SFBG: How did you feel about the concept of singing lead vocals?

SS: I was so excited about it. As a matter of fact, when we first got together to talk about the record, we all listed our goals and objectives. Singing lead vocals was a big goal for me. I was really, really into it.

SFBG: Are you going to be singing lead live?

SS: The song that I co-wrote and sang, “Cold Dark World” - we aren’t doing live. However, there is a song on the deluxe version of the album called “King,” that I am gonna be singing live.

SFBG: Speaking of “Cold Dark World” that song seems to be a real departure from the Weezer that we thought we knew. It’s definitely one of the most moody tracks that we’ve heard from you guys. What are your thoughts on that one?

SS: I really dig it. It started from a bass part that I just kept playing in my practice room. It really felt cool to me. I didn’t think that the guys would be interested in it all, but when I played it for them, they got super-excited about it and came up with these great parts for it. Then Rivers wrote the lyrics and wound up making me sing it at the last minute. I am really stoked on that song. I know it’s a departure for Weezer fans, but it’s just an honest piece of me that I put in there. I realize it’s probably not for everybody, but it’s just honest. You know what I mean?

SFBG: Another track I’d like to get your thoughts on is one you’ve already touched on, the expansive “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)."

SS: Actually, it is basically theme and variations. The theme was based around a shaker hymn. Then, we just actually applied a bunch of different musical styles to the same theme, and kinda covered all these different styles that we all enjoyed and named all the different sections. One of the sections is named Bach. Another one’s named Slipknot. There’s a Jeff Buckley-kinda section, so we named all the different parts of the song. Of all the songs we rehearsed for the tour, we spent the most time working on that song.

SFBG: How’s that one working out live?

SS: It’s been working great. We spent a lot of time on it, especially the vocal parts. We all had to do a bunch of vocal rehearsals, but I think its been going great. It feels really triumphant to do that song.

SFBG: Another song that seems to have gotten a brilliant response is “Heart Songs,” surely one of the most introspective tracks on the disc.

SS: I think I thought that people would like it. You know? I believed in it in that way. I thought it would make people kinda think and feel happy, and stuff like that. So in that way I can totally get behind it.

SFBG: You are one of the few bands who has been able to navigate a successful marriage between commercial success and cultural relevance, while always maintaining your eccentricities. On this tour, you will be playing mostly mid-size arenas, what are your favorite kind of venues to play?

SS: You know what? I really enjoy the big arenas. I think we’re doing a good job involving fans, and I feel really connected to them. I like the fact that we have general admission floor, so there’s actually like a couple of pits starting and people jumping up and down. I’d rather do that any day than play a place with fixed seating. You know what I mean?

I mean, when I went to shows, I loved general admission. If I felt like going up front for a couple songs, I would. Then, I could take a break and go back, and then I could stand in the middle and move around. That’s how I like to see shows so I’m really glad that were doing it that way.

SFBG: About connecting to the fans, you guys are really put your money where your mouth was on your last tour with the "Hootenanny" concept (in which the band invited their fans onstage to play their songs with them). Where did that come from? I’ve never heard of anything like it.

SS: It was actually from Rivers’ mom. He asked her what she used to do when she was young to have a good time with her friends. She said she used to get together with a bunch of instruments and sit down and sing songs and stuff. That’s kinda how that started.

SFBG: How’d it go?

SS: It’s was amazing. I’ve never seen so many smiling faces in an arena before in my life. Seems like everyone was really stoked.

SFBG: You obviously played with a lot of different groups before joining Weezer full-time in 2001. What were your influences?

SS: I’ve always been into darker, heavy music, bordering on metal, but I grew up on Pink Floyd and Zeppelin, and I still listen to all that stuff. It’s always been a part of my thing. It’s important to me to have really strong melodies, which is why Weezer is kinda perfect for me, ‘cause there’s rock and always great melodies.

SFBG: What kinda stuff are you into these days?

SS: I find myself, after shows, listening to pretty brutal kinda metal because it’s so different than what we’re doing. I love Mastodon and Tool and, you know, harder bands like that, Nine Inch Nails and stuff.

SFBG: Yeah, I remember a couple years ago Rivers was playing an (ESP) Explorer, so I always thought that you guys might have some metal leanings.

SS: Yeah, that was a couple records ago. On Maladroit, he was rocking a couple Explorers, that was cool.

SFBG: Getting back to the live show. Do you have some favorite new songs that are either really fun to play or are going over really well?

SS: Well, the singles are really fun, “Pork and Beans” and “Troublemaker,” because fans are really jumping around and getting energetic. That feels awesome. Like "Beverly Hills," on the last record, was really popular, but it didn’t provoke jumping ‘cause it was a little bit slower. Those two songs are so much fun to play live. Rivers gets really into it and runs around and jumps around, and the fans are just losing their minds, so those are definitely some of my favorites. But “Greatest Man” is something I look forward to every night.

SFBG: Bands are always talking about how excited they are to play their new songs live. What are some of your favorite old ones to do?

SS: “Say it Ain’t” so is my all-time favorite Weezer song, so every night I’m really happy to play that song. We’ve been doing “Undone” with the singer from Angels and Airwaves [Tom DeLonge of Blink 182] singing a verse and their drummer playing drums, while Pat [Wilson, Weezer drummer] plays guitar. So that makes it pretty exciting, you know what I mean?

SFBG: Since you joined the group, you guys have been prolific (four LP’s in seven years). How much do you miss touring when you are in the studio, if at all?

SS: I’m pretty much, as they say, chomping at the bit. I really enjoy the studio, and it was definitely the best studio experience of my life working on "The Red Album". But, I’m always thinking about getting up there, putting a face on, and standing in front of people. It’s one of my favorite things to do in life.

SFBG: Just to change gears, the video for “Pork and Beans” sort of fuses your world with the world of YouTube celebrities. What was it like being in a room with all those crazy people?

SS: It was a little overwhelming for me. I didn’t know a lot of those people. Like, I was friends with Kelly, who does the shoes video, so it was cool to hang with him. But, I’m not a super YouTube aficionado or whatever, so it was pretty overwhelming. Once again, I really thought people were gonna like it, and it was gonna be seen by a lot of folks. But I had no idea that it would be that popular.

SFBG: Aside from your band’s seemingly countless songs that are engrained in the pop music lexicon, you guys seem to have a knack for making these, kind of, iconic videos. From "Hash Pipe" with the sumos, to "Buddy Holly"’s throwback to Happy Days, how involved in these videos are you guys?

SS: Well, it’s funny - I used to say that it was all the directors, and they come up with these great concepts and we kinda have nothing to do with it. But lately, I changed my spin on that a little bit, and I really feel that the music is inspiring other creative people and sorta spawning these different ideas. We look at a bunch of different treatments and pick the one that we feel like we can relate to or get into the most. And, we definitely participate a little bit. Really though, after the music part is done, it’s the directors that have the real vision.

SFBG: Just to finish up, what’s on the horizon for Weezer. What should all the Weezer-ites out there be looking forward to?

SS: Were gonna plan on staying busy you know for the next couple years. Although, right now, we’re really just focusing on the task at hand, which is making the Weezer show the best it can be. We’re always writing, working, and looking toward the future.

SFBG: Awesome. Thanks for your time. Any last words on "The Red Album"?

SS: It’s just a new day for Weezer. "The Red Album" is something that we’re really proud of, and we hope people give it a chance. Thanks to all the fans for all the support.

WEEZER
With Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club
Mon/13, 7:30 p.m., $49.50
San Jose State Event Center Arena
290 S. Seventh St., San Jose
(415) 421-TIXS