Michael Edward Welsh (April 20, 1971 – October 8, 2011) was an American artist and musician who played bass for several bands, including the rock band
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...
. During Weezer's hiatus, he played with Weezer frontman
Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo ( ; born June 13, 1970) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band Weezer.
Cuomo was raised in a number of Buddhist communities in the Northeast U.S. until the age of 10, wh ...
in the band
Homie, during Cuomo's time in Boston. Following original bassist
Matt Sharp
Matthew Kelly Sharp (born September 22, 1969) is an American songwriter and musician. Until 1998, he was the bassist for the alternative rock band Weezer, which he cofounded in 1992. He appears on their first two albums, the '' Blue Album'' (199 ...
's departure from Weezer, Welsh joined as bassist and played with them from the time that they unofficially regrouped in 1998 until August 2001, when he experienced mental health problems. Shortly afterwards, he retired from music to focus on his art career.
Welsh died from a drug overdose on October 8, 2011.
Career
Welsh was born on April 20, 1971 in
Syracuse, New York. He began his career as a
Boston-area musician, playing in bands such as Heretix, Chevy Heston, Jocobono, Left Nut, and Slower.
[Luerssen D., John. ''Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story''. ECW Press, 2004, p. 259][Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 260][Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 261][Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 262] He was a touring bassist for
Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Juliana Hatfield Three, ...
and
Verbena.
[Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 264] In 1997, he joined the first incarnation of the Rivers Cuomo Band, the side-project of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo.
He joined Weezer following the departure of Matt Sharp in 1998.
During Weezer's hiatus, he played with
Verbena and the first incarnation of
Patrick Wilson's band
the Special Goodness. He wrote a large number of basslines in this period, recorded them and sent them to Rivers Cuomo for writing inspiration,
although Cuomo never used any of them. Instead, he contributed four of these to
Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Juliana Hatfield Three, ...
's 2000 album ''
Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure''.
[Luerssen D., John, 2004, pg. 279] Welsh was given a co-writing credit for four songs.
He toured with Weezer beginning with their resurgence in the summer of 2000 and first appeared on their limited edition ''
Christmas CD
Weezer's ''Christmas CD'' (also called ''Christmas EP'' or simply ''Christmas'' on music streaming platforms) is a two-track promotional EP officially released January 1, 2001. It was sent to radio stations, as well as in small quantities to me ...
'' EP later that year (re-released in 2005 as ''Winter Weezerland''). He subsequently played on 2001's
Green Album as well as a number of B-sides and unreleased songs from the era, and also performed with the band most of the way through tours supporting the album.
Mental illness and exit from Weezer
In 2001, Welsh suffered a breakdown brought on by drug use, undiagnosed mental health problems, and the strain of touring. After attempting suicide by drug overdose, he left Weezer. The reason for his exit was not made public until some time later.
He was checked into a psychiatric hospital in August 2001.
He later spoke about the ordeal in an interview with the website ''Rock Salt Plum'':
Weezer shot a new version of the video for their song "
Island in the Sun" without Welsh.
[Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 362][Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 363] Following Welsh's departure in 2001, the band hired
Scott Shriner to replace Welsh.
[Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 372]
Retirement from music
In late 2001/2002, Welsh returned to the Boston music scene by temporarily joining
the Kickovers
The Kickovers were a pop punk band formed by Nate Albert, former guitarist of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
After Nate left the Bosstones to go to Brown University, he started writing songs, which were not like his previous band. In 2001, he got ...
, the band of
Nate Albert
Nathan Albert (born 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the Executive Vice President of A&R at Warner Records a division of Warner Music Group. He was previously Executive Vice President o ...
, guitarist for
the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
[Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 366] In an interview, he expressed his distaste for the corporate music process, stating that, "It's actually fun to just be playing in the studio without some major-label idiot standing over your shoulder."
Soon after, he retired from music to become a full-time artist.
He, his wife and their two sons lived in
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
.
Welsh attended a Weezer show on July 12, 2005, in
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous ci ...
. Cuomo dedicated "
Hash Pipe" to him, drawing cheers from the crowd.
On September 2, 2010, he joined the band on stage at a show in
Essex Junction, Vermont
Essex Junction is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 10,590. It was incorporated as a village on November 15, 1892. Essex Junction became Vermont’s 10th city on July 1, 2022.
Am ...
to play bass on the song "Hash Pipe". On July 29, 2011, Welsh played guitar on the song "
Undone" with Weezer and
the Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...
at a show in New York.
Art career
Welsh became an artist and, as of August 2008, had 13 exhibitions of his artwork.
He was a member of ''Outsider Art''.
A quote from Welsh's official website explained his methods of creating his art:
Welsh's artwork is featured on a
Burton snowboard, in a line of snowboards titled "The Farm". He designed and painted the album cover for Twin Berlin's debut album.
Death
On September 26, 2011, Welsh wrote on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
: "dreamt i died in chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will today."
On October 8, 2011, Welsh was found dead in a Chicago hotel room from a suspected
heroin overdose, leading to a heart attack.
Discography
Left Nut
* 1990 – ''Bad Attitude No Apologies''
Heretix
* 1993 – ''The Adventures of Superdevil''
Jocobono
* 1995 – ''Jocobono''
Juliana Hatfield
* 1997 – ''
Please Do Not Disturb''
* 1998 – ''
Bed
A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax.
Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...
''
* 2000 – ''
Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure''
* 2002 – ''
Gold Stars 1992–2002: The Juliana Hatfield Collection''
Weezer
* 2000 – ''
Christmas CD
Weezer's ''Christmas CD'' (also called ''Christmas EP'' or simply ''Christmas'' on music streaming platforms) is a two-track promotional EP officially released January 1, 2001. It was sent to radio stations, as well as in small quantities to me ...
''
* 2001 – ''
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...
''
The Kickovers
* 2002 – ''
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
''
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsh, Mikey
1971 births
2011 deaths
20th-century American musicians
21st-century American musicians
Alternative rock bass guitarists
American alternative rock musicians
American rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
Death in Illinois
Musicians from Syracuse, New York
Outsider art
Artists from Syracuse, New York
People with bipolar disorder
People with borderline personality disorder
Weezer members
Guitarists from New York (state)
The Special Goodness members