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The Kitchen Tape is a demo tape by the American rock band Weezer. It was recorded on August 1, 1992, prior to the band's signing with Geffen Records. Frontman Rivers Cuomo personally made 15 to 20 copies of the demo under the title Opposite Sides of the Same Good Ol' Fence for engineer Paul DuGres with a slightly different track listing.
| The Kitchen Tape | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the Opposite Sides of the Same Good Ol' Fence release from the Weezer 30 box set | ||||
| Demo album by | ||||
| Released | September 1992 November 1, 2024 | |||
| Recorded | August 1, 1992[1] | |||
| Studio | Amherst House, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 35:45 | |||
| Producer | Weezer | |||
| Weezer chronology | ||||
| ||||
Overview
editRecording
editThe demo was recorded using frontman Rivers Cuomo's 8-track tape recorder in a rented garage next to the "Amherst House", where Weezer often rehearsed.[2] The name of the tape comes from the fact that the drums were recorded in a kitchen, where the band members felt that they sounded the best.[3]
Band historian Karl Koch has recalled that the demo was recorded "to get shows and also try to make an impression", and that "[there] were no aspirations yet to try to generate real label interest, but the concept of 'creating a buzz' was being thrown around."[2]
Release
editThe Kitchen Tape has not received an official release beyond the original small run of privately distributed demo cassettes. However, the demo's audio has been bootlegged and spread online.[1] Additionally, the recordings of "Undone - The Sweater Song", "Paperface", and "Only in Dreams" from the demo appear on the 2004 deluxe release of Weezer (The Blue Album). The full demo tape was released as a part of the Blue Album 30th anniversary box set in 2024.
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Rivers Cuomo, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thief, You've Taken All That Was Me" | Cuomo, Patrick Wilson | 3:40 |
| 2. | "My Name Is Jonas[I]" | Cuomo, Wilson, Jason Cropper | 3:18 |
| 3. | "Let's Sew Our Pants Together" | 4:32 | |
| 4. | "Undone[I][II]" | 5:39 | |
| 5. | "Paperface"[II]" | 3:06 | |
| 6. | "Say It Ain't So[I]" | 4:22 | |
| 7. | "Only in Dreams[I][II]" | 5:59 | |
| 8. | "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here[I]" | Cuomo, Wilson | 5:09 |
| Total length: | 35:45 | ||
I. ^ Later re-recorded for the band's debut album.
II. ^ Demo released on the deluxe edition of the band's debut album
Personnel
edit- Rivers Cuomo – vocals, guitar
- Matt Sharp – bass, vocals
- Jason Cropper – guitar, vocals
- Patrick Wilson – drums
References
edit- ^ a b Britt, Ryan (July 5, 2023). "29 Years Ago, One Iconic '90s Band Peaked With Their First Album". Fatherly.
...on August 1, 1992, Weezer recorded a demo called The Kitchen Tape, which has only shown up as a bootleg over the years. The songs were recorded on an 8-track tape recorder...
- ^ a b Luerssen D., John. Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. ECW Press, 2004, ISBN 1-55022-619-3 p. 69
- ^ "Weezer Record History page 3". Weezer.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
External links
edit- The Weezer recording history: Page 3 - Information from Karl Koch on early Weezer recordings, including The Kitchen Tapes