The Wit, Wisdom & Ramblings of Jim Babjak [THE SMITHEREENS]

Pull up a bar stool & hang out with Tex--you can even send in a question you'd like him to answer sometime!

Be aware that by sending in a question, you are agreeing to having it posted on the web site, along with your first name, if we decide to include it on this page. If you do not wish to have your question posted publicly, please state that in your email--thank you!

This bar is ALWAYS open!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have supported The Smithereens for all these years by coming to our shows and enjoying our music. Not a day goes by that I take it for granted.

2005 marks the 25th Anniversary for us as a band. When I'm up on stage, I still feel like I'm 20 years old! Some of that feeling comes from your enthusiasm and I thank you for that. Some of it comes from being on stage with old friends who happen to be world class musicians. It blows my mind when I think about the fact that I've been playing with Dennis since 1971 and Mike since 1975! Pat is actually the new guy! I've only known him since 1980. I also thank them for keeping the passion alive.
UPDATED Fall 2005
Thanks to everyone for sending in your questions! I've been surprised at the variety of subjects people have asked about. It seems there are a lot of different things fans want to know and it's been fun answering the emails. It has brought back a lot of good memories too that I've enjoyed sharing.

The question most of you have is "When is Buzzed Meg Part 2 going to be released?"

Well, I guess you figured out that "Paradise" will be on it because it's listed in the Juke Box section as being from the forthcoming Buzzed Meg Part 2 album. "Paradise" has been remixed since the limited casette version from years ago. There is also a song I wrote for the Green Thoughts album in 1988 called "Say Goodbye" that was never finished. The music was done, but it needed 90% of the lyrics to be completed. Recently, I gave the song to Kurt Reil to work on, because we've never written a song together before. We plan on placing that on the next installment as well. It will give me a great sense of relief to finally complete a song that was started 17 years ago! Another song I have to complete is "People Hate People" which was co-written with Richard Barone. He sings the lead vocal on it and it will add a nice dimension to the album.

At this point I'm looking at a release in spring of 2006. We are now remixing some of the original stuff I recorded, plus wrapping up the latest songs. What's that…..4 years behind schedule? Ah buzzed Meg! Got to live up to the name.

I hope you enjoy reading the lounge. Keep your questions coming and I'll continue to get them posted.

Jim Babjak

Meredith in Monona, WI asks:
How did the Cowsills end up on "Now and Then"?

When we were recording the Blow Up album, I was in LA for 4 months. On our days off, Dennis and I would go out often and one night we decided to see the Cowsills play when they were opening for Redd Kross and the Screaming Trees. While they were on stage, I was really knocked out by their beautiful harmony vocals. I turned to Dennis and said they would sound great singing background parts on my new song, "Now and Then". We went backstage after the show and I told Suzie that I wanted them to come in and sing on a song. She didn't believe that I was in the Smithereens, so I told her to call the studio the next day and she did. Bob, John, Paul and Susan Cowsill were magnificent and made the track really shine.

I went to see them play again during that time and thought that they had some great new original songs. I had their demo tape and even tried to get them a record deal at Capitol, but the A&R person didn't even want to hear the songs unless they changed their name! They thought The Cowsills name and reputation was uncool. It was at that point that I realized what a crappy buisness the record industry was and how lucky I was at the time to be on a label myself.

Mark in Des Plaines, IL asks:
I'm been racking my brain trying to replicate "Especially For You," as I've seen you play it, but I've only seen you play it twice. I've got the tab book, with the song sketched out. The beginning is true, as is the middle eight. The bridge, " You won't break my heart...No matter what you do...My love is especially for you " is what stumps me. Could you share with me the chords you play for that section? I can't make out the voicing you use. I appreciate any help you can give me.

I don't have the book, so I can't tell you if the beginning is true.

The way I play it is, Intro C7, D, E (the C7 I play is ring finger 3rd fret E string, pinkie right under it on the A, middle finger 2nd fret D string) Verse Em, Asus2 (to do this, make a regular A, just lift up your ring finger and play the open B string along with the open E Chorus G6 (Make a regular barre G, but take your pinkie and place on the B string 5th fret, then for the next chord (still don't know what it's called), leave your pinkie where it is and lift up your middle finger and move your index to the 2nd fret and hold all the stings down like a barre and put your ring finger on the 4th fret A string. Then go back to the G 6th, then the Asus2, C7, A6 (but hold down the entire 2nd fret with your index finger) E Bridge C7, Dsus2nd (make a regular D but lift finger to keep high E open) 3 times then go to E. Repeat and then play the intro once but use an Em at the end cause it goes into a verse.

I wrote the music to this as I was experimenting with jazz chords. Hope this helps.

Andre in Menominee, MI asks:
Did you use the white tuxedo Rickenbacker on any recordings? If so, what songs can we hear it on?

The white tuxedo Rickenbackers that I had were never used on any recordings. I played them on the Green Thoughts album tour in 1988 and in the video for "Only a Memory". I took one of them with me for the European leg of the tour and it can be seen in the footage from the Glastonbury Festival that's included in the "Drown In My Own Tears" video. After the tour was over, I gave one to the Hard Rock Cafe in Los Angeles. The second one was painted by the NJ artist Wayne Turback. That guitar appears in the "Girl Like You" video. the 3rd one was raffled away to raise money for the production of our newsletter in the 90's called "Reen Thoughts". At that point, I had switched to using a Gibson SG for the next tour. In 1989 we had begun to record the 11 album in LA. I only brought a few guitars with me and the white one stayed home.

Paula in Seattle, WA asks:
When you write song lyrics, do you tend to write autobiographically or not?

Some of my songs are definitely autobiographical, or at least they start out that way. Others are total nonsense. Usually, the lyrics about personal experiences morph into something else as I write them down. My feeling is that the truth is usually not as interesting as what the imagination has to offer. But, that's only in my case. I lead a boring life. I've been with my wife for 28 years. We have 3 kids and I'm happy with all of that so far. There hasn't been any drama to write about.
One example is the song "Point Of No Return". I was stuck in the Lincoln tunnel for a half hour coming home from NYC and didn't know how long it would be till the traffic started to move. There must have been an accident inside the tunnel. I always keep a pad and pen in the car so I just wrote down "Yes I'm goin', goin' nowhere, past the point of no return". That phrase came to me with a melody as I was sitting there thinking I can't turn around cause I'm stuck inside a tunnel! Later that day, when my wife and I disagreed on something, I jokingly said "I guess I'm wrong again this time" and it was just one of those moments where I knew I could use that phrase in this stupid song idea. The rest of the song I had to force out of myself and just make up. It sounded like a relationship gone bad type song so I just went with that mindset. I was still missing an entire verse when we were recording the song and while I was listening to the playback to the music, I wrote the rest of it. Also, the subconscious works in strange ways, because there was a movie called "Point Of No Return" out in the theaters or video. I'm not sure as I've never seen it. But maybe the ad for the movie was in the back of my mind when I was stuck in the tunnel.

Lyrics come very hard for me. Writing the music is definitely my strength. Relationship songs are a dime a dozen and I find it very difficult to make it seem interesting. Political songs are not my taste. I don't feel like I'm anyone to preach. I did however write a song called "Love Is Gone" and that was basically about all the violence that went on during the Rodney King LA riots and what was going on in Yugoslavia at the time I wrote it. Most people who didn't listen to the lyrics thought that it was a relationship song because of the title. Unfortunately, I think the violence theme will always be relevant since there are so many troubled people in the world. I have another song in the works called "People Hate People." Actually, I wrote it with a guy named Richard Barone back in 1992. Shows you what a procrastinator I am. I finally recorded the basic track 4 years ago and have yet to finish it. I have about 30 songs like that. I just keep starting new songs before I finish the old ones.

I realized years ago that the average person doesn't listen to the lyrics and only hears the hook or the chorus. But then again, the average person doesn't REALLY listen to music; it's usually just background noise. An example is when Ronald Reagan, or maybe it was Bush senior, wanted to use "Born In The USA" by Bruce Springsteen as the theme for his campaign, not realizing that it's an anti -war song. All they listened to was the hook, born in the USA and not paying attention to the verses.

Lewis in Lodi, CA asks:
I saw you in Stockton, CA. The Telecasters you played sounded great. I expected Ricks though. Would like to hear a bit about your preference for guitars and effects as well as your setup and the modifications Pat has made to his Strat to get that acoustic sound.

I would love to bring the Rickenbacker on the road, but the one I have is fragile and I would hate for anything to happen to it. The Telecaster is more durable for appearances that require me to fly. I do bring the Rickenbackers (6 and 12 string) to shows that are within driving distance.

The live sound I get is just by plugging into a Marshall 800 series half stack with a 100 Watt head. They are rented for every show from the local music shop in every city we play in. I crank up the master to about 7 and the volume at about 3. I don't use any effects. I keep my guitar on 10 and rely on the sound man to crank up the volume in the house during a solo. For the softer songs, I just lower the volume on my guitar. I use a 30 foot cord. That's it. I like to keep things simple. If something goes wrong, it's easier to troubleshoot.

My favorite guitars include my Rickenbackers, '52 reissue Fender Telecaster, Gibson SG with P90 pickups and my Guild Acoustic. I play at least one of them every day.

I can't answer the question about Pat's guitar. All I know is that he installed a special pick up in his Stratocaster that can give him that acoustic sound. I don't know the brand name of the pickup off hand.

From Brad in Maryland:
I really enjoy "It Was a Pretty Dream" from your Buzzed Meg Part 1 album. I can't tell you how many folks I have turned on to that song when they hear it in my office. A couple years back you gave me a four track sampler after a show at the Rams Head and it has always been a special part of my music collection.

"It Was a Pretty Dream" is also one of my favorites. Thanks for turning more people on to it. I love the feel that Dennis has on that track. His simple drum fills and tempo were perfect for the dream quality of that song.

Kyle in Arizona asks:

How did you get started on Rickenbacker? They weren't exactly in style in the 80s. I thought I was the only guy in the world still playing one in those days until I saw the video for "Only A Memory" on MTV. At the time, every other guitarist was playing these fast scales, with nothing that stuck. You guys single-handedly restored my faith in music that day with the style, sound, and tension of that song. Your lead is full of raw tone & expression and it burns into a person's head every bit as much as the song's melody. Personally, I think that's the ultimate compliment for a guitarist.

I chose the Rickenbacker because of the Beatles and the early Who. In the 70's I also listened to the Jam. At first, I just liked the way they looked and then I fell in love with the sound. I'm actually teaching guitar now and have to show kids how to play fast, but I tell them that the most important thing for me was making a solo part of the song and somehow compliment it, and not just play scales for showboating. Yes, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page played fast sometimes, but it all fit. Pat's songs didn't really lend itself to those kind of solos anyway. My favorite solos were always the ones you can hum along to, like in "A Hard Day's Night."

Liz from Long Island NY asks:
What does "baszd meg" mean? I am a fellow Hungarian so I was wondering does it mean what I think it means???

I can't post the direct translation here in the lounge, but your guess is correct: Baszd meg is a slang term in Hungarian that would be considered a cuss word in English. One of those words you teach your kids not to say. But my dad used to say it all the time, like a lot of other Hungarians, and it just stuck with me as a funny sounding phrase. I use it in a humorous way as my band's name. I don't mean it in a derogatory way at all.

Dan from anywhere USA asks:
I noticed you guys tune down when you play and I was wondering why?

We tune down for 2 basic reasons. The main one is for Pat's vocal range. It also helps me because I can't hit the high notes on the harmonies. The 2nd reason is that it gives the guitars a deeper sound. It sounds especially cool on the heavier stuff.

Dan from anywhere USA asks:
I am sure you have an extensive guitar collection, what are your favorite guitars for doing gigs. What effects do you typically use? I own a Fender strat, Gibson Les Paul, and Taylor acoustic.

I don't really have an extensive guitar collection. My theory is, if I'm not going to play it, then I don't want it. I would never be a guitar collector. I'll always be just a player.
When the band first exploded on the National scene in 1986, I only had two guitars. They were both Rickenbackers. One was a 1972 Burgundyglo 340 with 3 Hi gains pickups and the other a Black 12-string that I bought in 1980 at Manny's in NYC. I traded my brother a 1971 Stratocaster for the '72 Rickenbacker. I eventually gave him the 12=string Rickenbacker also.

I used the 1972 Rickenbacker for the first Smithereens tour and album. I soon realized how fragile the guitar was after I broke the neck off by being a little aggressive with my playing. I had it repaired and I still use it for some choice local gigs and studio work. I will never take that guitar on an airplane.

I started switching to other Rickenbackers and then I experimented with a Gibson SG on the Green Thoughts, 11, and Blow Up tours and then in 1994 decided to use the '52 Reissue Telecaster (made in the USA) for future tours. The reason I've used that guitar ever since, is because of it's road worthiness. It is a work horse and it stays in tune pretty well as I can still beat the crap out of it when I'm playing. I also like the sound very much, especially through a Marshall 100 Watt 800 series amplifier.

For live shows I don't use any effects. Since I have a theory for just about everything, here's one for this. I believe that the less things I have to depend on, the less that will go wrong. It all started on the Green Thoughts tour in 1988. Our roadies decided to get me a wireless system and an effects pedal that had over 100 different sounds on it. It was all crap. Half the time the stuff didn't work, so I just stopped using everything. Maybe the technology is better now, but I can get a great sound with just my guitar and an amp, so why mess with it? Keeping it simple is better for me.

At home, I do mess around with a Snarling Dog Mold Spore Wah, Rotovibe, Boss Octave, Dan Elecro Fuzz and an old DOD Phaser and Boss Flanger that I've had since the 70's. I used to have an Echoplex in the early 80's, but I can't find it. The last time I used it was when we were developing the song "Alone At Midnight" in Pat's basement. I might have even used it for the recording. Man, I wish I still had that box. I used to have a Fuzz box in the early 70's that I threw away about 10 years ago. I hear that it's worth a lot of money now, but I thought it sounded terrible. I don't remember the name of it, but I remember it was grey and had orange letters. There couldn't have been many companies that made it back then. I used it all the time from 1973 till about 1975 when I practiced with Dennis in my garage. We were playing a lot of Who songs during that period.

Dan from anywhere USA asks:
I also play guitar and like the vintage Fender amp sound. Newer equipment can provide a lot of versatility, but I think it often loses the vintage sound. What do you think about vintage equipment?

I recently had to re-record "In a Lonely Place" for a movie that's coming out called Pain Is Love, or maybe it's Love Is Pain, I can't remember. Anyway, my friend Kurt who sings in Buzzed Meg just bought a 1967 SG with standard P-90's. That guitar plays like a dream. Since the director wanted an extra 40 seconds of the song, I played a jam using that guitar at the end of the song with just Dennis and Graham Maby on bass that lasted over 2 minutes. It was just the 3 of us and it captured such a great live sound that I left all the mistakes in. Nobody seems to notice, so that's good. The director loved it and it gave the song new life. My point is, the natural sound I got from vintage equipment can't be beat,

Mark from Illinois asks:
Went back to listen to Green Thoughts, and fell in love with the guitar opening of Deep Black...is that one of yours?

Pat wrote "Deep Black" and it is possible he played the opening on the album. I can't remember that one because I've always played that part live since we recorded it. I definitely played all the other guitars and I do remember the solo because I didn't own a slide and I used a plastic cigarette lighter for the solo while I held a brand new Gibson SG on my lap. I even taped the lower strings to the fret board so you couldn’t hear it ringing out

Mark from Illinois asks:
I was wondering if you had any Les Pauls

I used to have an early 70's gold top that I gave my brother back in the late 80's. He say's that it's worth a lot of money now. I also gave him my 1971 Strat. I kind of miss that one. The only Les Paul I have now is a 1975 model that has a light wood finish. All these years I never bothered to find out what it's called until now. Maybe it's because I always hated the way it looked. I'll have to look into it. It's the one I used in the studio to record "A Girl Like You," so it has some sentimental value. You know what, I just remembered that I used the old Gold Top of mine on some Green Thoughts session tracks before I gave it to my brother. One of them was "One After 909" which was a B-side that ended up on the rarities CD.

Brian & Kathy from Ontario, Canada wrote:
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for signing our CD booklets last Friday after the show at BB King's. We came down to NYC from north of Toronto for the weekend to catch you're show after seeing it on your site. We've been Smithereens fans for years and I must say it was a treat we won't forget for a long time. It's too bad that there isn't enough demand for you all to do a few dates in Canada. Most people just don't know what they are missing.

Thanks for writing and I do appreciate that you came to see us. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I miss going to Canada. The last time I went was about 2 years ago we were playing in Buffalo and Syracuse and I decided to take my whole family on a little vacation. We stayed on the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. I haven't been there since 1964! There was a lot of construction going on. I remember paying extra for a room with a view of the falls. It was pretty, but I also saw huge cranes and big holes in the ground. I'd like to take my family to the hockey Hall of Fame someday and perhaps see a game in Toronto. We love hockey! As a teenager I used to belong to the NY Rangers fan club and once a year, there would be a bus trip to Montreal to see a game. It was always a fun-filled 3 days. People would bring their own beer in coolers. You had to walk on top of them to get to the bathroom in the rear of the bus. I always brought a guitar with me and had the whole bus singing songs by the Beatles, Kinks, Who etc. This was in the late 1970's

Liz from Long Island NY asks:
If you had to pick your favorite song on Buzzed Meg Part 1, what would it be? And if all you had in the house was Ellio's frozen pizza, would you make it for dinner or would you starve?

First, I will answer the Pizza question. In a word, yes. I would eat the sucker. There are worse things out there to eat. If I had other things in the house like, mushrooms, extra cheese, pepperoni, red and green peppers, I would throw them on top to jazz it up. Oh, garlic, lot's of garlic. I love garlic! Fresh garlic! yes! I would also pour some olive oil on top.
Favorite song questions always confuse me. I can't pick one. I have my favorites for many different reasons and I'm too close to the songs. If I was going to get shock treatment in lieu of an answer, then I would be forced to pick "Lost In Love," because I think it's a very pleasant sounding song and it makes me feel good when I hear it. The lyrics are a bit sad, but hopeful and it's not based on any personal experience. It's one of my "out of thin air" songs.

Mike from Maryland asks:
I recently acquired one of the ultra rare Otis Blackwell albums that you guys played on, From the Beginning ! I noticed there was a special thanks on the back cover to BALTIMORE'S BACK STREET BAND, NEW JERSEY'S SMITHEREEN'S BAND AND ANDY ROSEN- PIANO Which cuts feature the Smithereens?

Luckily, I do have this one. I paid Otis $5.00 for it back in 1984. Yes, they are extremely rare. The Back Street Band was playing with Otis before he met us and did a few recordings with him. We picked up from that point and recorded the rest of his songs. Here’s the list:

I had to listen to it now, since it was on my mind.

We play on
Return To Sender,
Nine Times Out Of Ten,
Broken Heart For Sale,
Easy Question,
and Don't Drag That String Around.

In the Beginning has less of our playing than on Let's Talk About Us which is the other rare Otis record. Otis was using this other band [Back Street Band from Baltimore] for live performances and started his recording project with them. After he met us through the recommendation of Andy Rosen who was a piano player we knew from the Kenny's Castaways days, we became Otis' live band and also finished up his recording project. He divided all the songs onto 2 albums. Pat plays the solo on "Easy Question" and I play on all the rest. Can you believe that I'm using the same guitar as on "Blood and Roses"? It was at a much lower volume and different style of music. I was told by Otis’ manager that there were only 500 copies of each album made. As a side note, Andy Rosen is the son of Al Rosen, a baseball Hall of Famer.

From the other Otis album Let’s Talk About Us we play on-
Let's Talk About Us
My Knees Turn To Jelly
The Love Knot
I Love It
Face The Music
One Broken Heart For Sale
Just keep It Up
Girls Everywhere

The Back Street Band play on
Backtrail
The Kings Not Dead
#1 King Of Rock and Roll
Steady Making Love

Paul from Texas wrote:
I had been looking for a girls about town EP for a long time and recently purchased a copy on ebay. I absolutely loved it. I could have heard it on the radio and immediately known who it was. you guys are the greatest and I hope you continue on for the next 25 years.

Thanks Paul, that is nice of you to say. That EP is pretty rare. I think we only made 1,000 or 1,500 and I only have 4 of them myself!

Wes from NY asks:
I caught your Darien Lake show and wondered if you’d tell me about your Marshall amps and what speakers are in the 4x12's

Oh, those amps were rented so I don't know anything about them. Promoters rent them for me everywhere I go. I was supposed to get the 800 series 100 watt, but they gave me the 900 series. It sounded fine to me. I own an 800 series from 1986. They discontinued it a few years ago and are making them again now as a reissue for $2500, just for the head!

Do you have a question for Jim Babjak?
Send it in and he'll try to answer it here in the lounge. Please use a specific subject heading to identify your message and email your question to: jimmybabjak@aol.com

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jimmybabjak@aol.com

Meredith in Monona, WI asks: How did the Cowsills end up on "Now and Then"?	When we were recording the Blow Up album, I was in LA for 4 months. On our days off, Dennis and I would go out often and one night we decided to see the Cowsills play when they were opening for Redd Kross and the Screaming Trees. While they were on stage, I was really knocked out by their beautiful harmony vocals. I turned to Dennis and said they would sound great singing background parts on my new song, "Now and Then". We went backstage after the show and I told Suzie that I wanted them to come in and sing on a song. She didn't believe that I was in the Smithereens, so I told her to call the studio the next day and she did. Bob, John, Paul and Susan Cowsill were magnificent and made the track really shine. I went to see them play again during that time and thought that they had some great new original songs. I had their demo tape and even tried to get them a record deal at Capitol, but the A&R person didn't even want to hear the songs unless they changed their name! They thought The Cowsills name and reputation was uncool. It was at that point that I realized what a crappy buisness the record industry was and how lucky I was at the time to be on a label myself.
Mark in Des Plaines, IL asks: I'm been racking my brain trying to replicate "Especially For You," as I've seen you play it, but I've only seen you play it twice. I've got the tab book, with the song sketched out. The beginning is true, as is the middle eight. The bridge, " You won't break my heart...No matter what you do...My love is especially for you " is what stumps me. Could you share with me the chords you play for that section? I can't make out the voicing you use. I appreciate any help you can give me.	I don't have the book, so I can't tell you if the beginning is true. The way I play it is, Intro C7, D, E (the C7 I play is ring finger 3rd fret E string, pinkie right under it on the A, middle finger 2nd fret D string) Verse Em, Asus2 (to do this, make a regular A, just lift up your ring finger and play the open B string along with the open E Chorus G6 (Make a regular barre G, but take your pinkie and place on the B string 5th fret, then for the next chord (still don't know what it's called), leave your pinkie where it is and lift up your middle finger and move your index to the 2nd fret and hold all the stings down like a barre and put your ring finger on the 4th fret A string. Then go back to the G 6th, then the Asus2, C7, A6 (but hold down the entire 2nd fret with your index finger) E Bridge C7, Dsus2nd (make a regular D but lift finger to keep high E open) 3 times then go to E. Repeat and then play the intro once but use an Em at the end cause it goes into a verse. I wrote the music to this as I was experimenting with jazz chords. Hope this helps.
Andre in Menominee, MI asks: Did you use the white tuxedo Rickenbacker on any recordings? If so, what songs can we hear it on?	The white tuxedo Rickenbackers that I had were never used on any recordings. I played them on the Green Thoughts album tour in 1988 and in the video for "Only a Memory". I took one of them with me for the European leg of the tour and it can be seen in the footage from the Glastonbury Festival that's included in the "Drown In My Own Tears" video. After the tour was over, I gave one to the Hard Rock Cafe in Los Angeles. The second one was painted by the NJ artist Wayne Turback. That guitar appears in the "Girl Like You" video. the 3rd one was raffled away to raise money for the production of our newsletter in the 90's called "Reen Thoughts". At that point, I had switched to using a Gibson SG for the next tour. In 1989 we had begun to record the 11 album in LA. I only brought a few guitars with me and the white one stayed home.
Paula in Seattle, WA asks: When you write song lyrics, do you tend to write autobiographically or not?	Some of my songs are definitely autobiographical, or at least they start out that way. Others are total nonsense. Usually, the lyrics about personal experiences morph into something else as I write them down. My feeling is that the truth is usually not as interesting as what the imagination has to offer. But, that's only in my case. I lead a boring life. I've been with my wife for 28 years. We have 3 kids and I'm happy with all of that so far. There hasn't been any drama to write about. One example is the song "Point Of No Return". I was stuck in the Lincoln tunnel for a half hour coming home from NYC and didn't know how long it would be till the traffic started to move. There must have been an accident inside the tunnel. I always keep a pad and pen in the car so I just wrote down "Yes I'm goin', goin' nowhere, past the point of no return". That phrase came to me with a melody as I was sitting there thinking I can't turn around cause I'm stuck inside a tunnel! Later that day, when my wife and I disagreed on something, I jokingly said "I guess I'm wrong again this time" and it was just one of those moments where I knew I could use that phrase in this stupid song idea. The rest of the song I had to force out of myself and just make up. It sounded like a relationship gone bad type song so I just went with that mindset. I was still missing an entire verse when we were recording the song and while I was listening to the playback to the music, I wrote the rest of it. Also, the subconscious works in strange ways, because there was a movie called "Point Of No Return" out in the theaters or video. I'm not sure as I've never seen it. But maybe the ad for the movie was in the back of my mind when I was stuck in the tunnel. Lyrics come very hard for me. Writing the music is definitely my strength. Relationship songs are a dime a dozen and I find it very difficult to make it seem interesting. Political songs are not my taste. I don't feel like I'm anyone to preach. I did however write a song called "Love Is Gone" and that was basically about all the violence that went on during the Rodney King LA riots and what was going on in Yugoslavia at the time I wrote it. Most people who didn't listen to the lyrics thought that it was a relationship song because of the title. Unfortunately, I think the violence theme will always be relevant since there are so many troubled people in the world. I have another song in the works called "People Hate People." Actually, I wrote it with a guy named Richard Barone back in 1992. Shows you what a procrastinator I am. I finally recorded the basic track 4 years ago and have yet to finish it. I have about 30 songs like that. I just keep starting new songs before I finish the old ones. I realized years ago that the average person doesn't listen to the lyrics and only hears the hook or the chorus. But then again, the average person doesn't REALLY listen to music; it's usually just background noise. An example is when Ronald Reagan, or maybe it was Bush senior, wanted to use "Born In The USA" by Bruce Springsteen as the theme for his campaign, not realizing that it's an anti -war song. All they listened to was the hook, born in the USA and not paying attention to the verses.
Lewis in Lodi, CA asks: I saw you in Stockton, CA. The Telecasters you played sounded great. I expected Ricks though. Would like to hear a bit about your preference for guitars and effects as well as your setup and the modifications Pat has made to his Strat to get that acoustic sound.	I would love to bring the Rickenbacker on the road, but the one I have is fragile and I would hate for anything to happen to it. The Telecaster is more durable for appearances that require me to fly. I do bring the Rickenbackers (6 and 12 string) to shows that are within driving distance. The live sound I get is just by plugging into a Marshall 800 series half stack with a 100 Watt head. They are rented for every show from the local music shop in every city we play in. I crank up the master to about 7 and the volume at about 3. I don't use any effects. I keep my guitar on 10 and rely on the sound man to crank up the volume in the house during a solo. For the softer songs, I just lower the volume on my guitar. I use a 30 foot cord. That's it. I like to keep things simple. If something goes wrong, it's easier to troubleshoot. My favorite guitars include my Rickenbackers, '52 reissue Fender Telecaster, Gibson SG with P90 pickups and my Guild Acoustic. I play at least one of them every day. I can't answer the question about Pat's guitar. All I know is that he installed a special pick up in his Stratocaster that can give him that acoustic sound. I don't know the brand name of the pickup off hand.
From Brad in Maryland: I really enjoy "It Was a Pretty Dream" from your Buzzed Meg Part 1 album. I can't tell you how many folks I have turned on to that song when they hear it in my office. A couple years back you gave me a four track sampler after a show at the Rams Head and it has always been a special part of my music collection.	"It Was a Pretty Dream" is also one of my favorites. Thanks for turning more people on to it. I love the feel that Dennis has on that track. His simple drum fills and tempo were perfect for the dream quality of that song.
Kyle in Arizona asks: How did you get started on Rickenbacker? They weren't exactly in style in the 80s. I thought I was the only guy in the world still playing one in those days until I saw the video for "Only A Memory" on MTV. At the time, every other guitarist was playing these fast scales, with nothing that stuck. You guys single-handedly restored my faith in music that day with the style, sound, and tension of that song. Your lead is full of raw tone & expression and it burns into a person's head every bit as much as the song's melody. Personally, I think that's the ultimate compliment for a guitarist.	I chose the Rickenbacker because of the Beatles and the early Who. In the 70's I also listened to the Jam. At first, I just liked the way they looked and then I fell in love with the sound. I'm actually teaching guitar now and have to show kids how to play fast, but I tell them that the most important thing for me was making a solo part of the song and somehow compliment it, and not just play scales for showboating. Yes, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page played fast sometimes, but it all fit. Pat's songs didn't really lend itself to those kind of solos anyway. My favorite solos were always the ones you can hum along to, like in "A Hard Day's Night."
Liz from Long Island NY asks: What does "baszd meg" mean? I am a fellow Hungarian so I was wondering does it mean what I think it means???	I can't post the direct translation here in the lounge, but your guess is correct: Baszd meg is a slang term in Hungarian that would be considered a cuss word in English. One of those words you teach your kids not to say. But my dad used to say it all the time, like a lot of other Hungarians, and it just stuck with me as a funny sounding phrase. I use it in a humorous way as my band's name. I don't mean it in a derogatory way at all.
Dan from anywhere USA asks: I noticed you guys tune down when you play and I was wondering why?	We tune down for 2 basic reasons. The main one is for Pat's vocal range. It also helps me because I can't hit the high notes on the harmonies. The 2nd reason is that it gives the guitars a deeper sound. It sounds especially cool on the heavier stuff.
Dan from anywhere USA asks: I am sure you have an extensive guitar collection, what are your favorite guitars for doing gigs. What effects do you typically use? I own a Fender strat, Gibson Les Paul, and Taylor acoustic.	I don't really have an extensive guitar collection. My theory is, if I'm not going to play it, then I don't want it. I would never be a guitar collector. I'll always be just a player. When the band first exploded on the National scene in 1986, I only had two guitars. They were both Rickenbackers. One was a 1972 Burgundyglo 340 with 3 Hi gains pickups and the other a Black 12-string that I bought in 1980 at Manny's in NYC. I traded my brother a 1971 Stratocaster for the '72 Rickenbacker. I eventually gave him the 12=string Rickenbacker also. I used the 1972 Rickenbacker for the first Smithereens tour and album. I soon realized how fragile the guitar was after I broke the neck off by being a little aggressive with my playing. I had it repaired and I still use it for some choice local gigs and studio work. I will never take that guitar on an airplane. I started switching to other Rickenbackers and then I experimented with a Gibson SG on the Green Thoughts, 11, and Blow Up tours and then in 1994 decided to use the '52 Reissue Telecaster (made in the USA) for future tours. The reason I've used that guitar ever since, is because of it's road worthiness. It is a work horse and it stays in tune pretty well as I can still beat the crap out of it when I'm playing. I also like the sound very much, especially through a Marshall 100 Watt 800 series amplifier. For live shows I don't use any effects. Since I have a theory for just about everything, here's one for this. I believe that the less things I have to depend on, the less that will go wrong. It all started on the Green Thoughts tour in 1988. Our roadies decided to get me a wireless system and an effects pedal that had over 100 different sounds on it. It was all crap. Half the time the stuff didn't work, so I just stopped using everything. Maybe the technology is better now, but I can get a great sound with just my guitar and an amp, so why mess with it? Keeping it simple is better for me. At home, I do mess around with a Snarling Dog Mold Spore Wah, Rotovibe, Boss Octave, Dan Elecro Fuzz and an old DOD Phaser and Boss Flanger that I've had since the 70's. I used to have an Echoplex in the early 80's, but I can't find it. The last time I used it was when we were developing the song "Alone At Midnight" in Pat's basement. I might have even used it for the recording. Man, I wish I still had that box. I used to have a Fuzz box in the early 70's that I threw away about 10 years ago. I hear that it's worth a lot of money now, but I thought it sounded terrible. I don't remember the name of it, but I remember it was grey and had orange letters. There couldn't have been many companies that made it back then. I used it all the time from 1973 till about 1975 when I practiced with Dennis in my garage. We were playing a lot of Who songs during that period.
Dan from anywhere USA asks: I also play guitar and like the vintage Fender amp sound. Newer equipment can provide a lot of versatility, but I think it often loses the vintage sound. What do you think about vintage equipment?	I recently had to re-record "In a Lonely Place" for a movie that's coming out called Pain Is Love, or maybe it's Love Is Pain, I can't remember. Anyway, my friend Kurt who sings in Buzzed Meg just bought a 1967 SG with standard P-90's. That guitar plays like a dream. Since the director wanted an extra 40 seconds of the song, I played a jam using that guitar at the end of the song with just Dennis and Graham Maby on bass that lasted over 2 minutes. It was just the 3 of us and it captured such a great live sound that I left all the mistakes in. Nobody seems to notice, so that's good. The director loved it and it gave the song new life. My point is, the natural sound I got from vintage equipment can't be beat,
Mark from Illinois asks: Went back to listen to Green Thoughts, and fell in love with the guitar opening of Deep Black...is that one of yours?	Pat wrote "Deep Black" and it is possible he played the opening on the album. I can't remember that one because I've always played that part live since we recorded it. I definitely played all the other guitars and I do remember the solo because I didn't own a slide and I used a plastic cigarette lighter for the solo while I held a brand new Gibson SG on my lap. I even taped the lower strings to the fret board so you couldn’t hear it ringing out
Mark from Illinois asks: I was wondering if you had any Les Pauls	I used to have an early 70's gold top that I gave my brother back in the late 80's. He say's that it's worth a lot of money now. I also gave him my 1971 Strat. I kind of miss that one. The only Les Paul I have now is a 1975 model that has a light wood finish. All these years I never bothered to find out what it's called until now. Maybe it's because I always hated the way it looked. I'll have to look into it. It's the one I used in the studio to record "A Girl Like You," so it has some sentimental value. You know what, I just remembered that I used the old Gold Top of mine on some Green Thoughts session tracks before I gave it to my brother. One of them was "One After 909" which was a B-side that ended up on the rarities CD.
Brian & Kathy from Ontario, Canada wrote: I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for signing our CD booklets last Friday after the show at BB King's. We came down to NYC from north of Toronto for the weekend to catch you're show after seeing it on your site. We've been Smithereens fans for years and I must say it was a treat we won't forget for a long time. It's too bad that there isn't enough demand for you all to do a few dates in Canada. Most people just don't know what they are missing.	Thanks for writing and I do appreciate that you came to see us. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I miss going to Canada. The last time I went was about 2 years ago we were playing in Buffalo and Syracuse and I decided to take my whole family on a little vacation. We stayed on the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. I haven't been there since 1964! There was a lot of construction going on. I remember paying extra for a room with a view of the falls. It was pretty, but I also saw huge cranes and big holes in the ground. I'd like to take my family to the hockey Hall of Fame someday and perhaps see a game in Toronto. We love hockey! As a teenager I used to belong to the NY Rangers fan club and once a year, there would be a bus trip to Montreal to see a game. It was always a fun-filled 3 days. People would bring their own beer in coolers. You had to walk on top of them to get to the bathroom in the rear of the bus. I always brought a guitar with me and had the whole bus singing songs by the Beatles, Kinks, Who etc. This was in the late 1970's
Liz from Long Island NY asks: If you had to pick your favorite song on Buzzed Meg Part 1, what would it be? And if all you had in the house was Ellio's frozen pizza, would you make it for dinner or would you starve?	First, I will answer the Pizza question. In a word, yes. I would eat the sucker. There are worse things out there to eat. If I had other things in the house like, mushrooms, extra cheese, pepperoni, red and green peppers, I would throw them on top to jazz it up. Oh, garlic, lot's of garlic. I love garlic! Fresh garlic! yes! I would also pour some olive oil on top. Favorite song questions always confuse me. I can't pick one. I have my favorites for many different reasons and I'm too close to the songs. If I was going to get shock treatment in lieu of an answer, then I would be forced to pick "Lost In Love," because I think it's a very pleasant sounding song and it makes me feel good when I hear it. The lyrics are a bit sad, but hopeful and it's not based on any personal experience. It's one of my "out of thin air" songs.
Mike from Maryland asks: I recently acquired one of the ultra rare Otis Blackwell albums that you guys played on, From the Beginning ! I noticed there was a special thanks on the back cover to BALTIMORE'S BACK STREET BAND, NEW JERSEY'S SMITHEREEN'S BAND AND ANDY ROSEN- PIANO Which cuts feature the Smithereens?	Luckily, I do have this one. I paid Otis $5.00 for it back in 1984. Yes, they are extremely rare. The Back Street Band was playing with Otis before he met us and did a few recordings with him. We picked up from that point and recorded the rest of his songs. Here’s the list: I had to listen to it now, since it was on my mind. We play on Return To Sender, Nine Times Out Of Ten, Broken Heart For Sale, Easy Question, and Don't Drag That String Around. In the Beginning has less of our playing than on Let's Talk About Us which is the other rare Otis record. Otis was using this other band [Back Street Band from Baltimore] for live performances and started his recording project with them. After he met us through the recommendation of Andy Rosen who was a piano player we knew from the Kenny's Castaways days, we became Otis' live band and also finished up his recording project. He divided all the songs onto 2 albums. Pat plays the solo on "Easy Question" and I play on all the rest. Can you believe that I'm using the same guitar as on "Blood and Roses"? It was at a much lower volume and different style of music. I was told by Otis’ manager that there were only 500 copies of each album made. As a side note, Andy Rosen is the son of Al Rosen, a baseball Hall of Famer. From the other Otis album Let’s Talk About Us we play on- Let's Talk About Us My Knees Turn To Jelly The Love Knot I Love It Face The Music One Broken Heart For Sale Just keep It Up Girls Everywhere The Back Street Band play on Backtrail The Kings Not Dead #1 King Of Rock and Roll Steady Making Love
Paul from Texas wrote: I had been looking for a girls about town EP for a long time and recently purchased a copy on ebay. I absolutely loved it. I could have heard it on the radio and immediately known who it was. you guys are the greatest and I hope you continue on for the next 25 years.	Thanks Paul, that is nice of you to say. That EP is pretty rare. I think we only made 1,000 or 1,500 and I only have 4 of them myself!
Wes from NY asks: I caught your Darien Lake show and wondered if you’d tell me about your Marshall amps and what speakers are in the 4x12's	Oh, those amps were rented so I don't know anything about them. Promoters rent them for me everywhere I go. I was supposed to get the 800 series 100 watt, but they gave me the 900 series. It sounded fine to me. I own an 800 series from 1986. They discontinued it a few years ago and are making them again now as a reissue for $2500, just for the head!