Wednesday, June 9, 1999 | 2:59 a.m.
This article first appeared in August, 1994.
"Blood And Roses." "House We Used To Live In." "A Girl Like You." "Too Much Passion." "Behind The Wall Of Sleep." What more do you need to know about the Smithereens? If their music hasn't been even a small part of your personal soundtrack since 1986, check and make sure you're not lying under a rock. The men who make the music may be somewhat more obscure to you, so let's make introductions: Jim Babjak cranks out that amazing guitar, Mike Mesaros pounds the bass, Dennis Diken keeps the group on schedule with his fierce drumming, and vocalist/songwriter Pat DiNizio infuses the songs with his classic blue soul. DiNizio was recently kind enough to give SCOPE a tour of that soul, on the eve of the band's return to Vegas.
Q: You're going to be opening Drink. What's your poison?
A (Chuckling): Jesus, I hardly know anymore.
Q: You've been to Vegas before...any interesting anecdotes?
A: Actually, I think my baby daughter was conceived after a Tom Jones show. Can't get more interesting than that, can you?
Q: The Smithereens have seen more than a few bands come and go. What was your take on the recent "grunge" phenomenon?
A: Well, my take on it was a song from our recent album called "Sick Of Seattle." The title was suggested by my wife; it had some sort of resonance to it, I thought it was funny. It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
Q: Any negative feedback?
Not so much from Seattle, but elsewhere...unfortunately, our timing was less than appropriate. The day the record came out was the day that Cobain died.
Q: Oh, boy.
A: I remember some drunk kid at the last show in Seattle screaming from the side of the stage, "Hey, play that song 'I Hate Seattle,' so that shows that people don't listen most of the time. Big difference between "I Hate Seattle" and "Sick Of Seattle."
Q: So, can you give me the Cliff's Notes version of how the band came together?
A: I started listening to Buddy Holly and I wanted to write those type of songs. I always wanted to be in a band, and after years of not really doing what I wanted to do, I decided to take a shot, moved to New York and tried to start a band. I had an ad in the free musician's paper stating my influences at the time, and the other three guys were already together and called me. As luck would have it, they had been playing together since seventh grade or something, in a garage in New Jersey. We were lucky that the chemistry was there the first time we played together. We've played together for fifteen years without any changes in the lineup.
Q: And where did the name of the band come from?
A: It came from the Warner Brothers cartoons; Yosemite Sam. It also has its origins as a word in the Gaelic language...the word "smithereens" means "many pieces of a whole." I guess it fits-we're a fairly eclectic band, with a lot of different influences.
Q: What do you think rock has lost since the Sixties?
A: We've lost the type of songwriting that I grew up with. The classic, three-minute, melodic, memorable pop song-although I think Green Day writes pop songs, and they're very well-constructed. That was the legacy of grunge: non-song song hits, if you know what I mean. Songs based largely on riffs and grooves.
Q: Are there any of your songs that you're sick of playing live?
A: Nope. My intent, every night on stage, is to play each song, no matter how many times we've played it or how tired we are of it, as though we're playing it for the first time, perhaps even the last time. The audience doesn't want to know if you're tired of a song. If you're lucky enough to have a hit to begin with, that's something that's very special. And if people are paying their hard-earned money, and going out of their way to come see you perform that hit, you damn well better play a faithful and passionate version of it every night.
Q: I was wondering if you could give some background on a few songs. For starters, "Blood And Roses."
A: "Blood and Roses" was written in New York City. In the early morning, walking home across Greenwich Village, from my job at a nightclub where I used to do sound and lights. It was raining, and the bass line came to me as part of the tempo of my walk. Lyrically, it was about a girl I was involved with in high school who committed suicide.
Q: "Gotti."
A: That's my take on the government. Guys like George Bush certainly had more guys killed legally or created more wars than [John] Gotti ever did. I felt the guy was convicted on largely circumstantial evidence...not that I condone what he did, but it was sort of the end of an era. During our so-called "coming of age" period, Gotti was the single most flamboyant character on the scene. It was always interesting to read about him screwing the government, which is probably something most people would do if they could get away with it. He was a Robin Hood figure of sorts.
Q: "Top Of The Pops."
A: That one's kind of autobiographical lyrically...also kind of inspired by that film Drugstore Cowboy.
Q: "House We Used To Live In."
Lyrically, it's about my mother and father breaking up, and then my dad losing the family house to the IRS...but it could be about a young couple breaking up. I wrote the lyrics to be open to interpretation.
A: What irritates you?
Just about everything, really...although on the road, nothing really irritates me just as long as I have my spot on the couch. Hmm...I've noticed on these last few tours that a lot of places in the country are starting to resemble each other because of the proliferation of these horrible stucco mini-malls. There's a lack of vision, foresight, attention to quality...no one is building things that are designed to last another lifetime or millennium. I just feel like we're on our way out. Lawlessness is rampant, human life is becoming cheaper and cheaper...I think it's too late to stop it.
Q: Speaking of the decline of civilization, what was your take on the recent Woodstock redux?
A: I thought it was horseshit. I thought it had none of the soul or vibe or innocence of the original, although the original was designed to make money, too...musically, there was nobody on the bill that was nearly as good as Sly And The Family Stone, or Creedence, or The Band.
Q: And finally...what kind of music do you suppose they're playing in hell?
A: Oh Jesus...probably the Partridge Family. Metallica. Pearl Jam, for sure.
Q: You don't like Pearl Jam?
A: I'm not nuts about them, honestly-you wouldn't want me to lie to you. Taylor Dayne. Most rap acts...it's misogynist, it's violent, it's sexist, it's all those horrible things wrapped up into one. I know this makes me look like a conservative-I'm not. I'm just telling it like it is. An ugly society produces ugly music.
Q: Hey, thanks for your time, Pat. See you at the show; I'll buy you a beer.
A: I'd appreciate that...say, whatever happened to Calamity Jayne's?
Q: Well, Calamity's out of jail...she's just looking for that new space.
A: Say "hi" to her from Pat. Of course she'll remember the Smithereens!
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