Weezer Reveals The White Album

Photo SEAN MURPHY

It’s hard to remember when Weezer began to feel like a self-parody. Maybe it was around Raditude? Or was it Hurley, a record that upset one YouTube critic so much he made an hour-long video about it?

Either way, it feels like Rivers Cuomo and company have spent most of the past decade reminding us they’re still those goofy dudes in your garage who dig KISS and the Beach Boys. In 2014, that meant going “Back to the Shack”; less than two years later, we have their fourth self-titled effort, a “White Album” dedicated to Weezer’s longtime home LA and a healthy sense of humor. Here’s what Cuomo had to say about it (via a press release so read it with a salt shaker people), along with the record’s first three singles, tour dates and other details…

What was the inspiration behind the songs on this record?
The inspiration behind the songs were my experiences hanging around the Westside of Los Angeles, which has been our home since Weezer began. Hanging out with people in Venice and Santa Monica, the beach, the Hare Krishnas, the Sikh on roller blades with the guitar, girls on Tinder within a 4-mile radius, seeing other bands, the kids from La Sera. I would just tweet out “does anybody wanna hang?” and then I’d get together with people who responded and talk about life. I love California. I wanted the album to make you feel like you were there with us SoCal weirdos even if you’re in Milwaukee in December.

How do you see this album as a “beach album”?
Obviously my favorite band has always been The Beach Boys, and what I love about them most are the melodies and the chord progressions. I guess the harmonies too. And the orchestration. Can’t forget about the lyrics. So basically everything. I wanted to get that kind of vibe: beautiful tunes and sweet lyrics. I also love the dark side of the beach—Venice after dark, hearing at the Del Monte Speakeasy about how the gangsters used to drag the bodies through the catacombs and leave them under the pier.

What are you most excited/proud of with this album?
I’m proud of the demented lyrics that are like, “What? Who says that? Who thinks that? What planet on am I on? I don’t know, but I kinda wanna stay!” Welcome to our planet, people! After 24 years, we still love being in this band and we wanna keep it going for at least another fourteen years.

Weezer tour dates:
3/31 Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
4/3 Manchester, England – Academy One
4/5 London, England – O2 Brixton Academy
4/8 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Heineken Music Hall
6/10 Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion *#
6/11 Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street Amphitheater *
6/12 New Orleans, LA – Bold Sphere Music at Champions Square *#
6/14 Miami, FL – Bayfront Park Amphitheater *#
6/15 Tampa, FL – MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater *#
6/16 Atlanta, GA – Aarons Amphitheatre at Lakewood *#
6/19 Charleston, SC – Volvo Cars Stadium *#
6/20 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion *#
6/21 Raleigh, NC – Walnut Creek Amphitheater *#
6/22 Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach *#
6/24 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live *#
6/25 Canandaigua, NY – Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center *#
6/26 Scranton, PA – Pavilion at Montage Mountain *#
6/28 Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook *#
6/30 Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater *#
07/1 Boston, MA – Xfinity Center *#
7/2 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center *#
7/5 Philadelphia, PA – BB&T Pavilion *#
7/6 Toronto, Ontario – Molson Canadian Amphitheater *#
7/8 Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theater *#
7/9 Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest – Marcus Amphitheater *#
7/10 Chicago, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater *#
7/12 Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center *#
7/13 Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater *#
7/15 Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion *#
7/16 Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheater *
7/17 Rogers, AR – Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion *#
7/19 St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater *#
7/20 Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theater *#
7/22 Brandon, SD – Badlands Motor Speedway *
7/23 Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s Hotel & Casino Council Bluffs – Stir Cove *
7/24 Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater *#
7/26 Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheater *#
7/28 Burnaby, British Columbia – Deer Lake Park *#
7/29 Seattle, WA – Marymoor Park *#
7/30 Portland, OR – Edgefield *#
7/31 San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheater *
8/2 Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion *#
8/3 San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheater *
8/5 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl *#
8/6 Irvine, CA – Irvine Meadows Amphitheater *#

* with Panic! At the Disco
# with Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness