Rivers Cuomo ( ; born June 13, 1970) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

. Cuomo was born in New York City and raised in several Buddhist communities in the northeastern U.S. until the age of 10 when his family settled in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He played in several bands in Connecticut and California before forming Weezer in 1992. After the success of Weezer's debut, the ''Blue Album'' (1994)'','' Cuomo enrolled at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, but dropped out after recording Weezer's second album, ''Pinkerton'' (1996). He later re-enrolled and graduated in 2006. Though ''Pinkerton'' is now frequently cited among the best albums of the 1990s and has been certified platinum, it was initially a commercial and critical failure, pushing Cuomo's songwriting toward pop music for Weezer's next album, the '' Green Album'' (2001). Weezer has released more than a dozen albums since. Cuomo has released several compilations of demos, including '' Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo'' (2007) and '' Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo'' (2008), and has released thousands of home recordings on his website. He has collaborated with artists including Hayley Williams, B.O.B., AJR,

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

and Panic! at the Disco. With the American songwriter Scott Murphy, Cuomo has released two Japanese-language albums under the name Scott & Rivers.

Early life

Rivers Cuomo was born on June 13, 1970, in New York City to Frank Cuomo, of Italian descent, and Beverly Shoenberger, of German-English descent. Frank was a musician who played drums on

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

's 1971 album '' Odyssey of Iska''. According to one account, Cuomo's mother named him Rivers either because he was born between the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and Hudson rivers in Manhattan or because she could hear a river outside her hospital window. But his father has said Rivers was named after three prominent soccer players: Rivellino, Gigi Riva, and

Gianni Rivera Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera (; born 18 August 1943) is an Italian politician and former association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy" by the media, he played the majority of his club career wi ...

, all of whom were playing in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 3 Cuomo was raised in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, at the Rochester Zen Center, until his father left the family in 1975. His mother relocated the family to Yogaville, an

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Pomfret, Connecticut. Cuomo attended the Pomfret Community School, and his mother married Stephen Kitts.Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 5 In 1980, Yogaville relocated to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The Kitts family opted to stay in Connecticut and moved to the Storrs/

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

area.Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 8 During this time, Cuomo attended Mansfield Middle School and E.O. Smith High School. He was a member of the high school choir and performed in a school production of '' Grease'' as Johnny Casino.Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 20 While in high school, Cuomo attended a summer program at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. He also changed his name to Peter Kitts;Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 15 after graduating, Cuomo reverted to his original name.Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 50 One of Cuomo's earliest music projects was the

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

band Avant Garde.Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 17 In 1989, after playing several shows in Connecticut, Avant Garde moved to Los Angeles and changed its name to Zoom. It broke up in 1990.Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 31Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 37Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 40 During this time, Cuomo attended

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...

. In 1990 and 1991, while Cuomo was writing material for what became Weezer's debut album, he was a roadie for the band Kingsize. He also worked at

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

, where he met the drummer

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...

. Cuomo began to move away from metal and absorbed alternative influences such as

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

, the Pixies and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

. He also dived deep into

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, which would influence his songwriting. He did not want audiences to realize he had once been a metal musician, as "there was so much anxiety about authenticity at the time". He also began to think of himself as a singer for the first time.

Weezer

Cuomo formed Weezer in 1992 with Wilson, the bassist

Matt Sharp Matthew Kelly Sharp (born September 22, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Until 1998, he was the bassist for the Rock music, rock band Weezer, which he co-founded in 1992. He appears on their first two albums, the ''Weezer (B ...

and the guitarist Jason Cropper. "Weezer" was the nickname Cuomo's father gave him when he was a toddler. On June 25, 1993, Weezer signed with DGC, a subsidiary of

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

. They released their self-titled debut album, commonly known as the ''Blue Album'', in May 1994. Cropper was fired during the recording and replaced by

Brian Bell Brian Lane Bell (born December 9, 1968) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Weezer, with whom he has ...

. The ''Blue Album'' was certified platinum on January 1, 1995, with sales of over one million. Cuomo tired of the monotony and loneliness of touring and developed a "huge inferiority complex" about rock music, saying: "I thought my songs were really simplistic and silly, and I wanted to write complex, intense, beautiful music." Rivers Cuomo in Thailand

In March 1995, Cuomo had extensive surgery to extend his left leg, which was shorter than the right. This involved the surgical breaking of the leg bone, followed by months of wearing a steel brace and painful

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

. The procedure affected his songwriting, as he spent long periods hospitalized under the influence of painkillers. In late 1995, Cuomo enrolled at

to study classical composition. He told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'': "The only time I could write songs was when my frozen dinner was in the microwave. The rest of the time I was doing homework." He auditioned for the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum chorus, but was not selected. He became introverted and grew a beard, mentioning in a letter to the Weezer fan club that students wearing Weezer T-shirts did not recognize him. Cuomo had planned Weezer's second album to be a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, '' Songs from the Black Hole'', but he abandoned the project as his songwriting became "darker, more visceral and exposed, less playful".''Pinkerton Deluxe'' liner notes Realizing he did not enjoy

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

, and missing Weezer, Cuomo dropped out of Harvard two semesters before graduation. He expressed the isolation and sexual frustration he had felt at Harvard on Weezer's second album, '' Pinkerton'', released in September 1996. With a darker, more abrasive sound than Weezer's debut, ''Pinkerton'' was a commercial and critical failure, but attained critical acclaim later. After ''Pinkerton'', Weezer went on a three-year hiatus. Cuomo enrolled at Harvard twice more and completed semesters in 1997 and 2004. During the 1997 semester, he played with a new band, Homie, in Boston. In February 1998, Cuomo disbanded Homie and moved to Los Angeles to work on new Weezer demos with Bell and Wilson, but the sessions were unproductive. In 1998 and 1999, he lived in an apartment under a freeway in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

. In an essay for Harvard, he wrote: "I became more and more isolated. I unplugged my phone. I painted the walls and ceiling of my bedroom black and covered the windows with fiberglass insulation." Disappointed by ''Pinkerton'''s reception, Cuomo intended to return to simpler songwriting with less personal lyrics. He said that Weezer's subsequent albums, the '' Green Album'' (2001) and '' Maladroit'' (2002), were "very intentionally not about me. Not about what was going on in my life, at least in a conscious way." He also developed a greater appreciation for pop music, feeling that its multiple disciplines—including lyrics, improvisation, and image—produce a multifaceted art "that moves people and is important, and relevant to our culture in a way that serious classical music isn't right now". In June 2006, Cuomo graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in English from HarvardLuerssen D., John, 2004 p. 22 and was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. On December 6, 2009, Cuomo suffered cracked ribs and internal bleeding when his tour bus hit an icy road in Glen, New York, and crashed. Weezer canceled their performances until 2010.

Other projects

During Weezer's hiatus after ''Pinkerton'', Cuomo formed Homie, and performed what he called "goofball songs" for his "country band". An album was planned, but only one studio recording, the song "American Girls", was released. Cuomo has contributed to recordings by various other musicians ( Crazy Town,

Cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

). He managed the band

AM Radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

in 2002 and 2003; he and the band's frontman, Kevin Ridel, went to school together. In early 2004, Cuomo joined ex-Weezer bassist

onstage at California State University, Fullerton. They worked on a record together in February that year, but the material remains unreleased. In March 2008, Cuomo began a YouTube video series in which he wrote a song in collaboration with YouTube viewers. The finished song, "Turning Up the Radio", was released in 2010 on the Weezer compilation album '' Death to False Metal''. Weezer eastscene-no watermark

In December 2007, Cuomo released '' Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo'', a compilation of his demos recorded from 1992 to 2007. It was followed by '' Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo'' in November 2008. In November 2010, Cuomo released ''Alone III: The Pinkerton Years''. It was sold exclusively with a book, ''The Pinkerton Diaries'', collecting Cuomo's writings from the ''Pinkerton'' period. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' awarded ''Alone III'' 7.3 out of 10, writing: "''Alone III'' casts the creative up-ramp to ''Pinkerton'' as an inspired if not always productive time for Cuomo—you can practically visualize his brain giddily whirring with a flood of new ideas and classicist ambitions ... If you value these archaeological digs as an opportunity to construct an alternate band history, ''Alone III'' is easily Cuomo's most worthwhile project since, well, ''Pinkerton''." Cuomo has made cameos in music videos including

the Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in 1993. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, v ...

's "Murder" and the Warlocks' "Cocaine Blues". He also makes a guest appearance on

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". Th ...

's "Boardwalk", the first single on the group's 2009 album '' Music for Cougars''. Cuomo featured on the song " Magic", on B.o.B's debut album '' B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray'', released in April 2010. In a May interview with

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

, producer-songwriter Lucas Secon confirmed that he had recently worked with Cuomo on both a Steve Aoki single and "some Weezer stuff". In 2011, Cuomo collaborated with Japanese singer Hitomi for her first

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

album '' Spirit'', in the duet "Rollin' with da Homies", which he co-wrote. He was also featured on the

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...

song " Can't Keep My Hands Off You" and Miranda Cosgrove's song "High Maintenance". In 2013, Cuomo released a self-titled Japanese-language album with Scott Murphy under the name Scott & Rivers. The album debuted at #1 on the iTunes Japan alternative charts. It was physically released in Japan and digitally worldwide on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. In 2015, Cuomo appeared on

Big Data Big data primarily refers to data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data processing, data-processing application software, software. Data with many entries (rows) offer greater statistical power, while data with ...

's song "Snowed In", from its album '' 2.0''. In the same year, he produced a pilot for a sitcom based on his life, ''DeTour'', starring Ben Aldridge as Cuomo. The pilot was not picked up. In 2016, he wrote the song "She Makes Me Laugh" for

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

' twelfth studio album, '' Good Times!''. In 2017, Cuomo featured in RAC's "I Still Wanna Know", as well as

Vic Mensa Victor Kwesi Mensah (born June 6, 1993), known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, he was a member of the regional hip hop groups Kids These Days (band), Kids These Days and Savemoney prior to releasing ...

's "Homewrecker", which sampled Weezer's "The Good Life". The same year, he co-wrote and appeared on AJR's " Sober Up". "Sober Up" reached number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Alternative Charts, becoming Cuomo's first song as a solo artist to reach number one on Billboard's Alternative chart. Cuomo also co-wrote the song "Why Won't You Love Me" on

5 Seconds of Summer 5 Seconds of Summer, often shortened to 5SOS, are an Australian pop rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales in 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford (musician), Mic ...

's 2018 album '' Youngblood''. In 2018, he helped write two songs, "Clock Work" and "Dancing Girl", for

Asian Kung-Fu Generation (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada (musician), Takahiro Yamada, and dr ...

's 2018 album '' Hometown''. Cuomo also performed a live cover of Toto's "

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

" during the homecoming halftime show at Santa Monica College. Also in 2018, Cuomo released a single called "Medicine for Melancholy", produced by AJR. In 2019, he wrote and performed "Backflip", the theme song for the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Green Eggs and Ham''. In 2020, Cuomo released more than 2,000 demos and home recordings on his website. In November 2022, Cuomo released the Indonesian-language song "Anak Sekolah", originally by Indonesian singer

Chrisye Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (; born Christian Rahadi ; 16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), better known by his stage name Chrisye (), was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone Indonesia'' declared him the ...

. Cuomo later performed the song live with Weezer during its headline appearance at SoundrenAline 2022 in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. According to

CNN Indonesia CNN Indonesia is a 24-hour clock, 24-hour Indonesian free-to-air television news, television news channel owned by Trans Media in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery under a CNN license. Broadcasting from Trans Media studios in South Jak ...

, the idea to cover the song had come from Cuomo's

Discord Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over IP, VoIP social platform which allows communication through Voice over IP, voice calls, Videotelephony, video calls, text messaging, and digital media, media. Communication can be private or take ...

server, after he had asked fans about Indonesian-language songs he could perform for Weezer's Indonesia show.

Artistry

Appearing on the '' Song Exploder'' podcast in 2016, Cuomo explained the process he used to write albums such as the '' White Album''. He sometimes uses the piano to write vocal melodies he would not create through singing, and vocally improvises melodies for guitar solos, to avoid guitar habits and create solos "you can sing along to" with "space in

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

because I have to breathe". He maintains

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

playlists of music with chord progressions for inspiration. Cuomo has a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

vocal range. Cuomo's process of writing lyrics involves writing stream-of-consciousness thoughts in his journal, highlighting interesting lines, and adding them to a spreadsheet organized by the number of syllables they contain and strong-weak emphasis. He finds lines that fit the melody and assembles them in a way that suggests a story. Cuomo's lyrics rarely use profanity; according to Cuomo, "Weezer came up at a time when

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...

released '' Nothing's Shocking''; everyone was trying to be controversial. We looked back to rock and roll's pre-drug days—to the clean images of the Beach Boys that felt, ironically, rebellious." Cuomo has experimented with various means of "concentration" to aid his songwriting, such as

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

Influences

Cuomo credited

as a major influence on his early songwriting. He told ''Upset'': "I remember when I was 21 or 22, right when Weezer got together. I went to the local used record shop in Santa Monica with the intention of buying a classic album that was going to be a huge influence on me and my writing for Weezer. I flipped through all the records and I narrowed it down to two records. One of them was ''Led Zeppelin'', the other was ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...

'' by the Beach Boys. It was almost a coin toss but I ended up going with ''Pet Sounds'', and I really came to love the melodies and the chord progression and the emotion on that record. It has to be one of the biggest influences right when Weezer was starting out." Prior to the formation of Weezer, Cuomo was interested in heavy metal and "

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

-heavy punk-pop". On tour with the band after the ''Blue Album'', Cuomo listened extensively to the operas '' Aida'' (1871) and ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

'' (1904), the rock opera ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' (1970), and the musical ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1980), which influenced the composition of ''Pinkerton'' and the unreleased '' Songs from the Black Hole.''''Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo'' (liner notes). Rivers Cuomo. DGC, Interscope Records. 2008. B0012341-02 Cuomo's other influences include

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

Lou Barlow Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock ...

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, Pixies,

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

, Elliott Smith, Mike Smith, and

. Many are referenced in Weezer's 2008 song "Heart Songs". In the late 1990s, Cuomo created an "Encyclopedia of Pop" for himself, a three-ring binder in which he examined pop and rock songs by artists including Nirvana, Green Day, and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentLuerssen D., John, 2004 p. 270

Equipment

Rivers Cuomo Performing in 2015 - Photo by Peter Dzubay

Cuomo recorded the ''Blue Album'' with a Gibson Les Paul Special, a Gibson Les Paul Junior, and a Fender Jaguar borrowed from producer Ric Ocasek. His amp was a vintage Mesa/Boogie Mark I. For touring, he initially used a sonic blue Warmoth

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...

copy with

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and Bass (guitar), bass Pickup (music technology), pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in United States. Guitarist and luthier ...

and DiMarzio pickups alongside Marshall amps, but the guitar was split down the middle onstage in 1997 and eventually retired in 2000. In recent years, he has used additional Warmoth Strat copies (in blue, seafoam green, black and blonde), as well as a Gibson SG painted white with a Seymour Duncan bridge pickup. During the Hella Mega Tour in 2021, Cuomo was seen playing a Jackson Rhoads (he had recently used Randy Rhoads's solo on "Crazy Train"). The guitars are plugged into a Kemper Profiler amp.

Personal life

Cuomo took a vow of

sexual abstinence Sexual abstinence or sexual restraint is the practice of refraining from sexual activity for reasons medical, psychological, legal, social, philosophical, moral, religious or other. It is a part of chastity. Celibacy is sexual abstinence general ...

from 2003 until his marriage in 2006, and considered his celibacy a positive influence on Weezer's '' Make Believe'' (2005). On June 18, 2006, Cuomo married Kyoko Ito, whom he met in 1997 at one of his solo concerts at the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

club in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He proposed to her in Tokyo in 2005. The wedding was on a beach on Paradise Cove in Malibu, and all of Weezer's past and present members except Mikey Welsh attended, as did Cuomo's old bandmate Kevin Ridel and ''Make Believe'' producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

. They have two children, Mia Cuomo (born in 2007) and Leo Cuomo (born in 2012). Cuomo was born with equally long legs, but as he grew, his right leg grew nearly two inches longer than his left. After the '' Blue Album'' success, he underwent the Ilizarov procedure to correct the condition. This involved surgical breaking of the bone in his leg, followed by several months of wearing a steel brace that required self-administered "stretching" of the leg four times daily. Cuomo likened the ordeal to "crucifying his leg".Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 148–149 Cuomo has been vegetarian since childhood, but in 2002, he told an interviewer that he might like to start eating meat regularly and said he had done so in the past, eating "some kind of barbecued beef in Tokyo". Cuomo practices Vipassanā meditation and was a student of S. N. Goenka. As of 2009, he also teaches children's meditation as taught by Goenka. Cuomo helped acquire music rights and provided financial support for the 2007 documentary '' The Dhamma Brothers'', about Vipassanā meditation being instituted in an Alabama state prison. Cuomo was a fan of

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

at an early age. He wrote the 2006 song "My Day Is Coming" in tribute to the U.S. men's soccer team, and in 2010, wrote "Represent", an "unofficial anthem" for the U.S. team, which was released as a Weezer single on June 11, the day before Team USA's World Cup opener against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In early 2008, Cuomo played in the Mia and Nomar Celebrity Soccer Challenge and scored a goal in the game. The video for "Lover in the Snow", from the ''Alone'' album, deals with this game and his childhood love of soccer. In August 2009, Cuomo participated in the Athletes for Africa 5v5 Charity Soccer Tournament in Toronto, alongside actor

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera ( ; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Over his career he has received nominations for a British Academy Film Award, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Cera beca ...

. Cuomo performed at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

on November 1, 2019, though he did not explicitly endorse Yang. Cuomo's hobbies include

computer programming Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called computer program, programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of proc ...

. He took the CS50 course and maintains a

GitHub GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...

profile and a Discord server.

Discography

With Weezer * ''Weezer'' (Blue Album) (1994) * '' Pinkerton'' (1996) * ''Weezer'' (Green Album) (2001) * '' Maladroit'' (2002) * '' Make Believe'' (2005) * ''Weezer'' (Red Album) (2008) * '' Raditude'' (2009) * '' Hurley'' (2010) *'' Death to False Metal'' (2010) * '' Everything Will Be Alright in the End'' (2014) * ''Weezer'' (White Album) (2016) * '' Pacific Daydream'' (2017) * ''Weezer'' (Teal Album) (2019) * ''Weezer'' (Black Album) (2019) * '' OK Human'' (2021) * '' Van Weezer'' (2021) * '' SZNZ: Spring'' (2022) * '' SZNZ: Summer'' (2022) * '' SZNZ: Autumn'' (2022) * '' SZNZ: Winter'' (2022) With Scott and Rivers * ''スコットとリバース ("Scott & Rivers")'' (2013) * ''ニマイメ ("The Second One")'' (2017) Homie * "American Girls" ('' Meet the Deedles'' soundtrack) (1998) Solo * '' Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo'' (2007) * '' Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo'' (2008) * ''Not Alone – Rivers Cuomo and Friends: Live at Fingerprints'' (2009) * ''Alone III: The Pinkerton Years'' (2011) Singles * ''Medicine For Melancholy'' (2018) * ''Anak Sekolah'' (2022) Weezify demo bundles * ''Alone IV: Before Weezer'' (2020) * ''Alone V: The Blue-Pinkerton Years'' (2020) * ''Alone VI: The Black Room'' (2020) * ''Alone VII: The Green Years'' (2020) * ''Alone VIII: The Maladroit Years'' (2020) * ''Alone IX: The Make Believe Years'' (2020) * ''Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years'' (2020) * ''Alone XI: The EWBAITE Years'' (2020) * ''Alone XII: The White Year'' (2020) * ''Alone XIII: The Pacific Daydream Black Years'' (2021)

References

Bibliography *

External links

Interview with ''The Harvard Crimson'' about his Harvard years
* * *
Rivers Cuomo Archived MySpace Postings

Biographical article in Shambhala Sun Magazine

Scott & Rivers on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuomo, Rivers 1970 births 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Italian descent American rock guitarists American male guitarists American alternative rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Berklee College of Music alumni Grammy Award winners Harvard College alumni Living people Singers from Los Angeles Weezer members Musicians Institute alumni Power pop musicians Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Connecticut Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Connecticut 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists