The_Smithereens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Smithereens The Smithereens The Smithereens Career Babjak, Diken and Mesaros are all from Carteret, New Jersey and had graduated in 1975 from Carteret High School. The three joined together to form the band in 1980 with DiNizio, who is from Scotch Plains, New Jersey.[2] The Smithereens are known for writing and playing catchy 1960s-influenced power pop. The group gained some publicity when a single from its first album, "Blood and Roses", was included on the soundtrack for, and as the theme song of the 1986 Albert Pyun movie, Dangerously Close, and the video got some moderately heavy rotation on MTV. The group spent some time in its initial semicelebrity phase defending itself in Rolling Stone against thinly-veiled accusations of sounding too much like The Byrds and The Beatles, pointing out that its Marshall Amplifier-heavy live sound was closer to heavy metal than it was to The Beatles. The Smithereens have always worn their inspirations proudly, but the band also influenced other musicians, most notably Kurt Cobain during the period he was writing Nevermind. Ironically, some feel the Smithereens (like many early 1990s bands) were hurt by the rise of grunge music. Along with a basic Eastern-coast rootsrock sound that owed much to the inspirations of DiNizio, including Buddy Holly, The Who, The Clash, Elvis Costello, and Nick Lowe, the Smithereens deployed a uniquely retro obsession with Mod, the late British Invasion pop of John’s Children and The Move, and other artifacts of fifties and sixties culture that lent its music substance. The title and lyrics of their song, "In a Lonely Place," appear to be based on the 1950 Humphrey Bogart film of the same name, including the lyrics, "I was born the day I met you, lived a while when you loved me, died a little when we broke apart." The title and artwork for the album 11 were a nod to the original 1960 Ocean’s Eleven film. The Smithereens featured as the entertainment in the indoor beach party scene of Pat DiNizio and Mike Mesaros 1984 Background information Origin Genre(s) Carteret, New Jersey, USA Rock College rock Powerpop 1980 — present d-tone (1980-1985) Capitol/Enigma (1985-1991) RCA (1992-1994) Koch (1998-Present) http://www.officialsmithereens.com/ Years active Label(s) Website Members Pat DiNizio Jim Babjak Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion Dennis Diken Former members Mike Mesaros The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States.[1] The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drums & percussion) . This lineup continued until 2006, when Mesaros left the band and Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion took over on bass guitar. 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the Troma film Class of Nuke ’Em High, playing the song "Much Too Much". The highest position a Smithereens album attained on the Billboard pop charts was in 1990, when 11 peaked at #41 on the strength of the single "A Girl Like You" (which hit #38). "A Girl Like You" was originally written to be the title track for the 1989 Cameron Crowe film Say Anything. The Smithereens have collaborated with numerous musicians, both in the studio (Suzanne Vega and Belinda Carlisle) and live (Graham Parker and The Kinks). The group, which has long had a reputation for playing excellent live shows, is still active and tours frequently. Their next studio album is expected to be released in fall 2009. The Smithereens • The Smithereens - Extended Versions, 2006 (Sony BMG) • Live At The Court: Greatest Hits and More, 2008 Compilations • Blown to Smithereens: Best of the Smithereens, 1995 (Capitol Records) • Attack of the Smithereens, 1995 (Capitol Records) • Best of the Smithereens, 1998 (EMI) • From Jersey It Came! The Smithereens Anthology, 2004 (Capitol Records) Soundtrack albums featuring The Smithereens Dangerously Close, 1986 (Enigma) Burglar, 1987 (MCA) I Was a Teenage Zombie, 1987 (Capitol Under the Boardwalk, 1988 (Enigma) Encino Man, 1992 (Hollywood Records) Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, 1997(Hollywood Records) • Boys Don’t Cry, 1999 (Koch) • Burnzy’s Last Call, 1999 (Ripe & Ready/ Cellsum Records) • • • • • • Members • Pat DiNizio — Vocals, rhythm guitar • Jim Babjak — Lead guitar, vocals • Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion - Bass guitar, vocals • Dennis Diken — Drums, percussion Former members • Mike Mesaros - Bass guitar, vocals Discography Studio albums • Girls About Town, 1980 (d-tone) • Beauty and Sadness, 1983 (Little Ricky Records/Capitol) • Especially for You, 1986 (Enigma/Capitol) • Green Thoughts, 1988 (Enigma/Capitol) • 11, 1989 (Enigma/Capitol) • Blow Up, 1991 (Capitol) • A Date with the Smithereens, 1994 (BMG/Excelsior) • God Save the Smithereens, 1999 (Velvel/Koch Entertainment) • Christmas with The Smithereens, 2007 (Koch) includes three original seasonal songs. • Untitled Studio Album, March 24, 2009. Albums made completely of covers/Tribute albums • Meet the Smithereens, 2007 (Koch) (A tribute to The Beatles, covering the entire ’Meet The Beatles’ album.) Named as a Disney Family Entertainment album of the year for 2007 • B-Sides The Beatles, 2008 (Koch) (All The Beatles B-Sides until 1966 covered by The Smithereens) Released September 2, 2008. • The Smithereens Play Tommy May 5, 2009. Videography • 10, 1991 • The Smithereens: Live In Concert!, January 27, 2009. Live albums • Live, 1987 (Restless) • Instant Live: Music Midtown Festival Atlanta, GA 5/1/04, 2005 (Instant Live Recordings) Singles References [1] The Smithereens’ All Music Guide Listing [2] Cahillane, Kevin (2004-10-10). "Not Fade Away: The Smithereens’ Monument to 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Year Song Canada UK US US US MainHot Modern stream 100 Rock Rock 92 38 94 3 18 16 14 23 1 14 34 2 7 20 11 Album The Smithereens 1986 "Blood and Roses" Especially for You "Behind the Wall of Sleep" 1988 "Only a Memory" "House We Used to Live In" "Drown in My Own Tears" 1990 "Blues Before and After" "Yesterday Girl" "Blue Period" (with Belinda Carlisle) - Green Thoughts 1989 "A Girl Like You" 62 76 - 99 - 1991 "Top of the Pops" 58 "Tell Me When Did Things Go So Wrong" 1992 "Too Much Passion" 1994 "Miles from Nowhere" 1998 "Downbound Train" 22 - - - 2 11 19 28 Blow Up - 37 - - 17 A Date with the Smithereens One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs of Bruce Springsteen Persistence". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/ • Official Smithereens website fullpage.html?res=9806E7DC143BF933A25753C1A9629C8B63. • Pat Dinizio website Retrieved on 2007-11-03. "The band • Jim Babjak website formed in 1980 when three Carteret • The Smithereens at Last.fm High School graduates (class of 1975) • The Smithereens discography at and childhood friends (Mr. Babjak, MusicBrainz Dennis Diken on drums and Mike Mesaros on bass) met Pat DiNizio, a Scotch Plains singer-songwriter-garbage man." External links Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smithereens" Categories: Musical groups from New Jersey, Jersey Shore musical groups, American alternative rock music groups, Musical groups established in 1980, 1980s music groups, 1990s music groups, 2000s music groups 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Smithereens This page was last modified on 21 May 2009, at 14:06 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. 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