Rivers Cuomo (/ˈkwoʊmoʊ/ KWOH-moh; 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, when his family settled in Central Connecticut. He attended a number of public schools before moving to Los Angeles at age 18. Cuomo played in several bands in Connecticut and California before forming Weezer in 1992. Following the success of Weezer's self-titled debut album and the following tour, Cuomo spent time away from music. Convalescing after leg surgery, he enrolled at Harvard University, but dropped out to record Weezer's second album, Pinkerton (1996); he would later graduate from Harvard in 2006. Though Pinkerton was init