Rancho Mirage, CA

The Smithereens remain one of America’s musical treasures.  Formed in New Jersey in 1980, the band’s timeless power-pop sound – rife with strong, catchy melodies, meaningful lyrics and walls of layered guitar, bass and drums – remains intact.  Now they are performing in Rancho Mirage on March 2nd at Agua Caliente Resort Casino for the 80’s Fest.

Anyone who has heard them on record and seen them live knows they are in for a bold and brash treat, with the band’s creative mix of melodic pop structures, lyrical prowess and crashing waterfalls of high energy sound enabling them to continue to be one of power-pop’s most interesting and entertaining bands.

Signature songs like Blood and Roses, A Girl Like You, Only a Memory, Behind the Wall of Sleep and a raft of critically-acclaimed albums (Especially for You, Green Thoughts, 11 and many others) have cemented the band’s place in the hearts, minds and ears of their devoted worldwide fan-base.

Recently, I got to interview Dennis Diken, drummer and original member of the band about where they came from, where they are now, and their upcoming show. 

Here is the interview:

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind The Smithereens new tour?
In March, we will turn 44.  Touring is just what we do. Back in the 80’s and 90s we would do extended tours but now as we are older, it’s Thursdays to Sundays.  This is what we always wanted to do since we were kids playing in our garage.   Jimmy Babjak and I go back to day one of high school in 1971.  Our bass player, Mike Mesaros we’ve known since third grade.  We met Pat DiNizio who passed away through an ad in 1978. We have a long history. This has been a life long gig.

What can fans expect from the upcoming performance at the Rancho Mirage Agua Caliente Resort Casino?
With most of our gigs we play songs from when we got a lot of airtime from radio and MTV back in the day.  It’s kind of awesome when we meet friends and they say, we remember those songs! I mean this in all sincerity, we have the attitude we have when we were 14. Performing transforms us back into teenagers. That kind of joy and energy extends to the audience and they really feed off on it.

The Smithereens have been together for decades.  After the passing of founding guitarist Pat DiNizio in 2017, it was undoubtedly a significant loss for The Smithereens and the music community as a whole. How have you and the band managed to continue performing and carrying on the legacy of The Smithereens despite this unfortunate event? 
We are very fortunate for both Marshall Crenshaw and Robin Wilson (of the Gin Blossoms.) Marshall has been a friend of ours and has been part of our extended family for years.  We found that with both him and with Robin Wilson, who was a big Smithreens fan, that when we all got together, they were great interpreters of our music. When Pat passed, we didn’t know what the future was going to hold for us. When we found that these other fellas were great singers, we were hoepful to continue the spirit and keep the music together.

Performing with Marshall Crenshaw as the lead singer for this show must bring a unique dynamic to The Smithereens’ performances.  Marshall is not only a seasoned veteran of the power-pop scene but also an accomplished artist in his own right. How does it feel to have him on board, carrying on the tradition and high standards that the band has set for themselves and for their fans over the years?
It has been great. Marshall has always been a consummate songwriter and singer. We met him as early as 1982 around the time his first album came out.  We shared a producer by the name of Alan Betrock who did records for both of us.  He actually played on our first album.  We knew him and he a was part of our family. It was an easy situation for him to jump in and start singing with the band. We have a lot of respect for him and Pat also had a high level of respect for him as a songwriter.  If you told us back in the 80’s, if we would be playing with him, I don’t think we would’ve believed it. We held him in high regard and we still do.

Are there any particular songs from your repertoire that you’re especially excited to perform live during this tour?
I really like playing our signature tunes like Blood and Roses and Behind the Wall of Sleep.. I have a special heart for those songs two songs. As a musician, you try to inject little differences into the song to make it interesting for yourself and the audience.

How has the music industry changed since The Smithereens first started, and how has the band adapted to these changes?
Well we don’t have to consider doing certain type of promo work like visiting a retail outlet to promote our records because the physical product is not there although we still do but its rare these days.  Our approach hasn’t changed that much because first and foremost, we are still performing. Unless the whole hologram industry takes over, I guess there won’t be a real substitute for live music. Just not having physical product to promote is a different ball game, it’s more online and social media even though a lot of our fans still like to buy vinyl and CDs.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are looking to have a long and successful career in the music industry?
That’s a good question. I wish someone would’ve sat down with me when I was a kid.  You have to really love what you’re doing. You are not going to sustain a career in music unless you have a passion for it. You have to do it because you love it, not because you think you’re going to have a big career and sell a lot of music. Make the music from your heart try not to follow trends or do what other people are doing. Just express what’s in your heart. Also, listening to all types o f music will inform your musical spirit and help you to do what is best on your won instirument.  Try to play other musical instruments.  Piano is great for young people to study. It helps people learn harmonics and melody and is a good grounding for any performer to play that instrument. Try to get on a keyboard as young person, take lessons and let that help you expand your horizons.

Finally, what message or feeling do you hope audiences will take away from The Smithereens’ performances at the Rancho Mirage Agua Caliente Resort Casino?
When I go to a show I want to be moved in some way, be it a place of joy or sharing in somebody’s feelings being happy or sad. You want to touch that person, reach into their hearts and make them feel a certain way.  Listeners will take what they want from the lyrics. Ultimately our mission is to entertain people and hopefully help them forget their troubles for 2 hours and help them get though their day with a little more joy.

We really appreciate that peple come out and see us and enjoy what we do. We couldn’t do this outside our own garages if it wasn’t for them.  We’ve met some really nice friends throughout the years touring.

Because our busiest days were in the 80’s and 90’s, we played a lot of colleges at the time. Those folks graduated, got into careers, had kids, and are now empty nesters. We see them coming back out to see us again, reliving their youthful ideals and energies. It really is a blessing to have that happen.

We are looking forward to coming out to perform and, my wife and I love coming to Palm Springs.