Everyone's just looking up with a sterile, kinda bored look, and then there's Mikey, looking at us so intensely.
Today is Mikey’s birthday: April 20, 1971. If he were still alive, he’d be 49 today.
I know Mikey was with the band the shortest amount of time, but I’m glad he was a small part of Weezer.
Most of the conversation I’ve seen has been Matt vs. Scott, but today I wanted to take a moment to appreciate Mikey, wherever he is.
Happy birthday, Mikey.
I'm selling a skateboard deck by Mikey Welsh, Weezer bassist from 1998-2001. This was skated on, painted by, and signed by Mikey Welsh in 2011. This is a unique piece of Weezer memorabilia for collectors out there. It's also an original - he donated it to a silent auction fundraiser in Vermont shortly before he passed away in 2011, which is where I bought it.
Check out my ebay listing: http://ebay.us/kZZr6Y?cmpnId=5338273189
Mikey Welsh art was feature in several exhibits and on Burton snowboards as well. Here is how Welsh's art has been described:
"Welsh attacks his canvases with pure spontaneity and aggression, almost never using a brush and preferring to work only with his hands and fingers. This technique gives him the opportunity to get as close and "inside" to his paintings as he needs to be. For him, this is a necessity. Welsh also works in sculpture, working with found objects. Constructing creatures out of broken and dismantled chairs and furniture, to vacuum hoses, Tupperware, wire, and rope. All painted with his usual explosion of color."
Hey, so a lot of people say Matt Sharp is like the secret formula or whatever. I love The Rentals as well, granted, but it seems like everyone forgets The Rentals was half of the original Weezer (excluding kitchen demos with Jason Cropper) and Pat helped a lot in getting that sound, as well as being someone whom Matt was already familiar with.
Anyhow, my argument is that it was the dynamic and no objective skill.
It feels like the band had the most internal peace and sort of tightness and when Mikey Welsh was in the lineup. This is really a funny interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG_uqXx1nOw&t=1295s
A lot of people tend to overlook Green/Maladroit and that entire era, and Mikey hardly ever gets credited with helping on Maladroit. Some of the best songs from Maladroit were already made; at the very least demo'd and recorded, by the time Mikey left the band on seemingly completely clean, honest terms. He even played on stage with them in years after a couple times. He really held the band together in the rough state it was in - in a sort of way that would not have been possible if someone else with a less positive energy had picked up the bass. His humor really is what kept things tight at times, it seems. Not to mention, yeah - he really is a good bass player.
Not saying he is like THE BEST and that Scott isn't playing bass as well, but I just think his energy was really cool. Guess I want to ask, if he was told "You'll retire from music but will still be depressed. Do you still want to?" Don't you think he'd have stuck with it some? Don't you think he was really depressed that Weezer sunk into mediocrity when he left? It isn't Mat. Maladroit and Green were solid, thanks to both Mikey and Scott as bassists.
Kinda just felt like talking about this, just curious what fellow die-hard Weezer fans think
For me it's a bit weird to remember that weezer even had a third bassist sometimes. I honestly can't really speak for his skill, or talk about his songwriting contributions, because the only album he played on was so numb skullingly formulaic. (Still good tho) I haven't seen him in any live performances either.
However, I've seen him in interviews, and personality wise, I feel like he came with a great vibe. He was good looking, funny, likable, and in many ways, seemed to be a lot like Matt. Also looks like he was the unofficial co front man at the time, same as Matt in the 90's.
And that's something I always hated about Scott. Without that cool bassist, it's just a bunch of glasses wearing nerds, with no one holding Rivers back as he just did weirder and weirder shit over the years. Rivers/Matt and Rivers/Mikey worked like a coin, and Scott Shriner is like a coin with 2 heads, only one side is noticeably more uninteresting than the other. TLDR, weezer works better with a cool guy bassist.
Anyway, what's your opinion on Mikey Welsh?
I'm selling a skateboard deck by Mikey Welsh, Weezer bassist from 1998-2001. This was skated on, painted by, and signed by Mikey Welsh in 2011. This is a unique piece of Weezer memorabilia for collectors out there. It's also an original - he donated it to a silent auction fundraiser in Vermont shortly before he passed away in 2011, which is where I bought it.
Check out my ebay listing: http://ebay.us/kZZr6Y?cmpnId=5338273189
Mikey Welsh art was feature in several exhibits and on Burton snowboards as well. Here is how Welsh's art has been described:
"Welsh attacks his canvases with pure spontaneity and aggression, almost never using a brush and preferring to work only with his hands and fingers. This technique gives him the opportunity to get as close and "inside" to his paintings as he needs to be. For him, this is a necessity. Welsh also works in sculpture, working with found objects. Constructing creatures out of broken and dismantled chairs and furniture, to vacuum hoses, Tupperware, wire, and rope. All painted with his usual explosion of color."
