Karl Koch (Weezer assistant)

Karl Michael Koch (September 15, 1969) is a general assistant and "unofficial fifth member"   of the American rock band Weezer. He has worked as a roadie, concert photographer, webmaster and social media manager, archivist and historian, and art director since the band's inception. Drummer Patrick Wilson said in 2005, "[the band] wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Karl."

Koch established and operates Weezer's official website and social media pages, where he publishes his band news column Karl's Corner. Koch and his Karl's Corner postings are frequently referenced by entertainment publications for insider knowledge on the band.

In addition to his work with Weezer, Koch releases his own music under the moniker Karlophone and has worked closely with Wilson's band The Special Goodness.

Prior to the band's formation
Koch first met future Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson in early 1990 while living in Buffalo, New York; the two were introduced through Pat Finn, a musician and friend of Koch's. Wilson and Finn moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue the city's music scene, urging Koch to follow. The following year Koch flew out to Finn's L.A. apartment, where he was introduced to future Weezer members Matt Sharp, Jason Cropper, and Rivers Cuomo. When this group of musicians coalesced into the short-lived band 60 Wrong Sausages, Koch provided general assistance and documented their activity. Some footage taped and archived by Koch from this era would later appear on the Weezer DVD Video Capture Device.

1992–1999: The Blue Album and Pinkerton
After Weezer's proper formation in February 1992, Koch remained a consistent crew member and assistant. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo has explained, "he's the one who took us to our shows, and helped us carry our gear, and set everything up, and tune our guitars, and draw our fliers, and give us tons of artistic advice and moral support." Koch illustrated the first iteration of the band's logo and managed early merchandise production during this period. After the band was signed to Geffen Records in 1993, Koch accompanied the band to New York for the recording of the Blue Album, working per diem. Koch shot footage of the album's recording sessions, which would later comprise the "Making of the Blue Album" chapter of Video Capture Device. He is credited on the final release of the album for visual design work.

Early iterations of the Blue Album single "Undone – The Sweater Song" featured dense sound collages of popular audio, produced by Koch. To avoid licensing issues, these were replaced shortly before release with spoken word segments performed by Koch, Matt Sharp, and fan club co-founder Mykel Allen. When the music video for "Buddy Holly", another single from the album, won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video in 1995, Koch and Pat Finn stood in on-stage for missing band members Cuomo and Wilson.

While conceiving Songs from the Black Hole (an ultimately unreleased rock opera which evolved into the 1996 album Pinkerton), Rivers Cuomo envisioned Koch performing the role of the sentient robot character "M1". Koch was among the few individuals who had access to the album's drafts before its songs and story were officially published, and acted as a primary source of information on the album for fans in the 2000s. On "Butterfly", the final track on Pinkerton, Koch's drumming accompanies Cuomo's acoustic performance.

Karl's Corner and website management
Throughout the '90s, Koch contributed a regular column titled Karl's corner to Weezine, a zine issued by the band's official fan club. After the passing of fan club founders Mykel and Carli Allen, Koch became the lead editor and contributor to the zine.

In late 1999, Koch re-focused fan involvement efforts from the (then-shuttered) fan club to the official Weezer website. He used the site to document and share exclusive information and media pertaining to the band and, beginning in January 2000, as a new home for the Karl's Corner column — now with more regular installments. It featured news about touring and recording, updates on the band's day-to-day activity, and photographs taken by Koch. Questions or fan accounts sent via email were often incorporated into Koch's updates, increasing the ease with which fans could interact with the band. By July 2000, the page had received over nine million views. Brad Cawn of the Chicago Tribune cited Koch's management of the website and the Karl's Corner column as a contributing factor behind the band's resurgence in popularity in the early 2000s.

2000–2009: Touring and music videos
At the onset of the 2000s, Koch established a number of consistent roles within the band: photographing and summarizing Weezer performances on Karl's Corner (alongside other website maintenance), assisting with design work for merchandise and music releases, and giving general input on band decisions.

Koch directed the official music video for the band's 2001 single "Photograph". He also starred in the 2005 video for "Perfect Situation", playing himself.

The band's DVD Video Capture Device: Treasures from the Vault 1991–2002, directed and edited by Koch, was released in 2004. It includes released and unreleased music videos (some directed by Koch) and miscellaneous footage shot by Koch over the years. In the same year, Koch authored an essay chronicling the development of the Blue Album for the release of its deluxe edition, although it was ultimately not included with the CD.

Koch served as a source of firsthand information and photographs for entertainment news outlets when, in 2009, the band suffered a bus crash during an ongoing tour.

2010–present: Memories Tour, revival of fan club, and "VIP experience"
For Weezer's Memories Tour in 2010, Koch gave special presentations featuring band artifacts and insider information during mid-show intermissions. He also reprised his drumming on the Pinkerton song "Butterfly". As he had for the Blue Album, Koch wrote an in-depth essay on the development of Pinkerton for its deluxe edition release in the same year. This essay was included in the release's booklet.

In 2014, the official Weezer Fan Club was revived by Koch and a fan named Lisa, who have continued running it through the present day. Koch additionally hosts the fan-maintained wiki Weezerpedia, which has been described by one contributor as "an extension of [his] massive efforts archiving Weezer".

For the band's 2018 tour with the Pixies, Koch hosted the "Karl's Corner VIP experience" for VIP ticket holders, wherein fans could meet Koch and view a small museum of unique Weezer merchandise and ephemera from his archive. The band offered the same experience during subsequent tours.

Karlophone
In 1996, Koch formed the experimental sound collage project Karlophone. His music, inspired by contemporary hip hop and producers such as DJ Shadow, was constructed of layered audio samples from records, films, and reels in his large personal collection, with added instrumentation. He released his first album, Press Any Key to Begin, in fall 2002 on Amorphous Records, an independent label ran by himself and Pat Finn. Alex Steininger of In Music We Trust reviewed the album positively, describing it as "one part hip-hop, one part electronica, one part rock, and seven parts experimental wanderings." "Desire", the final track from the album, was released as a 7-inch vinyl single in 2004; one of its B-sides, "If You Listen", features production and guitar work from Patrick Wilson (under the pseudonym Franklin Mint).

Between his work with Weezer throughout 2002 and 2006, Koch developed music for a second Karlophone album. This materialized with the release of his second studio album I Must Find This Karlophone... on Amorphous Records in 2007. A third album began production immediately following the second's release, but has yet to be completed as of 2023.

The Special Goodness
The Special Goodness is the band of Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson, formed in 1996. As with Weezer, Koch followed the development of Wilson's band, documented its history, and roadied on its tours.

In 2022, Koch co-hosted The Special Podness — a four episode podcast retrospective on The Special Goodness — with Wilson and ex-drummer Atom Willard.

Personal life
Koch was born in Buffalo, New York on September 15, 1969. He has stated that he is of German descent. He graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland in 1991.

As Karlophone

 * 2001 – Press Any Key to Begin
 * 2007 – I Must Find this Karlophone...

With Southern Fried Swing

 * 2001 – Free Flight Thru the Universe of Sound

With Weezer/Rivers Cuomo (including non-musical contributions)
Following the Blue Album, Koch is credited on every Weezer album (and the SZNZ EPs) under nonsense titles (e.g., "Boot Knocka" on the Green Album), alongside any other visual or technical role.
 * 1994 – Weezer (Blue Album) (design)
 * 1996 – Pinkerton (uncredited drumming on "Butterfly")
 * 2001 – Christmas CD (photography, artwork)
 * 2001 – Weezer (Green Album) (photography)
 * 2002 – The Lion and the Witch (photography)
 * 2002 – Maladroit (photography)
 * 2005 – Make Believe (photography)
 * 2007 – Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (photography)
 * 2008 – Weezer (Red Album) (photography)
 * 2008 – Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (design)
 * 2010 – Death to False Metal (photography)

Filmography

 * Weezer – Video Capture Device: Treasures from the Vault 1991–2002 (2004)

Books

 * Raditude (2009) – not to be confused with the album of the same name
 * Weezine Omnibus (2014)
 * Weezine Omnibus: Deluxe Edition (2016)
 * Tales of Weezer (2021)