Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones straddle a line between love and insanity with ‘#1 Most Likely’

Boston’s oddity-rock misfits line up a throbbing Valentine’s Day alt-love anthem for those who own our hearts on Friday, February 14

More new music from Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones on the way in 2025

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Photo Credit: Smitt E. Smitty

BOSTON, MA [February 14, 2025] – It takes an instant to meet your soulmate, but a lifetime to get to know them. And along the long winding game of life, as dating turns to engagement and engagement turns to marriage, one never really knows for sure if our partners will remain the light of our lives – or simply become the death of us. And in some cases, they accomplish both.

Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones know this heart-shaped game all too well, and straddle a line between love and insanity with the Boston rock and roll brigade’s latest slice of melodic musical oddity, a hypnotic seance of a dance-rock single called “#1 Most Likely,” set for release on Valentine’s Day, February 14.

The new single continues a recent February pattern for the Detroit-born, Boston-based garage n’ glam rock alchemist, following the 2022 Valentine’s Day release of “Buzzkill Baby” and the 2023 unleashing of the Fezztones’ “Rebel Rebel” cover. And it’s the first dose of new sounds from Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones since last spring’s anthemic breakout hit “Bye Bye Sunday Afternoon” and the prior fall’s “The Growler.”

With “#1 Most Likely,” Smitty sets his sights on the ones we love the most, appreciating the love they give, but also – as the lyrics playfully suggest – respecting their ability to make us kneel down and cry, feel all sorts of blue, and have the devil influence our next move.

“This song is a ‘love song’ alternative – an alt-love song, perfect for Valentine’s Day,” Smitty says. "I’ve been in a loving long-term relationship for quite some time now. Having said that, as anyone in a long-term relationship can tell you, relationships are complicated – to say the least. Good days, bad days, and everything in between.”

As “#1 Most Likely” spins a carousel around our human emotions, like a slow-burner building to a swirling jaunt through a fun house of mirrors, Smitty takes us on a kaleidoscopic musical trip that combines the electronic music propulsion of the songwriter’s early years on Sire/Warner Records (synth-pop pioneers Figures on a Beach) and Wax Trax Records (ambient pop-rock ensemble Chainsuck), with his modern flair for oversized and hyper-catchy rock and roll storytelling.

Led by a relentless bassline, a Melissa & Doug toy piano that gives the song its glass-encased swagger – “You really have to hit it hard to make it work,” he notes, “it’s a real clunky sound” – and Smitty’s ultra-repetitive, deadpan vocal delivery that’s not unlike Leonard Cohen in “Everybody Knows,” the track is an instant earworm as Smitty plays loosely with double entendre across the lyric sheet that reads out like frantic scribbles across a beat-up Valentine’s Day card.

“The very first line of the song I came up with was ‘#1 most likely… to kill me with one look’. That line has a dual meaning,” Smitty adds. “The ‘look’ can either knock you off your feet and send you sailing into the clouds in a good way, or drop you to your knees completely crushed and dejected in a bad way. ‘Baby… you kill me’ or ‘You’re killing me’. Either one has a double meaning.”

Instantly infectious and perhaps sonically unlike anything the Fezztones have cranked out in recent years, “#1 Most Likely” has the musical DNA that bridges eras and generations and trends and fads. But it continues the band’s penchant for eclectic art-rock, no matter how the influences connect one broken-hearted love song to the next.

“Once I had the lyrical theme worked out, I started singing the words a capella to myself,” Smitty recalls. “I immediately thought of Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, and Iggy Pop. More precisely, Johnny Cash meets Tom Waits in Iggy Pop’s tree house… on Valentine’s Day. From that point forward, the song wrote itself.”

And so did its corresponding visuals, as the “#1 Most Likely” artwork features the aforementioned toy piano placed over an actual painting that hangs in the Fezztones’ proactive studio. It was purchased by Smitty at an estate sale in Milton, for $20, and acts as a perfect representation of the quirky and peculiar art the band prides itself on. “I love all that oddball stuff, and I love good bad art,” Smitty says with a laugh.

“#1 Most Likely” was recorded with Alec Rodriguez at New Alliance Audio in Somerville, MA, and the Fezztones are returning to the studio to prepare additional releases for 2025. “We have the recording process with Alec down to a science,” Smitty says of the track’s engineer and co-producer. “Everything he touches turns to gold.”

What now follows this release are live shows and showcases in both Boston and Detroit, a live appearance on Bedford TV’s The Groove and Gab Cafe later in the year, and the “#1 Most Likely” music video, which will follow the streaming release not too long after it lands on everyone’s playlist – on February 14 and beyond.

“We are going to have some FUN with this video,” Smitty concludes. “Since this is not a traditional ‘love song’ by definition, the music video should also not be traditional. We promise to make it very unusual. Turn it on its side. Without giving too much away, we will be doing an homage, of sorts, to a filmmaker we all know and love, but I don’t want to spoil it by saying too much. Stay tuned.”

Contacts: Please direct all media inquiries to Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com,
reach Smitt E. Smitty at smitty@kimsmithdesign.com.

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Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones are:

Smitt E. Smitty: Lead vocals, drums, keyboards, toy piano

Linda Pardee: Backing vocals

JoEllen Saunders Yannis: Backing vocals

James Melanson: Guitar

“Crazy” Eddie Nowik: Guitar

Andrew Padua: Bass

Jonathan LaMaster: Violin

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‘#1 Most Likely’ single artwork:

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‘#1 Most Likely’ production credits:

Written by Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones

Recorded at New Alliance Audio in Somerville, MA

Co-produced by Alec Rodriguez and Smitt E. Smitty

Engineered by Alec Rodriguez

Music video directed and produced by Smitt E. Smitty

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Media praise for Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones:

“The music that Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones creates really and truly exists in a realm all its own. Not necessarily indescribable but more a genre unto itself and with each new outing, the collective corner some new facet of music and make it their own.” _Rock And Roll Fables

“‘Bye Bye Sunday Afternoon’ is almost too much fun, and might be the most party ready song about Sunday afternoon of all time.” _If It’s Too Loud

“Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones are a force of nature! Buildings, as well as audiences, shake with delight during their shows! You can be what you want with the Fezz!” _Dave THE Boogieman, Radio NewYork International

“[It’s] both wicked spooky and wicked awesome. ‘The Growler’ is a well crafted gem that proves that you can rock out and have a blast doing it.” _The Whole Kameese

“[‘Bye Bye Sunday Afternoon’ is a] fervent funky firework earworm, an instant working booster, an exultant chant. A rotating bass riff dictates the jumping-for-joy pace, alternating female/male vocals inject this earworm with irresistible jubilation and on the chorus, we all can go bonkers. And let’s not forget that brisk violin adding a jocund vibe. Put your mask on and shake your booty too before this Sunday is over.” _Turn Up The Volume

“It’s not often that a cover version of a classic is able to capture the magic of an original, but in this case, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones do it with their cover of Bowie’s ‘Rebel Rebel’. While this song has been covered by everyone from Duran Duran to Springsteen, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones bring a freshness, earnestness, and authenticity to the song. And we love that authenticity! You can tell, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones really mean it, MAN! So check it out… whether you’ve torn your dress or your face is a mess, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones bring it on home!” _Troy and Craig, The Garage D’Or

“Boston's Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones make weirdo rock and roll. The band's latest single, ‘Buzzkill Baby,’ falls on the heavier side of rock without being metal, punk, or even hard rock. It's a bombastic cut with more of a choir than gang vocals, and more than its fair share of groove. It combines the proto-punk of Smitty's hometown of Detroit with the anything goes rock and humor of Frank Zappa and the lighthearted vibes of They Might Be Giants.” _If It’s Too Loud

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Smitt E. Smitty short bio:

Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones. Born and raised in Detroit. Moved to Boston in 1985. Smitty played in a great many Detroit bands including The Blind, Zero Ambience, L-Seven and Figures on a Beach. After moving to Boston, Figures on a Beach got signed to Sire/Warner Records and released music until the early ‘90s. FOAB disbanded 1991. Smitty then joined the Wax Trax label in Chainsuck, with lead singer songwriter Marydee Reynolds, until 1999. Smitty then played in Fireking until 2017, and joined Little Billy Lost directly after, where he holds down the beat to this day. Emerging from behind the drums, now is the time for him to lead his own band of musical misfits – Enter Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones!

After releasing Smitt E. Smitty's debut album in 2017, titled Just A Modern Guy, Smitty went back into the recording studio with Alec Rodriguez of New Alliance Audio, in Somerville, MA. This time with The Fezztones, a playful and rambunctious octet that gave him a full, big-band sound and shared his musical vision of garage rock meets glam. The result is a collection of songs led by instant classic “Buzzkill Baby,” a cover of David Bowie’s iconic “Rebel Rebel,” and summer hit “The Growler,” which got the music video treatment in late 2023. Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones’ anthemic and Motown-inspired “Bye Bye Sunday Afternoon,” arrives in Spring 2024.

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Press Contact: Michael O’Connor Marotta at michael@knyvet.com
Band Contact: Smitt E. Smitty at smitty@kimsmithdesign.com

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