Pat DiNizio Interview              Coffee East March 8th , 2008

Pat DiNizio is the front man/songwriter for The Smithereens, who along with R.E.M, U2, and the Cure, defined college rock radio in the 1980s. The group first broke big with their song “Blood and Roses” in 1986,and two years later they released one of the decade’s landmark albums, Green Thoughts. The group would reach their commercial peak, however, with their next release, 11. In addition to minor hits “Yesterday Girl” and “Blues Before and After”, the album also featured their monster hit “A Girl Like You”, a song whose opening guitar riff is instantly recognizable. Pat was nice enough to come do an "all requests" show for the local theater company ArtHouse Live. He was also nice enough to answer a few of our questions:

MM: The Basics. Where are you living right now?

PD: New Jersey.

MM: You were generous enough to do this show as a fundraiser for a local theater company and do an "all-request show". People are stoked about getting a chance to hear their favorite Smithereen shows. What do you think it is about the Smithereens music that makes it important to its fans, even twenty years later?

PD: Traditional & memorable 3-minute melodic song structure, and our steadfast refusal after 28 years together as a band to change our sound or adapt to current musical “fads” or “trends” just to make a buck or have a “hit”…tough question to answer!

MM: As one of the major college/alternative acts of the 80s, you guys had the opportunity to share the stage with a number of your peers. Brag a little. Who are some of the bands you guys got a chance to play with and get to know? Do you have any favorite stories about any of them?

PD: I got to jam with Paul McCartney at the Lone Star Roadhouse in NYC on 9/04/90 as part of a Buddy Holly Birthday Celebration…

MM: You are a New Jersey guy. There seems to be a sense of fraternity with you guys. Can you tell me a little about the support the other Jersey artists have given you over the years and vice versa?

PD: Back in 1986, Jon Bon Jovi asked us to open a few shows for him…Bruce Springsteen did me a huge favor recently by appearing as a guest on my ESPN-TV Special “7th Inning Stretch”.

MM: As a songwriter, what song are you most proud of writing? Is it also your favorite song to perform?

PD: “BLOOD AND ROSES” is a sentimental favorite, and probably still my favorite song to play live…

MM: You worked at XM right at the onset of the Satellite Radio boom. What do you think is good and important about sattelite radio, and what do you think could still use some tweaking?

PD: Satellite Radio is a nice alternative to “terrestrial” or commercial radio, but time has shown that it has a niche subscribership only, and that it will never replace free radio.

MM: You guys have played the largest venues and festivals in the world. What is exciting to you about playing a small space like Coffee East?

PD: I truly enjoy and love playing for the nice people who have shown me such kindness throughout the years, and supported me and given me a career, at any venue, whatever size, it doesn’t matter. I give it everything I’ve got whether there are ten people or 10,000, seriously…

FILL IN THE BLANK

When I think of Maryland I think of....HAMMERJACK’S, THE 8x10 CLUB, lots of good musical memories and lots of nice people…

A perfect day for me is...A crisp, cool, windy, autumnal October afternoon sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a book, looking out the window, daydreaming…Boring, huh??

On leap day this year I....I can’t remember what I did two hours ago!

The best live shows I ever saw were....

JETHRO TULL “AQUALUNG” TOUR 1970 or so…

THE WHO “QUADROPHENIA” PHILADELPHIA 1973

“WINGS OVER AMERICA” TOUR, PHILLY 1977 (?)

BLACK SABBATH “PARANOID” TOUR, SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ 1971

LED ZEPPELIN, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 1971, 1973, 1976 (?)

There were MANY, MANY more…