Talk:Rivers Cuomo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WikiProject Connecticut
 This article is part of WikiProject Connecticut, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to Connecticut, United States on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit this article, or visit the project page to join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
B This article has been rated as B-Class on the assessment scale.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.
Biography Portal
B This article has been rated as B-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ]
This article is supported by WikiProject Musicians, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed biographical guide to musicians and musical groups on Wikipedia.
Photo request It is requested that a picture or pictures of this person be included in this article to improve its quality.

Note: Wikipedia's non-free content use policy almost never permits the use of non-free images (such as promotional photos, press photos, screenshots, book covers and similar) to merely show what a living person looks like. Efforts should be made to take a free licensed photo during a public appearance, or obtaining a free content release of an existing photo instead.

Contents

[edit] Asian Fetish

I find it rather odd that where it says that Cuomo has an affinity for Asian women, it links to the article Asian fetish, which refers to the sexual objectification of Asian women. Since when does Cuomo objectify Asians? I don't believe that he ever said that he has a "fetish" for asian girls, he just likes them. Seems like it would do better not being a link at all. Orangemango (talk) 21:00, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Two of the cited sources specifically use the term Asian fetish. So it seems to be applied to him in the media. Perhaps the Asian fetish article should instead be expanded to include in the WP:LEAD something about popular usage that may be less about objectification but more popular definitions. Note, there is a couple comments already lower down on this page about it. I don't have an opinion about the link here, I'd suggest removing it if the sources do not support either usage. - Owlmonkey (talk) 22:27, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh i'm sorry, i'm still new to wikipedia. Orangemango (talk) 01:57, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

You made a good point. The term is provocative but it's used without qualification here. I suspect that asian fetish article needs some work around conventional use. but i can only imagine the article about that term might be contentious. - Owlmonkey (talk) 04:16, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Instruments

Talk box and vocoder are not instruments, they're effects, and no musician would talk about them as instruments. I've removed them from the list of instruments that Rivers plays. 158.223.1.117 15:46, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

To add to this, I made a change to replace "Fender" with "Warmoth", in regards to his guitar of choice because, to my knowledge, Rivers plays Warmoth Stratocaster copies more often than he plays a Fender Stratocaster. He used a Fender Stratocaster in the "Buddy Holly" video, but for most of their live shows he would play a Warmoth Stratocaster copy, this is very well documented on the Weezer.com website. Phefner 17:03, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More on Instruments

I'm sorry, but i've read this whole thing a few times and the part with the Gibson SG has been bugging me. Rivers plays a Gibson Epiphone SG, so i added the epiphone part. I happen to know this becuase i own the same guitar, and trust me its a epiphone! -Coltello Mer (UTC)

[edit] His name

From Rivers Cuomo himself (via his blog) concering his name: "The Straight Dope On My Name: At birth I was named Rivers Cuomo, no middle-name. (My mom said she wanted me to be able to pick my own middle name. I never bothered.) When I was about eight, I was given the Hindu first name Rama by Swami Satchidananda. Most kids who went to the ashram school took Hindu first names at that time. At some point around age ten, I started using my step-fathers last name Kitts (not Kitz).When I switched to public school in sixth grade, I started using the first name Peter because I wanted to fit in. Most of the ex-ashram kids started using normal names at this point. After graduating high school, when I was eighteen, I started using Rivers Cuomo again because it seemed more rock-star-ish and thats what I wanted to be: a rock star. Throughout my entire life, my legal name has always been Rivers Cuomo." --AboutWeezer 16:06, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Just to clear things up about "Rivers Cuomo" and "Peter Kitts". There is no way of knowing what his "legal" name is for sure, short of an official document. And, according to some published Weezer material, there is some ambiguity. According to the book "Rivers' Edge", Rivers' brother "Leaves Cuomo (as Weezer fans know him)"--goes by his legal name of James Kitts . The book does not say when he changed his name to Kitts; however, it does state that their mother did not meet their step-father, Stephen Kitts, until after Leaves was born. So it can be surmised he was legally born Leaves Cuomo, and then it was changed. Still, it seems Rivers never legally changed his name to Kitts, it has always been Cuomo, but I have no way of knowing that for sure. I am updating the biographical information to reflect that Peter Kitts is not an "alias" and he obviously didn't take the name to celebrate Kiss. He might have chose "Peter" for that reason, but he went by Kitts probably to avoid confusion at school (eg, "Why is your mom's last name Kitts, but yours is Cuomo?).

--AboutWeezer 02:21, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)

A recent anonymous editor (who subsequently vandalised both Rivers Cuomo and heroin) stated this sentence was wrong:

Cuomo, who at the time went by his real name; Peter Kitts,

Can anyone confirm or deny that Cuomo's real name is indeed Peter Kitts? I'd like at least one Wikipedian to confirm the veracity of this sentence (or, alternately, to confirm that the anonymous editor was correct in removing it). Thanks. —chris.lawson (talk) 04:37, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

He confirmed in his blog that his legal name is and always has been Rivers Cuomo (no middle name). He was known as Peter Kitts briefly when he attended school but never changed his legal name--86.143.143.238 02:46, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Cuomo´s real name is "Rivers Cuomo." He has no middle name because, according to him, his mother wanted him to choose one for himself and he just never got around to it.

Peter Kitts is the alias that he went by in his childhood because he was embarrassed by his real name. Like the article says, it was a tribute to Peter Criss, but more boringly, Kitts was also his stepdad´s surname. He didn´t just create it out of thin air.

(Interesting sidenote...Rivers' brother (real name Leaves) went by the alias Jimmy Kitts, hence the "wrestle with Jimmy" line in Say It Ain´t So.)

Hope this clears up any confusion.

The current entry states "It is a myth that the name Rivers originates from his birthplace: his mother, Beverly, was inspired to name her son "Rivers" because he was born between the East and Hudson rivers in Manhattan." Does it mean that this entire story about the East and Hudson Rivers is a myth? Or is it clarifying that there was some other myth about the name Rivers and that he was really named for the East and Hudson Rivers in NYC? If its the former, then I don't think the punctuation is clear. If its the later, then it seems like his name does derive from his birthplace and therefore isn't a myth.

[edit] Homie (band)

Haven't the numbers in this section been vandalised? They don't sound correct.. --Matiasrasmussen 16:16, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

This band is shortlived anyway, and is non-notable apart from Cuomo. Perhaps they can get a separate article when they release more? -- Perfecto 09:34, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

As to the "ass-crazy" comment: Not necessarily in those words, but shouldn't something be said as to his experimentation's influence on Weezer's sound? Cuomo's much-publicized ascetism is mentioned, but what about its impact on the band's latest album and subsequent single, both of which sucked? This reflecting my own opinion and that of most critics.

That sounds more like speculation over an opinion than a fact and wikipedia is mostly based around fact. The Make Believe page already states that "Make Believe has received some mixed reviews from critics and fans," which is a true enough fact. I think that's good enough to represent what I you want to convey here with this comment. Mfishrules 22:54, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

The FACT is that Homie was a unique entity seperate from Weezer and Rivers Cuomo. There should be no debate about whether Homie gets its own entry, although it makes sense to mention Homie in the Rivers Cuomo entry and/or the Weezer entry. These are supposed to be encyclopedia entries, not articles or CD reviews. If you want evidence of the existence of the band Homie just pick up the Meet the Deedles OST. KradehT 11:36, 17 March 2006

I wasn't arguing that point with you. I actually agree KradehT. I was talking to the guy above me. Mfishrules 06:26, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Support merge. We don't need articles about bands that have never released any albums. This no-hit wonder is a biographical detail of Cuomo's life, not a separate notable topic on a general encyclopedia. Seahen 12:27, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Married!

Rivers is Married.

[edit] Parents

I've done a bunch of work on this page, but one thing I haven't found out, at least, not anywhere on the internet, is who Cuomo's parents are. Can someone find this out, or insert it into the top where it glosses over the basics of who Rivers is? Matthew 23:35, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

He was born to Beverly Schonenberger and Frank Cuomo. Beverly is a therapist and Frank is a Suffragen Bishop who is now married to Lila Cuomo and have a child named Gabriel who is a semi-pro Soccer player in Weisbaden,Germany. Frank Cuomo was a drummer in the early 70's and almost played with The Weather Report.

[edit] Avant Garde

And another thing... I cut and pasted the whole Avant Garde section over to Avant Garde (band). It has enough content on this page to be developed into a full-fledged article, and should be cut off from Rivers' bio so other wikipedes can breathe some life into it. Matthew 06:27, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thai symbol

That strange symbol is Thai, I don't know what it says, but this would link somehow to his asian fixation. -- abc_eats_dirt.

That symbol is Thai for Outlander, stranger, not Thai.--Dhamma-

[edit] Attention on Rivers Myspace

I'm honored to see that Rivers decided to point out the fact that nobody calls him "Ace," "The Varz" or "The Dude" to his face on his myspace. A fact that I originally added to this wiki. YET, "Ace" and "The Varz" do remain big fan nicknames for Cuomo. And the link there shows it, his bandmates have called him "The Dude" from time to time. I say we leave both the inital fact and his myspace response up there. Mfishrules 07:07, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

It's not clear from that link that his bandmates call him "the Dude." It could be a reporting error. Rivers states pretty plainly that he "doesn't know anyone" that calls him "the Dude." Even the quote from Pat could have been misinterpreted by the journalist--"dude" is, after all, common slang. "Ace" is relevent; fans definitely call him "varz," but I don't know that it's worth recording beyond the Weezer#Weezer_Fans section of the band's entry. 65.186.79.164 08:44, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] RE: Sugar Ray

It states as a fact that the song "Rivers" by Sugar Ray is about him. Reading over the lyrics to that particular song, I find that very hard to believe. Is there any proof of this?

The song isn't really about him. It's just that Mark McGrath is a huge Rivers/Weezer fan and wrote the song with a very "Weezer-ish" feel to it -- a sort of tribute. That's why the song is titled "Rivers." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.233.2.2 (talk) 03:00, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Musical talent"

The "musical talent" section seems somewhat biased and lacking of credibility. Notably, the opening sentence states, "Musically, Cuomo is best known for his melodies, guitar solos, and distinctive vocal harmonies." I could not find any sources to confirm this as true, especially in regards to guitar solos. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.119.172.91 (talk) 03:09, 20 December 2006 (UTC).

I think that can be considered common knowledge. If it said he was known for intricate guitar solos, that would be something different. But I think most fans expect a shit load of solos when they buy a Weezer album. As for melodies, I also think that's common knowledge which can be heard for listening to Weezer. Melody is probably the most distinctive factor of Weezer. As for distinctive vocal harmonies, I think maybe take out the word "distinctive" and that might make it less biased. But aside from that I don't think any of that needs a source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.230.35.145 (talk) 06:42, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hindu?

He's in the American Hindus category, is he really a hindu? It's not mentioned in the article --AW 19:49, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

According to his Myspace, Rivers is "not a practicing Hindu."—Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.25.236.98 (talk • contribs) 01:52, 21 May 2007

[edit] Cuomo and Asian Women

these details are, so far as i can see, 1.) accurate, 2.) well-sourced, 3.) relevent to cuomo's biography, particularly with regards to the conception of him in popular culture. this information has been in this entry in some form for years.65.189.172.242 10:40, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

It's borderline trivia, but I agree with the anon. Keep it in --AW 21:42, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Youth

I don't believe the below statement to be accurate. No Source. I believe it should be removed. Claiming that "Matt Sharp did once say that it is some sort of nickname of Rivers’s." doesn't prove it credible. Especially from a blog at a fan site. Where has he "openly admitted" this?

"It's a popular misconception that Weezer are named after Rivers' supposed asthma. Rivers himself has openly admitted that although "Weezer" was his childhood nickname, it wasn't because he had asthma"

(~~noousername Feb. 3, 2007~~)

[edit] Birth and origin?

The article says he was born in Belfast, but the infobox says he was born in New York. And what is "origin" supposed to be? He's lived a lot of places. --AW 14:17, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Screen Name

From his [myspace site, his screen name has been made known in the blog section. Should I publish it here? NOT! I would never do that to ya r-dawg.Mexicomida 00:37, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

Missing info here. Ozmaweezer 12:53, 7 November 2007 (UTC)