As one-fourth of the band Weezer, guitarist Brian Bell has sold over 17 million albums worldwide. 23 years after their debut full-length—which featured timeless hits like “Buddy Holly,”...
As one-fourth of the band Weezer, guitarist Brian Bell has sold over 17 million albums worldwide. 23 years after their debut full-length—which featured timeless hits like “Buddy Holly,” “Undone (The Sweater Song)” and “Say It Ain’t So”—Weezer are still going strong. The band's newest offering—Pacific Daydream (slated for an October 27 release)—is the band's third album in four years.
Guitar World spoke to Bell, on the eve of the album's release, about his guitar collection, how he ended up playing Gibsons and Weezer's legacy.
What inspired you to start playing guitar? Was it a particular artist or album?
I had musical training, or interests, very early in life. Around the age of four, my parents took me to see Elvis Presley and I immediately wanted to play some sort of musical instrument. My mom suggested piano and we got a piano in the house. I started taking lessons around that age. In elementary school, I moved to saxophone because that was the most rock & roll instrument of the time in the school orchestra. (laughs)
I've always been able to read music as long as I've been able to read English. I learned music and how to read and write around the same time, so it's impossible for me not to read music. Whether that's good or bad, that is what it is and it's hard for me to unlearn things. You can get bogged down with theory with music, but I just try to use that knowledge to the best of my ability when I'm coming up with guitar parts.
I also was fairly athletic as a kid. I was always at the top of my height and weight at a certain age, so when I played sports, I was always