Rentals, The

The Rentals was the New Wave-influenced project of singer/songwriter Matt Sharp, former bassist for power-pop favorites Weezer. Born in Arlington, VA on September 22, 1969, Sharp co-founded Weezer in 1992. During the spring of 1994, Sharp mounted the first Rentals studio session; assembling a roster including Weezer drummer Pat Wilson, that dog. violinist Petra Haden, vocalist/keyboardist Cherielynn Westrich and guitarist Rod Cervera, subsequent dates yielded the group's 1995 debut Return of the Rentals, which notched a hit with the infectious "Friends of P." Sharp returned to Weezer to record the band's acclaimed 1996 follow-up Pinkerton, but announced his exit from the line-up in February 1998; the second Rentals album, Seven More Minutes, followed a year later.