Rock band ‘Smashes’ into the EQC

By Tribal News Writers

For Puyallup Tribal News
Published on: January 24, 2008

After more than a decade together as a band and after emerging on the national scene with their first No. 1 hit “Walkin’ on the Sun,” all three co-founding members of Smash Mouth, Steve Harwell, (lead vocals) Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul DeLisle (bass), are as tight today as they were the day they first jammed together in their hometown of San Jose.

“That’s probably the thing I’m most proud of,” Paul DeLisle said. “We’re brothers. We’re all very close, especially Steve and Greg and I because we’ve been together for so long, but also keyboardist Michael Klooster, percussionist Mark Cervantes and let’s not forget our drummer Jason Sutter.”

Jason Sutter is the fourth drummer to be inducted into Smash Mouth and started in March 2006.

“No matter what happens we all just want to make music and hang out with each other,” said Greg Camp. “We get together and all of a sudden we just have such a blast.”

The band has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. Along with their number one hits “Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star” they have consistently impacted radio with other recognizable hits like “Then the Morning Comes,” “Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby,” and a cover of The Monkees classic “I’m a Believer,” which was prominently featured on the “Shrek” soundtrack and climbed as high as No. 4 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart.

The multi-platinum Smash Mouth is a 1960s-influenced garage band with a keen pop sensibility that maintains a timeless quality and style they have created and that is all their own.

Having long since established itself as the ultimate true-to-life Cali-fornia party-band the vibe surrounding Smash Mouth is indeed at its core about having fun.

“When we play it’s a nonstop party,” Steve Harwell said.

With the release of their fifth studio album “Summer Girl,” the guys decided to part ways with their longtime label Interscope in order to form their own company, Beautiful Bomb Records. By releasing “Summer Girl” on their own, the band said they are making good on a decade-long promise of doing things their own way.

“Now we are on a mission,” Steve Harwell said. “We learned a lot by being spoiled on a major label, but I told the guys that if we do this we’re gonna have to work harder than we’ve ever worked in our career and, now, were looking forward to hitting it hard.”

“Summer Girl” generated a hit with the single “Story Of My Life.”

Greg Camp, who produced three tracks for “Summer Girl” at a studio he built in Santa Cruz, is the group’s primary songwriter and made sure to keep the playfulness in the music while giving it a real lyrical depth.

“You can’t miss the live show,” Paul DeLisle said, “The live show completes the entire package. Recordings are only one part of the whole. This band must be seen to be believed. It’s a nonstop party that we put on nightly. If we’re coming to your town it’s a party you won’t want to miss. It’s unique, it’s ours, we created it and there’s no one else like us.”

Tickets for the show range from $30 to $55. For more information call (888) 831-7655.

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