Rivers Cuomo duets with TikTok guitarist after he plays Weezer’s Buddy Holly lick 990 days in a row
The Weezer frontman has now invited Evan Marsalli to appear on the band’s forthcoming Indie Rock Road Trip tour
TikTok guitarist Evan Marsalli laid down a challenge to Rivers Cuomo in 2020. The Weezer fan pledged to play the iconic Buddy Holly lick every day until the Cuomo agreed to duet with him. On February 28, 2023, his wish was granted.
Marsalli had performed and posted the lick from Weezer’s breakthrough Blue Album 990 days in a row and acquired a following of 15,000 on TikTok in the process.
The Tiktoker’s perseverance appears to have paid off, as Cuomo recently shared his own ‘duet’ performance of the seconds-long lick, reposting Marsalli’s clip and playing alongside him.
@rivers_cuomo ♬ original sound - Evan
In addition, the frontman invited the fan to appear on Weezer’s forthcoming tour, writing, “Challenge you to come play this live on Weezer’s Indie Rock Roadtrip Tour this summer.”
Underneath he wrote: “#Duet with @Dietlite_Evan. My people will reach out to your people.”
In doing so, Cuomo appears to have fulfilled not just Marsalli’s wish but also offered a sense of wider relief to a fanbase that had been keeping tabs on Marselli’s considerable “commitment to the bit”.
“The modern day sisyphus is finally free,” runs the top comment on Cuomo’s post. Though we also enjoyed: “like when Tom Cruise and Miles Teller fly together in Top Gun, 11/10.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
@dietlite_evan ♬ original sound - Jazzy Fizzle
Marsalli has since responded to Cuomo’s duet post depicting him powering down his amp, placing his Telecaster back on the guitar stand and deleting a daily reminder to “Make the Buddy Holly TikTok video”.
Let us all take this opportunity to thank Marsalli and Cuomo for bringing the public this much-needed closure.
We'll have to wait to see if he manages a live appearance but in the meantime, you can follow Marsalli on TikTok.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.
“I wasn’t gifted with enormous speed on the guitar. There were years when I thought I could get that if I practiced enough. It wasn’t ever really going to happen”: David Gilmour explains the origins of his lauded ‘feel’ playing technique
“It would've been almost two hours to get home in traffic. I said to myself, ‘You’re here. Just write a song.’ Within 30 minutes, Pumped Up Kicks revealed itself to me”: How a ’59 Jazzmaster and capture-the-moment attitude keep Foster the People in gear