'This is our life.' After 45 years, playing music remains fun for The Smithereens

NATICK — Dennis Diken can't imagine not playing music. The Smithereens drummer, 68, has had a passion for it since he was a child, and continues to play decades later.

“We all grew up being big music fans,” Diken told Wicked Local in a phone interview. “Every day there were new sounds on the radio that were blowing our minds. We developed a passion for playing music at a young age." 

The Smithereens, a New Jersey-based rock band that had a string of hits from the late 1980s through the mid-'90s, will play at The Center for Arts in Natick at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 11, as part of a current tour.

"This is our life," Diken continued. "We love to play, and we love to create. As long as people come out and see us, there's no reason not to play. It really does keep you young at heart.”

Meeting as high school students 45 years ago

The Smithereens mark their 45th anniversary this month, Diken said, getting their start in New Jersey where all four founding members grew up.

Diken met vocalist/guitarist Jim Babjak on their first day of high school. Bassist Mike Mesaros was also a schoolmate.  Later, Diken met lead vocalist Pat DiNizio after DiNizio placed a classified ad in a local newspaper looking for a drummer to help with a demo tape. Diken brought Babjak and Mesaros into the fold, and The Smithereens were formed.

The band’s name comes from a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Yosemite Sam would say, "I’m gonna blow you to smithereens."

“I thought it was a good name for a band,” said Diken, who came up with the idea. “It’s a real word of Gaelic origin. It means ‘tiny fragments.’”

The band released several albums and had some popular singles, including “Blood and Roses,” “In a Lonely Place” and “A Girl Like You,” among others. Their music has appeared in numerous movie soundtracks and television shows.

Passion for music stems from 'American Bandstand,' coffee cans

Diken was born to be a drummer, he said.

“I used to take toys like Lincoln Logs and use them as drumsticks," he said. "I’d play on coffee cans that had those plastic covers. Anything I could find.”

Diken never took drumming lessons.

“That goes with the passion,” he said. “If you want something, you’ll find a way to do it. I’d come home from school, put my books down, and go down to the basement and start playing the drums.”

He was about 14 when he joined his first band.

Band enters new chapter after frontman's death

The Smithereens continued to play regularly into the 21st century, even as they no longer produced hits. But things changed in 2017, when lead singer DiNizio died at age 62.

“For a little while we were shellshocked and we didn’t know how we were going to move forward,” Diken said. “At the time of his passing, we had a show on the books for the following month. The producer of the show was Steven Van Zandt, and he suggested Mike, Jimmy and I should play, and we would get a guest vocalist and pay tribute to Pat.”

Several vocalists showed up.

“They were all good in their own way, but two that stand out were Marshall Crenshaw, who was an old friend like family, and Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms, who we did not know but we learned he was a huge fan of the band, and it just felt right.”

The band never wanted to try to replace DiNizio by hiring someone who looked or sounded like him, Diken said.

“We wanted singers who would be able to interpret the music in their way but retain the integrity of the band,” he said.

The tribute show gave the band hope they could move forward with different vocalists.

For the April 11 show in Natick, the band will be joined by John Cowsill, of The Cowsills, who has a long connection to the band. 

“Playing with John is great,” Diken said. 

Even after 45 years, a love for performing endures

Even as they ease past standard retirement age, The Smithereens still have a passion for playing, continuing to perform live and even working on new material in the studio.

“The thing about playing live is you try to keep it fresh for yourself and the audience,” Diken said. “All the songs are fun to play. I always love playing ‘Blood and Roses.’ I love the groove of that one. And this one song, ‘Spellbound’ — it wasn’t a big hit, but I really, really feel it when we play it.”

The band was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame Performing Arts Category in 2018.

“You’ve got to consider our fellow inductees of years past included Frank Sinatra, the Four Seasons and others,” Diken said. “Certainly, we feel honored to be in that company. I’m glad it happened while we were alive. I wish my parents were alive to see it. It’s nice to be validated and it’s nice to have this in our cap. It reminds us that what we do has meaning for people.”

For their current tour, Diken said the band will play a collection of older more familiar tunes as well as some new ones, and even covers they like to perform.

“We all do what we do in the hope of reaching people and making a difference in their lives,” Diken said. “Being with an audience and being with like-minded people speaks to the heart and soul. You feel the love.”