H-Town Rock Interviews: Weezer

Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to H-Town Rock. As much as we love scouring the interwebs each week on behalf of our dedicated readers to determine which shows in our beloved city are worth our collective attention, we have to let you know that we’ve started to really enjoy this whole interviewing thing. We’ll be the first one to admit that we’re social butterflies – talking to people makes us quite happy. So we were more than ecstatic to speak with Scott Shriner, the bassist for Weezer, last Friday in advance of the band’s upcoming show in Houston on Thursday, October 23rd at the Toyota Center. What follows is our conversation via phone as he tooled around San Diego before the band’s gig that night. We hope you enjoy!

H-Town Rock (HTR): Good afternoon Scott. How are you doing today? Where’s the band playing this evening?

Scott Shriner (SS): Hey there. I’m doing well. We’re in San Diego tonight.

HTR: Very cool. How has this Fall 2008 Tour been for the band so far? Highlights? Low points? Are there any big surprises we should be looking out for during your performance?

SS: It’s been really awesome, one of our best ever. We’re mixing in a couple new songs from the new album along with the older stuff, and I like how they all sound together live. In terms of surprises, we’re doing this “Hootenanny” thing where fans come on stage and play and sing with the band. That’s been lots of fun. In terms of a low point, I personally lost my voice in Detroit, but it got better. We’ve worked up a couple of cover songs for the set, so that’s been exciting. Also, we’re wearing these uniforms for our performance and we have some new light shows.

HTR: It sounds like you guys have been having lots of fun. Weezer, as a band, has made it through quite a few shifts in the music industry in the past 15 years, whether it’s been grunge, nu metal, Creed-style anthem rock, emo, or ‘80s revivalism, and you’ve certainly been a touchstone for many new bands making music today. How do you keep going as a band, as an artistic force?

SS: Honestly, we feel that we’ve got lots of work to do. We’re constantly growing musically as a band. Everyone singing on the album and on tour as well as writing for the new album has been a new challenge. We’re not staying the same – we’re motivated to be a better band and performers.

HTR: Your varied releases, quirky videos, terminally catchy singles, and meandering personas have kept fans and critics guessing for much of this decade. How do you respond to people who claim that the band hasn’t been very consistent as of late? What do you say to the fans who simply miss Blue and Pinkerton?

SS: I would encourage them to enjoy those records and come out to the shows to see us perform your popular songs. Like Led Zeppelin and other bands, every record for us has been different, and honestly, either the band grows and changes, or we cease as a band. We’d like for our fans to be open-minded and grow with us.

HTR: That’s a great answer actually and it leads us to our next question. How does your current album, Red, fit in with the rest of the Weezer discography? How did you approach the making of this record? Was there anything different compared to earlier projects?

SS: We touched on much of our old territory and looked to get the best of everything. There’s something there for everyone and it’s full of personality and hooks. As I said earlier, there are a lot of differences in how we’ve shared vocals and songwriting credits. Also, we recorded with Jacknife Lee and Rick Rubin, and did so in a bunch of different studios. It was fun.

HTR: What are your plans for the rest of 2008? What do you have in the works for 2009? Give us a little sneak peek into what’s going on with the band.

SS: We’ve got our hands full with the tour right now, so the priority is to finish our tour with Angels And Airways and Tokyo Police Club. After that, we’re going to go home, spend time with our families, and probably do some writing. Our Spring 2009 tour is in the works, but there’s not too much to report there right now. We’re talking about making an EP filled with the music from the “Hootenanny” sessions on tour. The goal there is to make sure that we pick the right songs, do the production work, and other stuff. In the long run, we’ve got to promote the new record.

HTR: What music has the band been listening to lately?

SS: Honestly, I’ve been listening to the music of Dethklok, the band from Metalocalypse.

HTR: Awesome! We love that show!

SS: Yeah. It’s great. I’m also digging the new album from TV On The Radio [Ed: entitled Dear Science,], since I feel it’s important to listen to music that’s so different than the music that my band makes. Also, I’m enjoying old music from my personal back catalog – nothing specific, but just my stuff.

HTR: We appreciate your time today Scott. Good luck on the rest of your tour.

SS: Thanks. I hope you enjoy the show in Houston.