‘It’s extremely special … that this is actually happening,’ Jorge Garcia says of being face and inspiration for band’s new album.

By James Montgomery

Most folks probably know Jorge Garcia as Hugo « Hurley » Reyes, the loveably scruffy character he portrayed for six seasons on « Lost. » But earlier this week, Garcia’s name was thrust back into the spotlight again when it was revealed that he was the cover star of — and apparent inspiration for — Weezer’s upcoming Hurley album.

But according to Garcia, none of this should really come as a surprise. After all, he’s been a music-industry vet for years now.

« I used to work at this store called Music Plus in San Clemente, California, when I was growing up, and then they became Blockbuster Music, and, like, you had to get a haircut to work there, and at the time I had some pretty long hair. So after that policy was imposed, I knew that was going to be my last summer working there, » Garcia told MTV News on Wednesday (August 11). « And then a little later, I worked in the music department of Borders, selling CDs there. So I remember the boxes of CDs coming … and I remember in the morning, setting up the ‘new release’ endcaps and having to put a bunch of copies on there and making sure they were properly stickered and all that. »

And although you’d think that kind of retail experience would’ve made him a natural to grace an album cover one day, Weezer were actually the first band to come calling. And, yes, Garcia finds the entire thing just as weird as you do.

« I went to do the George Lopez show [‘Lopez Tonight’], and I think they were doing two or three shows that night, and [Weezer frontman] Rivers [Cuomo] was a guest in the previous show. So they came and knocked on my door and said, ‘Hi,’ and wanted to get a picture with me, and I thought that was awesome. We chatted briefly, and that was it, » he said. « And I didn’t hear until a couple months later that they wanted to put me on the cover … I didn’t realize it was just going to be that same picture we took together, cropped down to my face. When I look at the picture, I notice that there’s something going on with my hair, like it’s starting to come loose or something. But I’m happy with it. »

Garcia, who cites Bon Iver, M. Ward and the New Pornographers as some of his favorite acts, said he’s always been a casual fan of Weezer (« I don’t recognize Maladroit so much, » he laughed) and added that being featured on the cover of Hurley is one of the biggest honors he’s received in his career.
« This is really close to the top, for sure, » he said. « I think the [‘Lost’] action figure still kind of trumps it, but just coming from where I come from, it’s extremely special and dear to my heart that this is actually happening. »

While Garcia will make an appearance in stores on August 24 when the sixth season of « Lost » is released on DVD, he’s really looking forward to September 14, when Hurley is due. Though, given his previous retail experience, he’s already dreading what might happen.

« Sometimes when we were pricing CDs, we’d just put the stickers all over the place, until we got the instructions we had to put them in a certain place, » he said. « So I’m sure there will be some people that take advantage of having such an easy target to do whatever sticker graffiti they want to. »
What do you think of Weezer paying tribute to Jorge’s « Lost » character? Tell us in the comments!