How Rivers Cuomo Met His Weezer Bandmates | Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Rivers talks about learning to play Beethoven's sonatas, meeting his bandmates, and the inspiration behind the name Weezer.
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ABOUT CONAN O’BRIEN NEEDS A FRIEND
Deeper, unboundedly playful, and free from FCC regulations, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend is a weekly opportunity for Conan to hang out with the people he enjoys most and perhaps find some real friendship along the way. Watch highlights of Conan, Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley chatting with celebrities and meeting fans, along with special segments like “Review the Reviewers” and “Big Dick History.”
ABOUT TEAM COCO
Team Coco is the KZbin home for all things Conan O’Brien and the Team Coco Podcast Network. Team Coco features over 25 years of comedy sketches, celebrity interviews and stand-up comedy sets from CONAN on TBS and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, as well as exclusive videos from podcasts like Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,
Literally! with Rob Lowe, Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer, The Three Questions with Andy Richter, May I Elaborate? with JB Smoove and Scam Goddess with Laci Mosley.
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[@charlockprime]

Conan killing it at the end of this clip. That was a good laugh.

[@Mark-vl9gc]

Yeah it made me lol when I heard it on the podcast.

[@rckrckrckrck]

Credit to Gourley for that final zinger tho

[@CorpsmanPrivateer]

Very cool interview, I love hearing Conan talk seriously about art.

[@userman44]

You should watch the "Serious Jibber-Jabber" interview that Conan did with Jack White. It's 1h 14min and goes very deep into their thoughts on music. One of the most intelligent conversations Conan has ever recorded.

[@MrBeen992]

where is that part ?

[@pedterson]

To learn a whole Beethoven sonata in two evenings is absolutely incredible. I've been playing the piano for many years and I'd be very pleased with myself if I'd learn a single movement in that time.

[@jrbspacecowboy]

Love his description of listening to Beethoven

[@wizardstumpt4467]

His description of Beethoven is how I feel about Weezer

[@Pinball1]

@@wizardstumpt4467 Me too! Haha, Weezer and The Rentals for me.

[@mattdad8429]

"put on Mozart and I space out after 5 seconds" OHHHH shots fired! Mans Mozart got DUNKED on

[@WheelzOfFortune]

Funny how it is the opposite for me. Honestly don't know how anyone could not be into Mozart.

[@notanotherjamesmurphy5574]

shut up

[@notanotherjamesmurphy5574]

@8429

[@glengamble526]

One of my fave Lil’ Rascal’s episodes was the one where they wanted to go camping but the one kid had to ‘stay home and grease Weezer” 😂

[@Tommyr]

I can still picture that scene LOVE the little Rascals.

[@mollymaggieandmemollymaggi5189]

@@Tommyr 8/18/23 Yeah but too bad psycho Bill Cosby bought the rights to many lLittle Rascal films then took them out of circulation because Cosby said they were racist! They weren’t racist! Stymie and the other black kids were just part of the gang of crazy kids, white or black! Maybe that “Yum yum eat ‘em up” black African native film got Cosby upset , or the wide-eyed black face look you see on the kids, but this stuff is harmless. The white kids also had the wide-eye expressions too. So Cosby the serial rapist takes away all that brilliant humor from the Little Rascals away from the public.

[@desioye7782]

Conan doesn't or maybe does realize that his non stop comedy brain is a much bigger and rarer talent than people who get music. He is literally a one in a billion

[@garybaker3338]

💯

[@MrBeen992]

yeah, some people have a big brain and some people are like you.

[@taranhuston]

@@MrBeen992 lmao that was so uncalled for

[@SlugLyfe]

You don’t realize that it’s all subjective. Not everyone is going to like Conan’s sense of humor. Just like not everyone will like Weezer. Luckily, I like both of them.

[@3941602]

the little rascal joke was dope

[@Btk7972]

I knew Conan was funny but his shows seemed mostly scripted. Watching him say funny crap off the top of his head on his podcast just proves what a gift he has. I love it.

[@deletedwaffles]

His remote sketches during Late Night/The Tonight Show/CONAN are a better representation of how genuinely funny the man is. Send him out on the streets or to an event and have him riff with a passerby and you can instantly tell how he can just shoot out instant comedy. No need for a writing crew just his quick wit.

[@editorcj]

Kurt looks really healthy here, glad he was able to get it together.

[@LoLo-hs7bp]

Was he sick ?

[@editorcj]

@@LoLo-hs7bp It's a little joke, there is a conspiracy theory that Kurt Cobain didn't kill himself but got plastic surgery and came back as Rivers Cuomo. It's clearly not true but it's better than the tragic reality of Kurt's death.

[@devin2151]

Lmao these dudes

[@YewToob6969]

Shots fired

[@YewToob6969]

@@LoLo-hs7bphe shot himself actually

[@patton303]

I've been playing drums since I was 4. Got a degree in music. Have been a touring drummer ever since and have played all over the world. But I would love to be even remotely as talented as Conan O'Brian. Or hell.....as talented as Rivers Cuomo who's freak of nature talented. We all have our lanes.

[@EmpyreanLightASMR]

I play piano after class at my school; I sneak down into the music dept and get into a practice room. I've learned the dept's patterns and I'm not disturbing any students. But it just makes me so happy to be able to play again.

[@mygirlfriendismean]

I’m not 100% sure but I think my college started locking the piano rooms because I prepared a piano with paper and metal. In retrospect, it was awesome.

[@EmpyreanLightASMR]

@@mygirlfriendismean that sounds amazing. if the school had a spare old piano laying around, that would be such a cool thing to do

[@AlystrZelland]

I love that Rivers' intro into playing music is the same intro he gave me to playing music: look at that guy. He's so cool, but he's also like me. I could maybe do this.

[@justinforman13]

1.) we need videos of every guest lmao, in entirety! 2.) this was beyond fantastic.

[@NightMedicine]

He should do a piano album.

[@dylanward4364]

Ok human is close enough

[@EmpyreanLightASMR]

I disagree. I think that's amazing that he plays on Discord. But the fact is, the piano album wouldn't sell and that might be insulting.

[@CSharpDCS]

@@EmpyreanLightASMR Hey, nice to see a fellow neighbor!

[@EmpyreanLightASMR]

@@CSharpDCS Neighbor where?

[@supersoupy4709]

@@dylanward4364 yeah im pretty sure those songs were written for piano anyways

[@Universemasterj]

You can’t trick me I know that’s just Gourley in disguise

[@NadaSurferTube]

Conan and Rivers....yeah this is 👍

[@whileriding]

Conan is great in this format

[@RyanJamesOfficial]

Conan is such a gem. The GOAT of late night and one of the GOAT comedians period.

[@fintanbochra]

Another certified hood classic

[@AttilatheThrilla]

RIP to Tower Records .. Will always be an absolute legacy of a business

[@moussetache1815]

Conan killing it with his band name !

[@JustHelpMeOuT5466]

Beethoven's same for me my mom had bought me all the symphonies collection and kept listening to it i could hum almost every song lol

[@Poppomatic64]

Low key gonna join rivers for his piano sessions now lol

[@weallnosey542]

Hard not to love Conan!

[@williamhornabrook8081]

Beethoven's solo piano work is super lit.

[@triddlyso7250]

Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins was pictured in our gang shorts from '27-'33. Hutchins gained the nickname for running around set so vigorously he began to wheeze.

[@jbre7233]

Do you think his parents struggled with whether to make River’s’ name plural or not?

[@jbre7233]

Fyi: River’s’ is what my autocorrect kept trying to when i made his already plural name possessive, and i imagine this has been a decade+ long source of annoyance for him.

[@IanB85]

Don’t go chasing waterfalls; stick to the rivers and the lakes that you used too

[@michaelwandell2533]

that's a good question. I think his mother Beverly was looking outside of the hospital room and saw or heard the river outside, and it just came to her. his father claims he was named after a soccer player.

[@TheMadisonHang]

@4:30 that’s why I love conan

[@gorkmusic]

Matt Sharp never gets enough credit for those first two records.

[@YodatheHobbit]

He ALWAYS does, because there's constantly people like you in Weezer comments praising him for being a bass player.

[@gorkmusic]

@@YodatheHobbit he wrote the entire arrangement for Only In Dreams. He's not just a bass player dude. 🙄

[@Windowsprougly]

@@gorkmusic literally footage of rivers teaching him how to play el scorcho lmao

[@happyhapsly]

@@YodatheHobbit dude, for a short while he was the charm of the band. and if you look at what he put out with the rentals and his inspirations, its highly unlikely he didnt at least influence the first two records. for me, that little bit of matt in blue and pink is what makes it my favorite records of weezer.

[@twinkpeaks9993]

He likely had very little influence, Rivers wrote all the bass parts on the Blue album

[@SamuraiKidMusic]

beethoven is awesome

[@joseapsantos3633]

Boa noite, muita diversão, numa boa conversa. Gostei do vídeo.

[@4Realzeaz]

Rivers saying "hmm?" when Conan is talking about not being able to just play things he hears. It's like he's saying 'weird, I didn't know people couldn't just do it'.

[@josiahwilkin]

Rivers has a discord server?! I need to be in that! That's so cool!

[@twistedspine7300]

child actor bobby hutchins was nicknamed wheezer while on set

[@rekabeduts06]

Hey Matt: The Little Rascal's Weezer, best friend of Porky, preceded Froggy.

[@sinamantalon]

Thumbnail image looked like Dana Carvey for a second.

[@harrisonh1447]

4:25 🤣🤣🤣

[@repdale]

Is Rivers Gourley’s brother??

[@googelle7555]

I wonder if Rivers listens to Opeth.

[@robinson8783-s4s]

4:26

[@capercrusader7129]

Gorillaz' Damon and Jaimie on the podcast next pls 🥺🤞

[@leebereacoc]

Bobby Hutchins (Wheezer) was killed at the age of 20 while in pilot training school.

[@N00BT00BX]

connan is funny af

[@yuvgotubekidding]

Wheezer was early Our Gang. Froggy was later. “I gotta stay home and grease Wheezer.”

[@JoseMolina-jz9hh]

Red Album is the pinnacle of music

[@braydenfletcher8159]

Unironically I love that album. It was released before one of my favourite summers ever and it brings back some terrific memories! Miss Sweeney might be my favourite Weezer song ever

[@TheBigHaus]

Maybe I am just a nerd but Rivers has got to be the coolest dude. He acts the part but hand him a piece of wood with strings and he will take your head off

[@pointnozzleaway]

Sona laughs ....yeah

[@ronaldoquiroz8084]

Rivers would stream on Discord lol

[@theguardian6464]

That's why lot of teenage bands contain the word Menace...

[@justsaying14]

You should ask Alex DeLarge about that 😉

[@corruptduboiscountyindiana5058]

i thought he had asthma, so he went with the name weezer

[@jeremysmith9694]

I want sona

[@MaryamofShomal]

WEEZER IS THE OXYGEN I BREATHE

[@oswaldovarguez4958]

I love Weezer and I like Rivers but, Professor Skye on his youtube channel mentioned that he knows the guy who gave Rivers piano lessons, and Rivers never paid him, so the whole "I learned to play piano without help" thing sounds like bs.

[@jacinto1477]

isnt rivers like 40 something years old?WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE HE'S IN HIS TWENTIES??????

[@lb2696]

He’s like 50.

[@theguardian6464]

I expected it to be about Rivers Cuomo, but it was actually about Conans' childhood.

[@lshtar777]

Beethoven is so cliche'... ... try some Vivaldi - Seasons - Summer RV 315: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIianImVqNB0hck

[@RobertSaxy]

I totally agree about Beethoven vs Mozart for me too

[@GrandpaEggMusic]

Oh my goodness, me too. I feel a little less guilty about it now :)

[@brodjefferson3513]

Um that’s bullshit. He’s been playing piano for 6 years and can learn a Beethoven sonata in 2 days? That is not even close to being true

[@Xeroforte]

Do you watch him practice piano every night or what? You seem to know a lot about him.

[@stevej.7926]

Thanks for the insight, Brod

[@SamuraiKidMusic]

he prob just plays through it slowly with mistakes and that kind of thing

[@xploration1437]

Conebone69

[@user-sb7gf7sd6h]

E flat.

[@JismIsm-wp6so]

Total BS - I'm a classically trained schooled pianist - This guy Rivers is laying this crap on Conan who knows NOTHING bout Beethoven - (I visited his gravesite in Austria) - A week to get thru a Beethoven Sonata; All 3 movements - Yea, whatever...

[@ricimercury9490]

second

[@Jabberstax]

Weezer - 30 years of fame thanks to one good record 😂

[@sajadshaheer7]

First comment suiiii

[@xploration1437]

Is your boyfriend impressed?

[@renegade2592]

SUIII

[@renegade2592]

I didn't know commenting 'First' was still a thing. Very 2010s lol

[@JoseMolina-jz9hh]

@@renegade2592 there’s like a 10 year waitlist for ‘first’ commenters

[@tiktaktictac]

'first' is not new but wtf is 'suii' ?

[@pandapig1174]

Rivers seems like no fun tbh

[@ObiWanKenobi]

Well he is a dork lol

[@FraterTaciturnus]

Were you there while he was growing up? Cut him some slack.

[@eloisapantazis6232]

He is an introvert

[@KasperHatesLife]

Why?

[@tootsierollPOPP]

Fifth 😎

[@heathersha]

Of Beethoven!

[@JeromeEnriquez-yn9zh]

They suck without Matt Sharp

[@MrBeen992]

I dont understand the fascination with this individual and this band.

[@panfilolivia]

And you say this with a zoolander profile picture…?