WEEZER’S VAN HALEN FANBOY

Drummer PATRICK WILSON on meeting Eddie and designing that familiarlooking Weezer logo

Word has it you’re the real Van Halen fan in the band.

I am 100 percent the biggest Van Halen fan in the band. I love Van Halen, especially Eddie’s insane playing.

Did you ever meet any of the Van Halen members?

I was fortunate enough to meet Ed. He came to the Forum in L.A. when we played there in 2010. There have only been two people I ever got nervous about meeting: One was Gary Numan, of all people [ Laughs], and the other was Ed. He came back to say hi, and he was just very cool. I was like, “Holy shit, it’s Eddie Van Halen!” I look back on it now and can laugh about it, but I gushed all over him. I was so dumb.

Was he a Weezer fan? Did he say he liked your show?

No. He said, “My son likes your band.” [ Laughs] That was great. Interestingly, he spent the whole time talking about his son and what a great musician he was. I thought that was cool.

When did you discover Van Halen? Were you a guitar player at first?

No, I didn’t play guitar. I was banging on my friends’ drum kits, but I didn’t get one till much later. I first heard Van Halen on their debut album in 1978, so I was nine years old. I was on board right away. Those opening songs, “Runnin’ with the Devil” into “Eruption” — I mean, forget it. [ Laughs]

I have an older sister who was pretty churchy at the time. She came into my room — “What is that song you’re playing?” And I go, “Runnin’ with the Devil!” She stomped out, super offended. It was pretty funny. My first concert was Van Halen — 1984 at Buffalo

Memorial Auditorium — the last one tour with the original band. I was pretty much with them through

5150; by the time I got to L.A., I started to get into other stuff. But I’ll always love Van Halen. I crank

Women and Children First all the time. My 13-yearold son, Ian, plays “Romeo Delight” on the guitar. That just brings a tear to my eye. His older brother, Charlie, plays bass, drums and guitar. They’re both into it.

Is Women and Children First is your favorite Van Halen record?

For sure. That record sounds like it was recorded in an afternoon while they were having a party, which probably isn’t far from the truth. But I do like Fair Warning a lot, too. They’re both epic.

How did you come to design the Weezer logo as an homage to Van Halen?

I used to draw the Van Halen logo on my notebooks all the time, so I just thought, “Why not make a ‘W’ with wings? Karl, our longtime friend and archivist, messed around with it and fixed it up. But yeah, I pretty much ripped off Van Halen. In his book, [onetime Van Halen tour manager] Noel Monk says they ripped it off from a Jimi Hendrix poster. If we made a huge deal about it, maybe we would have heard from the suits, but so many people do that kind of thing.

In addition to drums, you do play guitar. How good are you at Van Halen songs?

I mean, you can try to play the notes correctly, but you just won’t get there. Eddie had such feel and swing. The way he played with his brother was so special. It was joyous. So I can play some Van Halen songs, but I can’t do them like Eddie. Who can? — Joe Bosso