It has been 29 years to the day since Weezer fans and sisters Mykel and Carli Allan died in a car accident.
The pair were on their way back from the band’s July 8, 1997, concert in Colorado when tragedy struck. Few specific details are known about the accident, but, sadly, the pair’s younger sister Trysta was with them and lost her life as well.
The Allan sisters were not just casual fans of Weezer. They were superfans and the founders of the band’s fan club. They were even the inspirations behind Weezer’s 1994 B-side tune “Mykel and Carli.”
After their untimely deaths, musical tributes to the sisters began emerging.
Jimmy Eat World released “Hear You Me“, while Nerf Herder mentioned them in “We Opened For Weezer”. There was also a memorial concert in their honor, and a tribute album: Hear You Me! A Tribute To Mykel And Carli.
In August 1997, Weezer sat down for an interview with MTV News and spoke about their relationship with the Allen sisters. During the conversation, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo shared the motivation behind their 1994 song about the pair.
“I think I was just so moved by how they were supporting us,” he said, “and helping us out and making us feel good that I just wanted to write a song to show my appreciation. So wrote that song called ‘Mykel and Carli’…”
Weezer dedicated their third album, ‘The Green Album’, to the Allen sisters’ memory
Drummer Pat Wilson added, “We haven’t played it in so long. I’m sure we’ll get through it tonight, but it was written at the time of the recording of the first Weezer record. Another band, Black Market Flowers, who’s playing the show tonight, has a song called ‘Mykel and Carli’ as well. It just seemed like a cool idea at the time to write a song about them, expressing our gratitude for their support. And hopefully we won’t butcher it.”
Wilson also offered his thoughts on how the Allen sisters’ devotion to their music helped shape the band. “I think their dedication meant a lot to us,” he said. “Especially because of the time. We were so not outgoing, and self-promotion wasn’t really a big part of what we were doing at the time in Los Angeles.”
“Once we got signed and we put out a record,” he continued, “I think, from then on, it was really crucial for them to help us build a fan base of people that were interested in being in the fan club and all that. Especially for us, I think they made us look better than we would have normally.”
Finally, Wilson added, “So I’m forever grateful for that. So hopefully we won’t make ourselves look too bad now.”
The post On This Day in 1997: Two Weezer Superfans Died in a Tragic Car Accident, Sparking a Wave of Tribute Songs appeared first on VICE.
