Coachella Band Preview: Weezer

January is quickly wrapping up and Coachella 2019 will be here before you know it. After spending 10 days in the humid air of Riviera Maya, Mexico, I’m counting down the days until my two (possibly three) week stretch in the dry Indio desert. I can’t wait to be there and I’m sure you’re feeling the same way. This week I decided to preview a well known alternative rock band playing the festival this year.

Weezer was formed around 1992 in Los Angeles, California. The band is comprised of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals). The band signed a deal to Geffen Records in 1993 and released their debut self-titled album (Blue Album) the following year. The album, which has since gone on to go 3x platinum, features notable hits “Buddy Holly”, “Undone – The Sweater Song”, and “Say It Ain’t So”.

Weezer’s second album Pinkerton was released in 1996, but the album wasn’t received as well due to the darker and more abrasive sound compared to their first album. The album has since gone on to critical acclaim, but initially it was considered a flop. The band went on hiatus between 1997 and 2000, which created a 5 year gap in album releases. Weezer released their third album in 2001 (Green Album). The album had a more pop sound than their sophomore release and created hits like “Island in the Sun” and “Hash Pipe”.

Since 2001 Weezer has released 7 more albums, which have contained hits like “Beverly Hills”, “Pork and Beans”, and “Feels Like Summer”. Just last week Weezer released their 11th full-length album to date the self-titled Teal Album. Their most recent release is a cover album containing their 2018 hit cover of Toto’s “Africa” and others including Radiohead’s “Paranoid” and TLC’s “No Scrubs”. The band also has a new album due out March 1st, the self-titled Black Album, making Coachella a perfect stop for the band who will be touring to promote their latest work.

Weezer has always been an iconic alternative rock band since the early 90’s. They span generations of fans as well because those of us who discovered alt-rock at some point have heard of Weezer, know Weezer songs, and/or have become fans ourselves. I’m totally including myself in this mix too. I first heard of Weezer when I was in high school. “Island in the Sun” was one of the first songs I had to practice when I began taking drum lessons on a full kit. While I was in a band in high school, we used to jam at our band practices by playing “Say It Ain’t So”. Throughout the years, the band has maintained the same quality of alternative rock sound too, which is always impressive and aids in keeping their dedicated fan base.

Weezer will be playing their 3rd Coachella this year. The band first debuted at the festival in 2001. They also played in 2005. They’re now back for the 20th anniversary of the festival and their first appearance there in 14 years. It should be a fun, well-attended set given Weezer’s iconic status. They play Saturday and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll either be playing the Main Stage or the Outdoor Stage. Weezer has a huge discography so here’s several of their hits that you should know before heading to their performance:

1. Buddy Holly
2. Undone – The Sweater Song
3. Say It Ain’t So
4. Island in the Sun
5. Beverly Hills
6. Hash Pipe
7. Africa (Toto Cover)
8. Feels Like Summer
9. Thank God For Girls
10. (If You’re Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To
11. Pork and Beans
12. Tired of Sex
13. Back to the Shack
14. King of the World
15. My Name Is Jonas

Local Natives

It’s crazy to think, but it’s been almost a month since my last blog post and yet it honestly doesn’t feel like it was that long ago. I guess that’s what happens when you spend the fastest two weeks in the Coachella Valley working at your favorite and one of the most well-known music festivals in the world.

So yeah, I did it. I worked Coachella. It was amazing, special, wild, epic, unreal, and all sorts of other positive adjectives that you can think of. It was mostly indescribable though. I knew what to expect, but at the same time I didn’t at all. I can say though that experiencing Coachella in an entirely different way made me appreciate it so much more because it’s a first class, well-run music festival. I’m not gonna go into deep detail about my trip here. I will say that out of the bands I previewed I was able to see Kungs, Grouplove, Lorde, and Lady Gaga. If you wanna know more about my experience though, just ask.

Another thing I will mention is that I had a realization while at the festival during Saturday of Weekend 1. I definitely should have previewed Local Natives in the build-up to Coachella 2017. I was able to catch part of their set that Saturday before my shift started and I knew about 4 of the 5 songs I heard. I didn’t realize how many Local Natives songs I knew, but apparently I know a lot. I know enough that I feel like I need to go to one of their shows sometime. So I figured it was better late than never to write about them, so here goes…

Local Natives is an indie rock band from Los Angeles, CA. Members Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, and Taylor Rice all met while in high school together in neighboring Orange County, but it was after graduating college from UCLA that the group really started to focus on music. Along with Matt Frazier and former member Andy Hamm (replaced by Nik Ewing in 2012), the group moved into a house together in the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles and began working on their first record, Gorilla Manor. The album was released in November 2009 in the UK and then in the U.S. in February 2010.

The band began generating some hype before the album’s release though. They played SXSW in 2009 which garnered attention from music critics. They received comparisons to well known indie bands, Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, and Vampire Weekend, making them a new notable act on the indie scene.

On January 29, 2013 the band released their second album, Hummingbird. The album was produced by guitarist Aaron Dessner of The National and featured a darker lyrical turn due to life events, such as the departure of Andy Hamm and the death of Kelcey Ayer’s mother, that had influenced the band’s writing process. The album also received generally positive reviews.

Last year the band released their third and most recent album, Sunlit Youth, in September. The first single for the album, “Past Lives”, was released a few months before the album drop. The album, like it’s predecessor, received similarly favorable reviews.

Local Natives is your standard indie rock band. There’s no other genre that their music fits into. I can see why they were initially compared to the likes of those other well-known indie bands. Out of the three I mentioned above, their music sounds most similar to a combination of Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes. I think Vampire Weekend has more of an indie pop feel to their songs that isn’t heard as much with Local Natives. Another reassuring fact about Local Natives’ music is that the sound hasn’t changed much through three albums. Maybe the lyrical content has developed and changed, but you’re still getting that familiar Gorilla Manor sound on Sunlit Youth.

I first heard of Local Natives in the prime of my indie/hipster music transition phase in the spring of 2011. From then on, every so often I would add a new Local Natives song to my iTunes and playlist rotation. While on my first trip to California in 2013, I made it a point to go to Amoeba Music. Amoeba is the world’s largest independent record store. They have three locations in California, one in Berkeley (the original), one in San Francisco, and one in Hollywood, which is the one I went to. I, of course, wanted to get something at Amoeba, but traveling by plane made it difficult to purchase any vinyl so I opted for a CD. The CD I purchased was Hummingbird. Despite all this evidence, it never occurred to me that Local Natives should be a must-see for me at Coachella this year and a must among the list of bands I previewed. I didn’t even realize it after catching the end of their set at Lollapalooza last summer and realizing I knew every song I heard them play. I do now though and I won’t disregard them anymore. I plan on going to one of their shows next time they tour near me. They crushed it at Coachella and I don’t want to miss out anymore.

If you’re a big indie music follower and you don’t know of Local Natives, it’s time you do. They’re a great band to listen to if you’re just relaxing on quiet evening or if you’re driving on a road trip. It’s time to make these guys known or recognized whatever the case may be. Here’s a few songs you should check out.

1. Airplanes
2. Who Knows Who Cares
3. Ceilings
4. Heavy Feet
5. Mt. Washington
6. Past Lives
7. Wide Eyes
8. Dark Days
9. We Come Back
10. Sun Hands