Interview: Smash Mouth's Steve Harwell and Greg Camp

San Francisco Bay Area natives Smash Mouth are pounding pavement in support of their latest self-titled release, and recently whipped out a couple songs for an Olympic audience in Salt Lake City (and TV audience of around ten million or so).

It's all in a day's work for the quartet, which besides the infectious string of retro and pop-punk hits, are popping up everywhere from movies ("Shrek") to commercials for Buick and Dairy Queen. They even recently landed an opening slot on the upcoming 'NSync tour.

2001 was a significantly difficult year for the group, as co-founder-drummer Kevin Coleman had to leave due to persistent and
severe back pain, and even more tragic, vocalist Steve Harwell's son Presley died last July from acute lymphatic leukemia. He was seven months old. Harwell has set up a medical research fun in Presley's name.

But the Mouth rolls on, traveling the country with veteran drummer Michael Urbano (guitarist Greg Camp and bassist Paul De Lisle round out the group), and unapologetically churning out hummable pop gems left and right.

SoundSpike caught up with Harwell and Camp to talk about the album and adjustments.

SoundSpike: You're getting more and more melodic with each record. "Fush Yu Mang" had so much raw, punk energy to it, but Steve, you're singing on the new album.

Steve Harwell: That's all Eric Valentine, our producer. He's so patient with me in the studio, take after take, that's why my vocals are better. He's the only guy I'll ever do a record with, seriously. I have this thing with Eric where he says I become "Steve." It takes me a dozen takes to become "Steve," but Eric knows how to bring it out of me.

And you've got the fair share of party tunes, like "Pacific Coast Party," but you guys got a little more serious with some of these songs.

Greg Camp: We wrote about things we've experienced on the road, you know, dealing with the record company, relating to fans, living on a bus, the whole business.

SoundSpike: "Disenchanted" is about that, right?

GC: Yeah, that's kind of about where nobody is really your friend. Everybody is pulling at you. When I lived in L.A., I met lots of cool people, but there were always people who just wanted something from me. If I couldn't pull through, I never heard from them again.

It's not like you never worked for a living--is it true you used to install mirrors when you were in L.A.?

GC: Yeah. I used to install mirrors in these huge tract mansions--I'd cut the glass and put them up. Some people wanted them all over the room, on the ceiling, in all sorts of weird places. I've had the normal jobs. I know what the waiters in L.A. are going through.

What is the song "Force Field" about?

SH: That's the best song we've ever done live.

GC: That's about having to put on this mask, you know, this sort of smiling, happy face, when you're dealing with people you've never met. Signing autographs, taking pictures, all of that. I mean, it's great to meet the fans, and that's part of the job, but when you're not in the mood, it can really be bad. Well, it's not really bad, but it can be uncomfortable.

Sounds like Rush's "Limelight," "I can't pretend a stranger is a long-awaited friend." I remember speaking with Kevin Coleman years ago for a drumming magazine. How has his departure from Smash Mouth affected you guys?

SH: I really miss him, I think about him all the time. I'll never stop loving the guy. But there wasn't anything we could do about [his back problems], the band would have broken up if he had stayed. We had to move on. I couldn't even say to him, "This isn't working." We just kind of looked at each other, we knew what we were thinking, and that was it.

And how has Michael Urbano done stepping in?

SH: Being onstage, it's never been more fun. Michael and I are like Martin and Lewis. We're learning how to make a real show out of our songs. We break things down in ways we've never done before, I can just do my thing without having to concentrate on just getting through the song, you know?

GC: Musically, I think he's made us a tighter band. His time is so good, and I'm a rhythm player, so I love that. He also knows whatever I'm trying to do, whether it's hip-hop, surf, or whatever, he just goes there instinctively. He's raised the level of our playing, definitely.