The Smithereens with Guest Vocalist John Cowsill

Founded in New Jersey in 1980, The Smithereens have been creating electrifying, original rock n’roll for 44 years. Jim Babjak (guitar,) Dennis Diken (drums,) and Mike Mesaros (bass) grew up together in Carteret and lead singer, the late Pat DiNizio, hailed from Scotch Plains. The band paid its dues in clubs all over the NYC tri-state area from Kenny’s Castaways in Greenwich Village to the Court Tavern and Stone Pony in NJ. They’ve since performed on stages coast to coast from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles to the Meadowlands Arena in NJ to Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, and internationally from Europe to Australia. Tour mates have included Tom Petty, Squeeze, The Pretenders, Lou Reed, and the Ramones, among others.

​The Smithereens’ take no prisoners sound, reflecting their Garden State roots, has resonated with fans worldwide over the course of 17 albums and 2500 plus live shows. Studio albums include Especially for You, Green Thoughts, 11, A Date with The Smithereens, and 2011. Among their biggest hits are the rock radio staples “Blood and Roses,” “Only a Memory,” “Behind the Wall of Sleep,” and “A Girl Like You.” The band’s albums for Capitol, RCA, Sony, Koch, and eOne Records have sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

The Smithereens have also been called the architects of the Alternative Scene and their music has inspired and influenced generations of musicians, including the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, who cited The Smithereens as a major influence in his diaries.

As The Smithereens’ fame escalated, they were in heavy rotation on MTV and appeared on The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. Other television credits include Late Night with Conan O’Brien, MTV’s Unplugged, CBS This Morning, The Dennis Miller Show, The Uncle Floyd Show, The Joe Franklin Show, and The Arsenio Hall Show.

The Smithereens’ music can also be heard in the films Bull Durham, Backdraft, Encino Man, Time Cop, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Boys Don’t Cry, The Burglar, Cruel Intentions 2, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. The band even made a cameo appearance in the film Class of Nuke’em High and other accomplishments include television and radio commercials for Dairy Queen and Nissan Maxima.

Throughout their entire career, the band members have also contributed their talents and helped raise funds and awareness to a wide range of charities, including families of 9/11, homeless shelters, community food banks, HIV/AIDS, pediatric cancer, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, Parkinsons and Light of Day, and the Pat DiNizio Music Performance Scholarship at the Count Basie Center for the Performing Arts.

Sadly, The Smithereens lost Pat DiNizio who passed away unexpectedly in 2017. The 3 surviving bandmates, Babjak, Diken, and Mesaros, who have been together since high school, decided to persevere and carry on in Pat’s memory and support their shared musical legacy. And the fans approved! Using rotating guest vocalists, including longtime friend Marshall Crenshaw and Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms among others, something no other band has done, they continue to entertain and rock fans all over the U.S. and the world.

In 2019, The Smithereens – Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken, Mike Mesaros, and the late Pat DiNizio – were honored by their home state and were inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, Class of 2018, in the “Performing Arts” category. Previously, Babjak and Diken were inducted into the White Castle Hall of Fame for The Smithereens’ rendition of the Jim Babjak/Bob Banta composition “White Castle Blues.” They are also honorary members of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

Recent Smithereens’ releases include the COVERS album on CD and red vinyl, features 22 of the band’s favorite songs first recorded by other artists. A limited edition vinyl 45 rpm of “Love Me Do” b/w “P.S. I Love You” featuring The Beatles session drummer, the late Andy White, released on the band’s own Tollie label. And the green vinyl holiday 45, “Christmas Morning” b/w “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

In December of 2021, The Smithereens were the inaugural act at the grand opening of the state-of-the-art URSB Carteret Arts and Events Center in their New Jersey hometown. Over the next three years, the band was featured in the Grammy Museum in the “New Jersey Legends” exhibit.

In August of 2022, entrepreneur Babjak launched Babjax Coffee, featuring his own blends of premium roasted coffee. And in September of 2022, The Smithereens released The Lost Album, featuring previously unreleased songs featuring Babjak, Dennis Diken, Mike Mesaros, and the late Pat DiNizio. And in time for the 2022 holiday season, Jim released a new red vinyl Christmas 45, “It’s Love on Christmas Day” b/w “Christmas Eve, Without Your Love.” In January of 2024, The Lost Album was released on gold vinyl.

Moving forward and against all odds,The Smithereens reach a major milestone in 2024 as they celebrate their 44th continuous year as a band with non-stop touring and an album of all new material in the works. The adventure continues!

Cleveland Scene Magazine said of Falling Stars: They’re both guitar players and songwriters who have been making music in the Cleveland scene for many years. And as long as Tim Parnin (Cobra Verde, Sweet Apple, Chuck Mosley) has known Chris Allen, he’s been encouraging him to explore his rock side. Decades later, the pair finally spent a couple of years writing songs for what would eventually become their first album, Stranded In The Future, which will be released under the banner of Falling Stars. ͞”It’s funny — this seems way overdue,” Parnin says. “We’ve hinted about it in the past, but have always both been busy with our own bands.” Once they were able to set aside time for recording, things came together quickly. They laid down basic tracks during three productive days of recording at Mitch Easter’s studio in North Carolina. Easter engineered the sessions with Don Dixon producing and mixing the songs. For those familiar with Allen’s normal work, both as a solo artist and with the band Rosavelt, it’s a slight departure — a purposeful move that both were excited to make. “You’ve been around the block, I’ve been around the block — let’s see if we can find some new streets to hang out on,” Allen says, remembering the initial conversations he and Parnin had at the Happy Dog discussing the potential project. “If we couldn’t do that, we were never going to spend the time recording it.” Tracks like “Down and Out In Ohio” and “Behind The Blinds” crackle with a fresh energy and plenty of guitars while songs like “Losing Without You” and “The Lonely Keep In Touch” demonstrate the depths of sonic exploration that the pair weren’t afraid to indulge. It’s an engaging listen that longtime fans will enjoy and they’ll probably attract some new ears as well as they begin to play live shows together in the new year. — Matt Wardlaw