
guy is covered in tattoos, has
a gold tooth and has long hair,’
and Rivers said, ‘Perfect! That
sounds exactly like what I’m
looking for, send him!’”
rock. I liked metal and I liked new wave. The
Cars had that great down-stroke feel, they had
attitude, and some weird arrangements that just
took it to another place for me.
MC: Nowadays, every band needs to be active
on social media. That has become such a big
part of promoting bands and artists over the
past few years. How do you personally engage
with social media
Shriner: Personally, I have an Instagram
page, and I’m on Facebook and Twitter. For
my involvement, it’s with a combination of
people who are really into music equipment
and basses, and I have a lot of pictures of my
son up, some Weezer stuff. So I’m somewhat
active. I’m not dedicated, but I’m there.
MC: How does the band like to utilize social
media Do you have someone who’s hired to
handle that
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October 2014 musicconnection.com 39