By Shawn Mafia
In case you didn’t know, “Punk’s Not Dead” in the Coachella Valley. It’s not being held hostage in some trailer park near the Salton Sea, nor is it just a musical ghost haunting the used vinyl section down at the Record Alley in the Westfield Mall. In fact it’s quite alive and well on the new release from Smash 77 entitled Tales From The Underground. Local area La Quinta resident Shawn Smash has just released the second full length album from the three piece unit and Punk’s future is so bright you have to wear safety pins, sunglasses, or anything studded and black leather. Corny 1980’s clichés aside, TFTU delivers a brash yet poppy mix of 14 songs that rock harder then most things that rock hard.
The opening song, which is the title track of the album, searches the lyrical grit and decay of a life spent on the road touring and hitting the streets. Shawn Smash sings of “burning the candle at both ends” and lays down the punk rock code of arms “having each other’s backs” as the city streets erupt into mayhem and violence. He goes on to sing “emergency/dialing 911/I’m telling tales from the underground” and Smash 77 is just getting started.
Shawn Smash’s song structures and guitar wizardry marries what we loved about Social Distortion style chord progressions to what we admired in the more glam, hard rock solo styling’s of CC Deville and Eddie Van Halen. His strength as a lead guitarist is well documented in other bands he’s performed in (Total Chaos/No Solution) but particularly shines through on TFTU. The musical landscape is less of a hardcore thrash style allowing him to explore new terrain. Smash takes vocal duties on the album lending more credence to the claim of the “total punk rock package.” His voice is at times rough and street ready (Tim Armstrong and Mike Ness) and at other moments, do I dare say, smooth and fluid, almost taking on a pop/rock vocal sensibility with melodies and harmonies that wouldn’t be out of place on a Kiss or Descendants album. Notably sounding like a young Billy Idol with a cover of Generation X’s “Wild Youth.” Accompanied by a versatile and extremely tight rhythm section, that features Brock Anderson on bass and Danny “Boy” Virus on drums Smash 77’s punk foundation is solid and TFTU’s rock is steady. Smash 77 also featured a guest piano/keyboard appearance by local Coachella Valley music legend Ronnie King, whom according to Smash, “played piano on 3 songs.”
From youth anthems that, at their best, rival the Clash and the Ramones (Let’s Change the Radio), to Oi! tinged backing vocals ala Sham 69 (Riot Heart), to infectiously catchy 1980’s stadium rock (20 Stories), Smash 77 risks it all. In the beginning of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaw” Shawn Smash sings, “live free or die is what I say.” He backs it up a few lines later in the first verse with “I’m breaking rules and taking risks/I got six guns loaded pointed at your chest.” Perhaps the new ground TFTU breaks is finding a sentimentality and nostalgia for everything beautiful about punk rock back in the day and being comfortable enough to express it in a fashion that holds on to the past but looks for a future (I Wanna Feel Like The First Time).
I caught up with Shawn Smash upon his return from performing at the Amnesia Rock Fest in Canada with American hardcore punk rock legends Total Chaos. Smash joined Total Chaos, as the lead guitar player, during the height of America’s Green Day/Offspring mainstream punk explosion and has been with the group ever since.
CVW: How long have you been with Total Chaos? Are you touring this summer?
SS: I joined in January of 1995, so almost 20 years now. This summer we’re covering Europe and the U.K. We’ll also be hitting the festival circuits.
CVW: How long has Smash 77 been in existence?
SS: Smash 77 started in the summer of 2007 with former and current members of the bands Total Chaos and Cheap Sex.
CVW: TFTU isn’t the first album release from Smash 77, right?
SS: No, the first Smash 77 album titled “Blackout” came out in 2012 and featured a music video for the song “Melrose” that is on the movie soundtrack to “My Trip Back to the Darkside”. It can be viewed on YouTube (http://youtu.be/ZntKYMBk2z4).
CVW: Will Smash 77 be playing in the Coachella Valley anytime soon and what was it like working with local musician Ronnie King?
SS: We are currently rehearsing and getting our live show ready for late summer/fall show dates which will hopefully include the Coachella Valley. Ronnie was great to work with. He did touring with the Offspring and Rancid and guest stared on Snoop Dogg and Tupac records. He’s from out here and so is his brother, John Stanley king.”
CVW: What do you think of the Coachella Valley area and the music scene?
SS: There are some great bands coming out of here like Gutter Candy, and cool venues like the Red Barn, The Hood, and Hard Rock Cafe (among others). Coachella and Stage Coach dominate over the other music festivals and bring in a lot of outside music fans, generating great local business. Things have really picked up since I moved out here in 2005.
CVW: Give me a brief description of Smash 77 sound?
SS: Musically it’s high energy rock and roll. Lyrically it covers personal experiences, anything from heartbreaks to personal triumphs. The songs aren’t contrived, they come from real experiences.
CVW: What are your musical influences as it relates to Smash 77?
SS: Stylistically we’re influenced by Social Distortion, The Ramones, early Guns N’ Roses, and Paul Westerberg…bands in that vein.
CVW Lastly, where can someone get their hands on the new album?
SS: For ordering info, please send an email to: shawnsmash1977@hotmail.com
