May 31, 2011

Our third entry for our column “This Is A Call: Music Of The 90s” is a bit different from the previous selections in that I wanted to focus more on this particular band in general as opposed to just one of their singles. In this case, that band is SMILE and for the sake of formality, the single we’ll use as a jumping off point is “Staring At The Sun.”

Consisting of frontman Mike Rosas, bassist Aaron Sonnenberg and drummer Scott Reeder, SMILE formed in the early 90s and released their debut album “Maquee” in 95 through indie label Headhunter and distributing giants Atlantic. Between Rosas’ fuzzy guitars, Sonnenberg’s thunderous bass and Reeder’s insane frantic yet precise drumming, SMILE were one of the few bands in the post-grunge explosion that truly sounded unique from everything else that was being passed off as the “next big thing” on MTV and the radio.

The slow build up of feedback, followed by that catchy crunchy riff and ride cymbal “ting” in “Staring At The Sun” make it an ideal lead off track as a single:

But it’s actually some of the other tracks that really stand out, such as the album opener “Rock Anthem For The Retarded Teenage Hipster Population“, which if anything seems even more relevant now than ever!

Or check out the absolute drumming insanity on Reeder’s part in the track “Jack Shrimp“, performed live in this clip below at NYC’s now defunct Brownies:

Here’s another one of their straight forward rockers, “Spudgun“. My favorite part being the awesome guitar riff at the 1:13 mark. Reminds me of the type of rockin’ riff that the Foo Fighters would perfect years later.

SMILE did release a 4 song EP a few years after “Maquee” called “Masterlocks“, which featured the humorously titled track “Crispin Glover Vs Tom Snyder” and one more full length album (with different band members) named “Girl Crushes Boy“. While both the EP and 2nd album feature some stand-out tracks, it also was a complete departure from their lo-fi rock sound in favor of a “surf-rock” vibe. (Look up “The Best Years” on You Tube to hear what I mean.) A few years back, they released another album “1993” via iTunes, which actually collected rare demos & live tracks from that period and right from the opening song “I Don’t Want To Leave You“, I was immediately transported back to the excitement I felt when I first heard SMILE‘s debut album “Maquee“.

Here’s a live version of the song that kicked off this post, “Staring At The Sun.”