Weezer are bringing their summery new tunes to New Zealand.
Weezer's summer dreams will come true when they open for the Foo Fighters this weekend. Drummer Patrick Wilson talks to Chris Schulz.
"It feels like summer", sings Rivers Cuomo on the biggest song to come off Weezer's new album, one they called Pacific Daydream.
It really will be summer and it won't be a daydream when Weezer open for the Foo Fighters this weekend at a show shaping up as the year's biggest rock event.
And Weezer's drummer, Patrick Wilson, can't wait.
"It's going to be fantastic, especially as it will be winter here [and] it'll be summer there. I love it," he says on the phone from his home in San Diego.
"We pretended it would be summer - but it will be summer."
Full of big beats and Beach Boys harmonies, Pacific Daydream's super happy odes to the sun might have felt like a detour for fans who know Weezer for their crunching guitar riffs.
But they've always included plenty of summery tunes on their albums, from the Green Album's Island in the Sun in 2001, to 2005's ode to celebrity life, Beverly Hills.
To Wilson, it felt like business as usual in the studio.
"It's funny. Sometimes when you're in the studio you can't really see what's taking shape until you step back a little bit and give it some time and get some perspective on what you're actually doing," he says.
"The more I hear the stuff we're doing the longer I wait to listen critically. Like, 'Wow, did we do that? That's so cool' .. the vibe was good."
Pacific Daydreams' cruisy vibe was in stark contrast to some of Weezer's previous records, like 2005's Make Believe, for which frontman Cuomo gave a vow of celibacy and began disappearing on weeks-long mediation retreats. At the time, Rick Rubin told Rolling Stone they were among the most dysfunctional bands he'd worked with.
Then there's Pinkerton, the band's second and darkest record from 1996.
"That was a tough time. We were pretty young and a lot of bands have to go through growing pains when they become somewhat successful," says Wilson.
"You can hear it in the music. It's a pretty aggressive record. Strangely that's one of our most beloved albums, which is really cool."
Wilson says they'll be playing a smattering of hits when they open for the Foos this weekend.
"It'll be a greatest hits [set] with more of the popular songs and maybe a few deep cuts. We want people to be able to recognise the songs we're playing," he says.
Cuomo will choose the setlist, as he always does. So, will they be playing anything from the Black Album, the long-rumoured next Weezer record?
Wilson laughs long and hard, and refuses to confirm or deny its existent. "I love the Black Album because it's endlessly going to happen and so I can't wait."
Who: Weezer's Patrick Wilson
Where and when: Performing with Foo Fighters, Mt Smart Stadium, February 3.
Times: Gates - 4pm; Ayn Randy - 6pm; Weezer - 6.50pm; Foo Fighters - 8.30pm.
Also: Weezer's new album Pacific Daydream is out now.
There’s plenty for historians to grit their teeth about.