About this episode
Drummer Dennis Diken and New Jersey friends Jim Babjak (guitar) and Mike Mesaros (bass) bonded over their love of British Invasion music and found the perfect singer-songwriter-guitarist to join them: Pat DiNizio. The Smithereens delivered catchy, crunchy power pop, with a teenage vigilante movie introducing their unexpected breakthrough song, “Blood and Roses.” Hits such as “Only a Memory,” “A Girl Like You” and “Too Much Passion” followed. Diken, who named the band and propelled its attack, reflects on the Smithereens’ rise, what rankled him about the hit album 11, how grunge affected the band’s popularity, and how they regrouped after DiNizio’s death in 2017. Will the Smithereens record new material with fill-in frontmen Marshall Crenshaw and Robin Wilson? And how did Diken become the drummer for a mini Kinks reunion?
Get every episode summarized
Each time Caropop publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
