Weezer

Bassist Mikey Welsh -- who played for Weezer from 1998-2001 -- was found dead in a Chicago hotel room yesterday afternoon after a suspected drug overdose.

According to Chicago police, Welsh was found unresponsive on the floor of his room at the Rafaello hotel after failing to check out on time.

An autopsy is scheduled for later today -- but according to authorities, narcotics are suspected as the cause of death.

The limping Weezer front man hopped a plane at LAX that was bound for Florida yesterday -- where he'll play his first concert with the band since the bus accident that left him with the busted lung and a wounded spleen.

According to the band's website, Rivers has been "given a cautionary clean bill of health - so long as he takes it easy and is careful." Translation: No crowd surfing.

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo was given the go ahead to leave the hospital today after his freak bus accident -- and get this, he's on doctor's orders to get back on a bus.

According to the band's official website, which just posted this photo of Rivers in his hospital room, the group has to get to L.A. -- but due to Cuomo's punctured lung, he's not allowed to fly.

FYI -- The band will be driving the southern route across country ... to hopefully avoid that nasty black ice that set off the previous crash.

According to the band's official website -- which posted this picture of the visibly scratched up singer -- Cuomo finally walked yesterday -- the first time since Sunday's crash... though he did use a walker.

Cuomo's internal injuries, which include a punctured lung and wounded spleen, are also "continuing to improve."

He's expected to be released in the next few days.

Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of Weezer, is making significant improvements on his health, after puncturing his lung and damaging his spleen in a freak bus accident over the weekend.

Cuomo "went from being barely able to talk and open his eyes yesterday to partially sitting up, talking clearly, reading books and checking the internet," this according to the band's official website.

According to the site, Rivers' blood pressure has stabilized, his spleen is "no longer leaking" and his lung is "gaining strength."

Today's big test: Whether he can stand up. If so, he could be out of the hospital "pretty soon."

Karl Koch, the group's unofficial "fifth member," posted the above pictures on their website -- which show the serious damage the bus took and the rescue effort to get everyone out.

Rivers, seen laid out in the inset above, suffered three cracked ribs while his assistant Sarah sustained two fractured ribs and a fractured lower vertebrae. Sarah was released but Cuomo is still in the hospital under observation.

The band also announced the cancellation of the rest of their Raditude tour -- Koch says they will try and reschedule.

The lead singer of Weezer was hospitalized today after a bus he and his family were riding in crashed in New York.

Rivers Cuomo was taken to a hospital in Amsterdam this morning after complaining of rib pain -- luckily, his wife and daughter emerged unscathed. Only one other person was taken to the hospital.

The bus driver said the accident occurred at around 7:30 this morning, when he lost control of the vehicle after hitting a patch of ice. The driver said the bus went into the median, hit reflective posts, crossed back over the highway and crashed into a ditch.

TMZ has obtained a lawsuit filed by the rock group Weezer against the Miller Brewing Company. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges the beermaker used the name 'Weezer' in several ads that ran in Rolling Stone magazine in 2004. The lawsuit also names Miller's advertising agency and the production company that laid out the ads as defendants.

In the suit, the four members of the band (Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell, Scott Shriner and Patrick Wilson) claim Miller used the Weezer name in the ads without their permission. The suit also claims the ads feature endorsements by other bands and musical acts with whom Weezer "do not wish to be associated with in any advertisement." Furthermore the lawsuit says the ads were "grossly misleading and deceptive" and they have been "damaged in an amount ... believed to be in the millions of dollars."

Calls to Miller Brewing Company were not immediately returned.

Just weeks after his marriage to his new wife, Rivers Coumo announced the looming divorce of Weezer. At least, he sort of , kind of did anyway. There's no doubt in my mind that Rivers and crew will play again as Weezer. Why? The same reasons others who have followed the early retirement from show biz path have come back over and over: the bright lights and big money.

The Eagles once said they'd never reunite after their publicized disbandment, but sure enough we saw a very large "When Hell Freezes Over" reunion tour. They took unretiring to the limit a few more times, however, with additional ok, we're really not retired tours after that one. The Eagles returned in 2000 with the "Millennium Tour" and hit the road in 2003 with "Farewell I." The Who kickoff a world tour next month in Philadelphia despite being "retired" at least a couple times. KISS, Jay Z, Celine Dion and Elton John are also members of the "retired from touring" but still playing live crew.

Rivers Cuomo has broken the hearts of indie fans the world over with his announcement to MTV that Weezer is on hiatus, possibly forever.

"Really, for the moment, we are done. I'm not certain we'll make a record again, unless it becomes really obvious to me that we need one done" Rivers told MTV.

Maybe marriage and having a college degree had something to do with Rivers' decision. Life changes such as those tend to make a person re-evaluate his or her direction. Or possibly he decided to bow out using the old entertainment saying "leave them wanting more". Either way, it leaves fans perplexed with this sudden decision.

While he left the door slightly ajar for more music (he tells MTV he's been writing new music like mad), he isn't going to be going solo any time soon. Of the new songs, he says "I certainly don't see them becoming Weezer songs and I don't really see the point of a solo career."

It's been a festive couple few weeks for Weezer frontman Rivers Coumo. After an impressive 11 year on and off run as a Harvard student, he compeleted his Bachelor of Arts degree. (That beats my 8 years in and out of college, of course, I didn't sell millions of records in between!)

Then following the graduation celebration, Rivers ditched his bachelor ways and walked down the aisle with his longtime girlfriend. The band's website sets the scene:

"The wedding was at a secluded beachfront cliff property in Paradise Cove, Malibu, and was attended by about 100 friends and family members. It was a fun day where many mini-reunions took place. For the first time in possibly, ever, the following folks were all in the same place: Rivers, Brian, Pat, Scott, Matt Sharp, Jason Cropper, Patrick Finn, Takashi Hasegawa, Justin Fisher, Adam Orth and Kevin Ridel. Not to mention the many family members from both sides of the Pacific ocean, and some special guests including Rick Rubin. Fine live string quartet music and delicious vegan fare capped off a most special day."

The 35-year-old frontman earlier vowed to remain celibate for two years. Although that deadline expired six months ago, Cuomo still doesn't expect to jump back in the sack anytime soon.

"It's been two and a-half years now, actually," Cuomo tells Blender magazine in its new issue, on newsstands Tuesday. "The vow is over, but I wanted to keep cruising."

Though he's a lead singer for a popular rock band, the bespectacled Cuomo says it's not difficult to manage restraint.

"Abstinence doesn't require as much self-discipline anymore," he says. "We never had any serious groupies, anyway. Our generation got screwed."

Cuomo's vow makes Weezer's 2005 music video for "Beverly Hills" somewhat unusual; it was filmed at the Playboy mansion with dozens of Playboy models and Weezer fans.

Earlier this year, Weezer released their fifth album, "Make Believe."