Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones lead a decadent glam parade with ‘The Growler’
Boston garage rock octet party with reckless abandon and unleash an old-school horror-inspired video on Friday, October 13
Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones perform at ‘The Night of The Living Fez’
at The Magic Room in Norwood on November 3SPOTIFY . BANDCAMP . APPLE . INSTAGRAM . FACEBOOK . YOUTUBE . HOMEPAGE . CODE 213 RECORDS
NOW PLAYING: Listen to ‘The Growler’ on Spotify
BOSTON, MA [October 13, 2023] – A few months ago, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones took a page out of the Bowie playbook with their wham-bam-thank-you-glam cover of the timeless classic “Rebel Rebel.” Now the rambunctious Boston octet are leading a decadent glam rock parade of their own with “The Growler,” the Code 213 Records summer hit that gets the seasonally appropriate music video treatment on the spookiest day of all: Friday, October 13.
It’s a fitting release date for this howlin’ and prowlin’ garage rock ripper, which finds Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones taking their theatrical art-rock and joie de vivre spirit to the kaleidoscopic screen. The video, directed and produced by Fezztones ringleader Smitt E. Smitty, comes alive with a combination of horror film themes and the band’s primal, high-energy live show, all packaged together for a proper sensory overload experience fit for October’s annual fright night frenzy.
“The Growler” was recorded at New Alliance Audio in Somerville, engineered and co-produced by Alec Rodriguez, and mastered by Dave Stawecki. It was first released to the streams and unleashed across radio over the summer, where it frequently crashed the playlists of SiriusXM’s Underground Garage as well as indie and digital radio shows and stations around the world.
But it needed a video, a proper visual to bring the song’s playful bite to vibrant life, and by combining the in-your-face energy of the Fezztones’ live show with some familiar scenes from the spooky season, “The Growler” video was summoned from the depths of Smitty’s musical madness.
“I wanted to take the idea of living with ‘reckless abandon’ and add an old-time horror movie element to it,” Smitty says of the video. “A genuine ‘growling’ protagonist. One-hundred percent Mr. Hyde without any Dr. Jekyll. Plus, we did a live show at The Met in Rhode Island, and I was able to use that footage to capture the energy of our performance for the song. When people come to our live shows, they are always blown away by the energy and passion we put forth. It’s that passion that is captured for this music video.”
The idea for Smitty’s latest barnstormer came to the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter while he was on a cross-country flight, flying to a gig at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. The captain spoke over the intercom in a slow, deliberate drawl as he addressed passengers on the flight – “like an idling old motor car engine,” quips Smitty – and soon after, the seeds of “The Growler” were planted.
“I took the idea of ‘The Growler’ and crafted lyrics, using a more existential, and less specific mind set,” admits Smitty. “Who truly is... ‘The Growler’? The point of view I used was to imagine myself as a much more rough and tumble, devil may care, living in the moment type of creative. Charles Bukowski in a rock band. Full on untethered, unfiltered, and reckless abandon. Basically me, only hyper amplified to the nth degree. I may have used some past real life experiences and magnified them, for a greater effect. The song was really fun to write. I describe it as decadence on parade.”
That parade will soon take The Fezztones down to The Magic Room in Norwood, when on November 3 the band plays The Night of the Living Fez party alongside reunited Boston band The Strangemen and Two Ton Com'n & The Heavyweights, featuring Chris Burbul of The Bentmen. The night is hosted by Destiny Costa of Mark Skin Radio’s Ditch Your Demons.
Needless to say, “The Growler” – like other Fezztones hits, like last year’s “Buzzkill Baby” and 2021’s “Tall Man Dreams” – is awfully fun to play live. It lets guitarist “Crazy” Eddie Nowick shine under the lights with the track’s beast of a guitar solo, where he channels Ron Asheton of The Stooges and just lets it rip. And it showcases the band as the true party-starters they are.
Meanwhile, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones just wrapped up a gig backing Lizzie Borden at the New England Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Arlington, and the Fezztones line up with Smitty’s other band, Little Billy Lost, to play the Rock Garden Records showcase to celebrate the 55th Anniversary of The Beatles’ White Album at Brighton Music Hall on November 26. From The Magic Room to infinity and beyond, there’s just so many gigs, so little time.
“The theme of ‘Get busy living, or get busy dying’ is right there,” declares Smitty. “If we aren’t going to lay it all out, all the time, why bother? Reckless abandon all the way. No holds barred cage match, minus the cage. When we perform, we imagine it’s our last show ever. Why? Because it might be. Life is funny that way. People say to me ‘I heard your live show was amazing. I need to go.’ Yeah?!? Well let’s go! Head to the show or forever regret never experiencing Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones.”
Now that’s something to growl about.
Media Contact: Please direct all media inquiries to Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com,
and reach Smitt E. Smitty at smitty@kimsmithdesign.com.
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‘The Growler’ Production Credits:
Recorded at New Alliance Audio in Somerville, MA
Engineered and co-produced by Alec Rodriguez
Mastered by Dave Stawecki
Music video directed and produced by Smitt E. Smitty
Released on Code 213 Records
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‘The Growler’ single artwork:
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Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones are:
Smitt E. Smitty: Vocalist & Ringleader
James Melanson: Guitar
Eddie Nowick: Guitar
Andrew Padua: Bass
Subtle (a.k.a. JoEllen Saunders Yannis): Vocals
Serious (a.k.a. Linda Bean Pardee): Vocals
Jonathan LaMaster: Violin & Theremin
Jess Townsend: Drums
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‘The Growler’ video screengrabs:
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Media praise for Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones:
“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 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
“Looks like these madcap rebels have the time of their lives.” _Turn Up The Volume
“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. It's a weird song that is still firmly rooted in rock without being a true novelty song. It's a special kind of skill to go this deep into the world of fun or weird without getting zany, and Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones deftly pull this off.” _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 released by Code 213 Records, 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 October 2023.
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Smitt E. Smitty press photo:
Media contact: michael@knyvet.com
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