Just days after their third, self-titled record is released later this month, Smash Mouth will start recording another one. No, they’re not taking a digital studio on the road and jamming during down time, they’re bringing producer Eric Valentine out with them to work on a live album, which they hope to release by this time next year.
“It’s not that easy to make a live record, because you’ve really gotta be on your game,” vocalist Steve Harwell said recently. “But now the shows are good enough to where we can record them and they’ll sound really good.”
The disc will likely feature songs from each of the band’s albums recorded in a variety of cities.
“I don’t want to do it all in one venue because there are so many great places I love to play,” Harwell said. “You never know exactly when the magic moment will come, but when it does it’s amazing.”
To make sure the magic is captured properly, Smash Mouth’s soundman will tape all the shows Valentine is unable to attend. In addition, the band has hired a cameraman to videotape backstage action for an upcoming DVD. Harwell said he wants to get Hollywood hotshot McG (“Charlie’s Angels”) to edit the footage once it’s completed.
“He’s really good at that. And he kind of owes me one since he backed out of directing our ‘Pacific Coast Party’ video”.
In addition to rehearsing the material from their new disc, Smash Mouth have gone back and relearned tunes they haven’t played in years.
“I want to be able to play it all,” Harwell said. “You go see U2, they play everything. And it’s easy to do – you just have to go rehearse it and get prepared. In the past, people have requested stuff that we hadn’t rehearsed, and I felt bad. I don’t want that to happen again.”
Smash Mouth Tour Dates, According To The Band’s Publicist:
- 12/1 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
- 12/2 – Chicago, IL – Metro
- 12/4 – Indianapolis, IN – Vogue
- 12/5 – Cedar Falls, IA – UNI Dome
- 12/6 – Eau Claire, WI – Zorn Arena
- 12/8 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Sir Winston Cruise Ship
- 12/10 – Atlanta, GA – Atlantic Civic Center
- 12/31 – New York, NY – Planet Hollywood
- 1/18 – Reno, NV – Reno Hilton Hotel
- 1/19 – Lake Tahoe, NV – Caesar’s Tahoe
- 1/20 – Lake Tahoe, NV – Caesar’s Tahoe
