Geezer Breaks a Hip

Zach Goode dresses in costume every time he plays with Geezer, a Weezer tribute disguised as senior citizens who’ll play the Belly Up’s ’80s Halloween show on October 31. But he’s donning a different costume this week to hit the stage near his hometown of Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he’ll appear in a production of Rent at the Crown and Anchor in Cape Cod.

“I haven’t done theater since high school,” says Goode, “but when I was back home this summer, my friend asked if I would consider playing Roger [in Rent]. I wasn’t familiar with the play, so I watched the movie, and it turns out Roger is an aging, tattooed ex-rock star who’s trying to write one last great song before he dies. Perfect typecasting!”

Goode’s theater background includes an off-Broadway production of Runaways at the age of ten, as well as attending Saint Ann’s Performing Arts School in Brooklyn alongside future stars such as the Beastie Boys and Jennifer Connelly (“She was in my sixth-grade class while filming Labyrinth”). After receiving classical training at Stagedoor Manor (alumni includes Robert Downey Jr, Natalie Portman, and Zach Braff) and Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in New York, he performed in plays and musicals such as Guys and Dolls, Grease, Pajama Game, and Dames at Sea.

“I was in a few bands in high school. There wasn’t really any music scene in Provincetown.... John Waters lives there every summer, so I grew up being babysat by people who were the basis for many characters in his movies.”

While living in Hawaii, Goode cofounded the group that eventually became Ghoulspoon. After relocating to San Diego in 1991, the band evolved into Divided by Zero, which split in 2006, leading to Goode’s newest groups: the Secret Seven (whose debut full-length was nominated Best Rock Album at this year’s San Diego Music Awards) and Geezer (SDMA Best Tribute nominee 2010 and 2011).

“I’d definitely consider doing more theater, but it’s hard to commit to a production being in two bands,” he says. Or keep up with current theatricals. “Until recently, all I knew about Rent was the ‘Everybody has AIDS’ joke from Team America: World Police!”