Dennis Diken, drummer for the Smithereens, knows something about the power of music. Growing up listening to the Beatles, the Who, and other classic bands not only convinced Diken and his bandmates to become professional musicians — those classic tunes became the soundtrack of a generation’s young lives.
The Smithereens
| If you go |
| When: 7 p.m. Saturday |
| Where: State Theatre, 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church |
| Details: $15; 703-237-0300; thestatetheatre.com |
“It is a different time. It takes a lot more to attract the listener,” Diken said of the cover album, where the Smithereens re-created classic bands’ albums. “The B-sides are very curious to us. Sometimes they’re better than the A-sides.”
That’s more than a musing, of course. Diken and his bandmates have used their analysis of such songs to create their own music for another generation. The Smithereens’ “Drown in My Own Tears,” “Behind the Wall of Sleep” and “Only a Memory” are just some of the anthemic songs by the band.
Not that success came overnight. Pat DiNizio started the Smithereens in New Jersey in the late 1970s. After gaining success throughout the New York area and the East Coast, the band broke out in 1986 and has continually maintained its loyal fan base.
That’s one reason that the band keeps the critical and popular acclaim for its albums “Meet the Beatles” and the Who’s “Tommy” in check, making sure they don’t lose their signature sound.
“In our shows we do one, maybe two [cover songs from the Beatles and Who albums],” he said. “But we have our own sound and although we tread lightly upon different musical genres, we try very hard to keep it pure on many levels. We work hard to preserve the garage band quality.”
In talking to Pat DiNizio, it seems that’s the formula that has helped the Smithereens remain vibrant.
“If you do faithful live renditions of the songs as they remember them, you hit them where they live,” he said. “You take them back in time … and it’s a total experience, a sensory overload experience that they felt when they were kids. I received [an e-mail] from someone who was listening to our songs online and he talked about how listening to the song helps him feel like a kid again.”
