When Weezer were booked to appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in August to promote their 20th studio album, frontman Rivers Cuomo decided to push the boat out, fashion-wise. Given that the record, the Los Angeles band’s seventh self-titled album, is destined to be forever known as ‘The Gold Album’ – the quartet’s vocalist/guitarist elected to wear an all-gold outfit for the evening, accessorising a a gold lamé suit, with a gold bow tie, a gold top hat, gold trainers and gold face paint. It was a bold stylistic statement that even the world’s most fashionable men would struggle to pull off, but respect to the 56-year-old musician for taking a risk.
Cuomo may possibly have been a little surprised then, when, following a cursory mention of Weezer’s newest release, Jimmy Fallon opted not to query their frontman’s apparel, but instead pulled out an old black-and-white band photo, identified a teenage Cuomo in the middle of the frame/line-up, and asked, “What kind of band was this, and was that your real hair?”
“We were progressive metal, and it was my real hair, yeah,” Cuomo answered with a somewhat bemused expression creasing his golden face.
The band in the photo was Avant Garde, formed in the mid-80s while Cuomo – then known to his bandmates as Peter Kitts – was a student at E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield, Connecticut. Alongside lead guitarist Cuomo/Kitts, Avant Garde originally featured brothers Kevin Ridel (vocals) and Eric Ridel (guitar, replaced in 1988 by Michael Stanton) and fellow E.O. Smith pupils Justin Fisher (bass) and Bryn Mutch (drums).
The quintet were influenced by local heroes Fates Warning – Rivers Cuomo actually took guitar lessons from founding member Jim Matheos – Seattle’s Queensrÿche, Florida’s Crimson Glory, San Francisco’s Cacophony (featuring Marty Friedman and Jason Becker), Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Swedish guitar hero Yngwie Malmsteen. The teenagers took the band extremely seriously, practising up to four times a week, and largely staying away from indulgence in alcohol and drugs in order to focus fully on their craft.
In 1988, the year of Operation: Mindcrime, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, …And Justice For All, King’s X’s Out of the Silent Planet (voted album of the year by Kerrang!), and Death Angel’s Frolic Through The Park, Avant Garde sent out their second demo cassette to local radio stations, hoping for airplay for songs such as the epic power ballad Standing in the Paris Rain, and the Helloween-esque Never Forget. When DJs at local college radio station WHUS 91.7 began playing songs from the demo, peers began to see that the poodle-haired high school teens actually had some potential.
“I was always a bit of an oddity,” Cuomo told The Hartford Courant newspaper in 1996. “When I was in ninth grade, we were picked on and ostracized. By 11th grade, we were tolerated. And by 12th grade, people gave us a certain amount of respect. But we were never rock stars, just the weird guys who did music.”
In 1989, Avant Garde recorded a third demo, Somethin’ Different!, featuring a more commercial sound, and upon graduating from high school, the quintet relocated to Los Angeles, searching for their big break. It soon became crystal clear, however, that the young Connecticut band were not what Hollywood’s A&R scouts were looking for. The group tried a reset, changing their name to Zoom, and adopting a more streamlined sound inspired by Van Halen, but disillusionment quickly sent in. After drummer Bryn Mutch bailed, the group dissolved without much fanfare. And if Rivers Cuomo had not burst into the spotlight with a new band four years later, it’s doubtful that very many people in 2026 would be interested in seeking out the ‘lost’ music which paved his way to stardom.
“[Avant Garde] just kind of sucked,” suggested Kevin Ridel, somewhat harshly, when speaking with The Hartford Courant in 1996. “We were trying to be kings of our instruments and just disregarded the idea of writing good songs. We were striving for technical prowess, but we still couldn’t really play.”
Stripping things back musically and concentrating on impactful, melodic song-craft with Weezer proved rather more fruitful for the artist formerly known as Peter Kitts.
“He was fascinated by heavy metal,” Cuomo’s high school music teacher and choir master Kenneth Holton told The Hartford Courant. “My chorus got a reputation for having the kid with the long hair.
“[With Weezer] I hear a lot of harmonies and the chord changes of pop songs. I was really surprised to hear all that coming through. [He] rejected all that entirely in high school.”
(LouderSound)
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