Smash Mouth biography
Smash Mouth is an American pop rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell, Greg Camp, Paul De Lisle and Kevin Coleman as lead vocals, guitar, bass and drums respectively. They are known for such songs as "Walkin' on the Sun" (1997) and "All Star" (1999).
The band has adopted retro styles covering several decades of popular music. They have also performed numerous covers of popular songs, including The Monkees' "I'm a Believer", War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?", Question Mark & the Mysterians's "Can't Get Enough of You Baby", and The Beatles' "Getting Better." The band's 1999 album Astro Lounge is their most successful album to date, both commercially and critically.
History
Formation and first album (1994-1997)
Smash Mouth was formed in 1994 when Steve Harwell, who had formerly played in a defunct rap group called F.O.S., along with his manager, decided to form a rock band. Harwell's manager, Kevin Coleman, knew guitarist Greg Camp and bassist Paul De Lisle, who had both played in a local punk band, and introduced the three musicians to each other. The meeting led to the group beginning rehearsals together, along with Kevin Coleman as drummer. The group soon developed themselves into a band, and named themselves Smashmouth, a football term. During their early years, the band played largely ska punk music. The band's first publicity came when a demo of the song "Nervous in the Alley" was played by a San José radio station, KOME. Soon after, Interscope Records signed the band after a show, and the group's debut album,
Fush Yu Mang, was released in 1997. Also upon signing to Interscope Records, the band changed their name from Smashmouth to Smash Mouth.
The album's "Walkin' on the Sun" was the band's first major single. The album eventually went double platinum. Which was followed up with the singles: "The Fonz" & a cover of "Why Can't We Be Friends".
Rise to fame (1998-2003)
The band's second album,
Astro Lounge, was released in 1999 and marked a change in direction, as it had less of the previous ska influence and more of a pop sound. Despite the change in sound, it led to more publicity for the band, and ended up being one of the most critically acclaimed albums from the group. Supported by the successful single "All Star," which was featured in several movie soundtracks,
Astro Lounge was eventually certified as triple platinum.
Also in 1999, The East Bay Sessions was released as a collection of early songs. Shortly after the release of the album, drummer Kevin Coleman left the band due to back problems. He was replaced by Mitch Marine for the tour supporting Astro Lounge, who was subsequently replaced by Michael Urbano at the conclusion of the tour.
In 2001, Smash Mouth covered The Monkees' hit song "I'm a Believer". It was featured on both the Shrek movie soundtrack as well as the eponymous album Smash Mouth. The album sold fewer copies than the band's earlier works, eventually being certified gold. As soon as the album was released, they began to steadily fall down the charts.
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