Smash Mouth Bio
A novelty rock band in the same vein as Presidents of the
United States of America, but with surf and garage influences instead
of the Presidents' punk/thrash background, Smash Mouth found a hit in
1997 with the '50s-influenced "Walkin' on the Sun." The group was
formed in 1994 in San Jose, CA, by vocalist Steve Harwell, a former
rapper with the group F.O.S. After that group disintegrated, he began
jamming with an old friend, drummer Kevin Coleman. Harwell's former
manager introduced him to guitarist Greg Camp (fresh from the local
band Lackadaddy) and bassist Paul DeLisle. The quartet recorded two
demos, and got the songs into rotation on a local radio station. After
playing a summer festival with No Doubt and Beck, Smash Mouth decided
to record an album. After finishing Fush Yu Mang, the group were signed
by Interscope, which released "Walkin' on the Sun" as the first single.
It became a number one modern rock hit and pushed the album into the
Top 40. Touring further helped the album's push, and the band added in
a live keyboardist, Michael Klooster, to bolster their performances
(and later live percussionist Mark Cervantes as well).
The follow-up album, Astro Lounge, was released in 1999, generating the
hit "All Star"; a collection of early material, East Bay Sessions, also
appeared that same year. A severe back ailment eventually lead to
Coleman's exit from the band; he was replaced by ex-Tripping Daisy
drummer Mitch Marine for the album's subsequent tour and further
swapped out for Michael Urbano at its completion. Though no other hits
with equal weight were forthcoming from Astro Lounge, the band's work
of the early 2000s (2001's Smash Mouth and 2003's Get the Picture?)
pleased fans of sparkling pop music. The group also contributed
numerous tracks to a plethora of motion pictures, most notably their
cover of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" (from their eponymous release)
to the soundtrack of 2001's hit movie Shrek, and many of these then
appeared on the August 2005 Smash Mouth hits collection All Star Smash
Hits. Harwell could be spotted in early 2006 as a cast member on the
sixth season of VH1's celeb-reality TV show The Surreal Life, just as
drummer Urbano was leaving the band due to creative differences. His
spot was claimed in March by Jason Sutter, who had previously done work
with American Hi-Fi and the Rembrandts. Smash Mouth's fifth studio
album, Summer Girl, appeared in early September. ~ John Bush, All Music
Guide
Written by John Bush
[
Print
Version]