Where are The Smithereens?

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Wed Apr 11, 2001 7:07 am

I looked through the list twice and didn't see the Smithereens? A full up Rickenbacker band. except the drummer of course.

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Wed Apr 11, 2001 4:22 pm

They're around, but they don't really play Ricks these days, except Pat does sometimes (a 350JG). Jimmy still has his famous 340BG and has broken it out for a gig or two, but usually plays a Telecaster now.

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Wed Apr 11, 2001 5:14 pm

Mike Messaros is using a Lakland Bass most of the time now. He is one of the underrated bassists of the last 20 years. Excellent Melodic bass lines. Always enjoyed hearing his Ricky Basses.

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Wed Apr 11, 2001 6:32 pm

I saw them 2 yrs ago at the Kansas City Spirit Festival (a big showcase of bands in downtown KC) They played no Rickenbackers, darn...They all had Fenders or similar. They still sounded great...

anonymous · Post by **anonymous** » Tue May 01, 2001 4:08 pm

I saw them 10 years ago in upstate NY and they kicked butt! No Rick's now? Why don't they just play kazoos. Some bands forget what made them famous, and the Smithereens can't be picky these days.

madscotsman · Post by **madscotsman** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 1:15 pm

These guys have gradualy lost their signature sound and popularity ever since they stopped using Rickenbackers. IMHO.

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 3:23 pm

Yeah, they were a great band, what was that bass that was once an unofficial Mike Mesaros Ltd. Edition? Was that the Shadow?

bigbajo60 · Post by **bigbajo60** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 3:53 pm

Blackstar, if I'm not mistaken.

madscotsman · Post by **madscotsman** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 4:36 pm

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 6:51 pm

Maybe a stupid question, but why didnt they use black-top screws on the Blackstar pickguard? If they are going to black the thing out, and use chrome screws, that doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

bigbajo60 · Post by **bigbajo60** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 5:54 pm

And... as usually happens... speak of the devil, and he puts in an appearance:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3706328004&category=4713

And they even mention Mr. Mesaros in the posting!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 11:36 am

One of my all time favorite Ric basses.

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 12:39 pm

The Smithereens are dear friends of mine, for which I'm honored, as they are one of my all-time faves and have been since their first record. We've played together, I've been stage mgr./guitar tech for them for short stints, and we've shut down some bars together. And had friendly arguements about which is our favorite record by Badfinger or The Move...

Last time I saw them was in October '02, where I worked with them at a gig just north of LA. Mike played his 4003s MG for the night. Jimmy uses Rics for local gigs in the NYC area, his '71 340 BG and (I think) a 360/12v64 JG.

There's a box-set coming out on Capitol this summer, in accordance with the 25th anniversary of the group (2005).

bigbajo60 · Post by **bigbajo60** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 12:50 am

One of my favorite cover songs to play (back a few years ago) was (is) "Blood And Roses".

Any song that starts off with a cool bass riff like that has got to be good!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 11:16 am

Yeah he had a good sound.