WEEZER, THE POPULAR alt-rock band with pop music smarts, lands at Gwinnett Arena on Oct. 25. The band is touring in support of its latest self-titled release, dubbed by fans and the band alike as the Red Album.
As Weezer lovers clamor for tickets to hear the band rip through its latest hit "Troublemaker" and older faves like "Buddy Holly" and "Beverly Hills," there are sure to be a few left out in the cold.
For those who can't make it to the show, El Scorcho comes to the rescue. The Atlanta-based Weezer tribute band, helmed by Rivers Cuomo look-alike Braxton O'Neal, has been perfecting the art of Weezer's nerd rock since 2004. They are parlaying their local success into a new disc of original material. El Scorcho performs the night before the Weezer show at Sweetwater Bar & Grill in Duluth.
O'Neal recently talked about life as a mock rocker.
What prompted you to create a Weezer tribute?
I was told when I was in other bands that I looked just like Rivers Cuomo. So I started joking with people that I was going to start a Weezer tribute band one day. I was mentioning this to some co-workers of mine and they thought it wasn't such a bad idea. So they said, "Let's do it." ... We decided to make our forte the Blue Album from start to finish. And word caught on pretty quickly. When we had our first show at Lenny's, it was jam-packed. We just thought it was going to be a one-time thing, then it went further than we ever thought, and more people wanted to hire us.
Have you ever been mistaken for Rivers Cuomo offstage?
We were in Chattanooga outside of the Midtown Music Hall. We had just finished packing up, and we were trying to find another bar to go to and hang out. People were cruising up and down the street, and were honking at us, waving and goofing off. This group of girls slowed down and pulled up to the curb. And this girl leaned out of the car and said, "You look like Rivers Cuomo." That's all she said, and then they sped off. I was thinking, "You missed the show."
You're now working on a CD done in the style of Weezer.
We're kind of seeing an opportunity that we could use El Scorcho as a launching pad to re-establish ourselves as musicians making original music. The idea is for us to work within the formula that Weezer has established, which is good pop songs, and the style goes back to Beach Boys and Buddy Holly type stuff. It's nothing that's really new. And we don't want rip off Weezer, either. We want to put our own spin on it. We are just now finishing mixing two singles that we're going to put on a limited edition CD. We're going to give them away for free at the concert on Oct. 24.
If you had a chance to meet the band, what would be your first question?
I understand that Rivers is a dad now. I would ask him if he enjoys being a dad, because I'm a dad, too. I would try to connect with him on the fatherhood level.
THE 411: El Scorcho. $5 ages 21 and older; $10 ages 18-20. 8 p.m. Oct. 24. Sweetwater Bar & Grill, 2920 Old Norcross Road, Duluth. 770-921-5556, www.sweetwaterbarandgrill.com.
> Weezer. $29.50-$45.50. Oct. 25. 7:30 p.m. The Arena at Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway. 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com.
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