Mikey Welsh

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Mikey Welsh
Born 20 April 1971 (1971-04-20) (age 37)
Origin Syracuse, New York
Genre(s) Rock
Occupation(s) Formerly bass guitarist- Backing Vocals

Artist
Instrument(s) Bass Guitar
Guitar
Vocals
Label(s) Geffen Records
Associated acts Weezer
The Special Goodness
Verbena
Juliana Hatfield
The Kickovers

Mikey Welsh (born April 20, 1971 in Syracuse, New York) is an outsider artist and former bassist of the band Weezer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early musical career and joining Weezer

Welsh started off as a Boston-area musician, playing in bands such as Heretix, Chevy Heston, Jocobono, Left Nut, and Slower.[1][2][3][4] He also was Juliana Hatfield's touring bassist.[5] In 1997 he joined the first incarnation of The Rivers Cuomo Band, the side-project of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo.[4][5]

He joined Weezer following the departure of Matt Sharp in 1998.[1][6] During Weezer's hiatus he played with Verbena and the first incarnation of Patrick Wilson's band The Special Goodness. He wrote a large number of bass lines in this period, recorded them and sent them to Rivers Cuomo for writing inspiration.[7], although Cuomo never used any of them. Instead, he contributed four of these songs to Juliana Hatfield's 2000 album Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure.[8] Welsh was given a co-writing credit for those four songs.[9]

He toured with the band from their resurgence in the summer of 2000 and most of the way through tours supporting The Green Album, the only Weezer album he'd ever appear on. He would also appear on their limited edition Christmas EP (re-released in 2005 as Winter Weezerland) and on a number of b-sides and unreleased songs. He also played on the road and in the studio with Patrick Wilson's band The Special Goodness.[10]

[edit] Mental breakdown and exit from Weezer

Mikey Welsh left Weezer in 2001 for reasons that were left unclear to the public for several years after it occurred. It was eventually revealed that he did in fact have a nervous breakdown due to drug use, undiagnosed mental conditions, and the constant wear of touring. The combination of these factors ultimately led Welsh to attempt suicide via drug overdose.[11] He was checked in to a psychiatric hospital sometime during August 2001.[12] He later spoke about the ordeal in an interview with the website Rock Salt Plum:

Basically, a lifetime of doing drugs and being undiagnosed as having Bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder finally caught up with me when I was 30 years old. At the beginning of a 3-month European tour with Weezer, I started slowly falling apart. Without getting too graphic, by the time the tour was winding up, my weight had gone down to about 140lbs (I'm 6'2") and mentally completely wiped out. When I returned to the states, my family had made plans for me to see a psychiatrist in Boston. First though, we had to play a few dates around the U.S., and perform on The Tonite (sic) Show (which ended up being my last performance with Weezer). By the time I got to Boston, I was having a complete nervous breakdown. It ended with a severe suicide attempt (an overdose). I was found and rushed to the hospital where I had come to within minutes of my heart completely stopping. I was in a coma for a few days, and woke up in a lockdown psychiatric ward.

—Mikey Welsh, Feb. 2007 Rock Salt Plum Interview[11]

Weezer shot a new version of their (at the time) most-current single's video, "Island in the Sun" to disinclude Welsh.[13][14] In the fall of 2001, the band hired Scott Shriner to fill Welsh's place in the band.[15]

[edit] Retirement from music

In late 2001, Welsh returned to the Boston music scene by temporarily joining Nate Albert's (guitarist for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) band, The Kickovers.[16] In an interview, he expressed his distaste for the corporate music process, stating that, "It’s actually fun to just be playing in the studio without some major-label idiot standing over your shoulder."[17]

Soon after, he retired from music to become a full-time artist and was married.[16] The couple have two sons and live in Vermont.[6][18]

Welsh attended a Weezer show on July 12th, 2005 in Lewiston, Maine. Cuomo dedicated "Hash Pipe" to him, the very mention of his name drawing forth cheers from the crowd. Welsh also got to meet current Weezer bassist Scott Shriner.[19]

[edit] Discography

[edit] With Weezer

[edit] With Juliana Hatfield

[edit] With The Kickovers

[edit] With Heretix

  • 1993 - The Adventures of Superdevil

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Luerssen D., John. Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. ECW Press, 2004, ISBN 1-55022-619-3 p. 259
  2. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 260
  3. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 261
  4. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 262
  5. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 264
  6. ^ a b Weezer Biographies. Weezer.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  7. ^ The Weezer Recording History: Page 11. Weezer.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  8. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 279
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure > Overview. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  10. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 278
  11. ^ a b Interview with Outsider Artist Mikey Welsh. Rock Salt Plum. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
  12. ^ Heller, Greg. Weezer to Redo "Island". Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  13. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 362
  14. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 363
  15. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 372
  16. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 366
  17. ^ Different Strokes. The Phoenix. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  18. ^ Mikey Welsh Biography. MikeyWelsh.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  19. ^ 07/12/05 Dybbik, Schmybbik, I Said More Ham. Weezer.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.

[edit] External links

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Weezer
Brian Bell · Rivers Cuomo · Scott Shriner · Patrick Wilson
Jason Cropper · Matt Sharp · Mikey Welsh
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