THIS VAN'S A-ROCKIN' ON THE NEW VAN WEEZER.

WEEZER’S RIVERS CUOMO OPENS UP A “PANDORA’S BOX OF EVIL GUITAR TOOLS” AND GOES CRAZY. BELOW, HE DISCUSSES HIS POST-EDDIE VAN HALEN SHRED INFLUENCES, EIGHTIES HAIR METAL AND WHY OZZY OSBOURNE HAD TO APPROVE ONE OF WEEZER’S NEW SONGS

- JOE BOSSO 

GIVEN THE FACT THAT WEEZER’S LATEST ALBUM IS called Van Weezer (this from a band that has famously fashioned its flying “W” logo after Van Halen’s iconic “VH” wings), one might easily assume that the group’s frontman, lead guitarist and songwriter, Rivers Cuomo, is an avowed fan of the late six-string legend and company. This is a notion that he immediately puts to rest.

“Honestly, I’m not the Van Halen guy in the band,” he states emphatically. “I don’t really know anything about them. I got seriously into music and guitar with the microgeneration right after Van Halen, so that would’ve been Ratt, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Metallica. The other guys in Weezer were all super into Van Halen.”

Interesting. However, the album is called