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Biography
The SmashUp began in the
fall of 2001, inside a tiny,
weather-beaten shed, located
just outside the Queens
Midtown Tunnel. We were
four individuals with high
dreams and aspirations.
We knew that we needed to
do something different,
special, something that
was really gonna stand out
from the rest of the carbon
disease, clogging the frequency
of our stereo antennas.
One major problem! Behind
our little hell-hole of
a rehearsal space, was an
Irish bar, lock, stocked
and barreled with gorgeous
barmaids right off the boat,
and probably the best buy-back
ratio in all 5 boroughs.
With the sinful persuasions
of our new found muse, our
first sessions began as
tests of physical drunken
endurance and a whole lotta
slop punk rawk! We would
drink in the bar for hours
and then play till we fell
down.
Insanely enough however,
after a few local shows,
we quickly caught the attention
of a music publisher/manager,
who will remain nameless
out of respect. Mr. Industry
wanted to manage the band
and had a 3 month plan to
fame, fortune and success.
He was going to help us
focus on our music and write
the “feel good smash hit”,
that every label A&R dreams
of. The big problem was,
that we were still figuring
out who the hell we were
as a band, and still weren’t
sure what exact direction
we wanted to go. Well needless
to say, as a young band,
we believed that if we adhered
to the plan and schedule,
that we would find ourselves
in a position that would
allow us to create the music
that we really wanted to
pursue and would figure
it out along the way (whatever
that was). After a few
weeks of hardcore writing
and rehearsal, Mr. Industry
felt that we had written
a “hit” and rushed us into
the studio right away to
track history. Well, I am
not sure if that happened
exactly, but something very
magical and monumental did
take place, amidst the bubble
gum dribble we were sent
in to record. The session
spawned two distinctly different
sounds and a major crossroad
that we would soon have
to face. We recorded a
song called, Generation
Zero, which I feel there
is no need to explain, as
the title says it all, and
a second song, called Best
That I Can. B.T.I.C. was
a dark journey into a musical
territory that we had always
dreamed of venturing. It
was honest, compelling,
told a story, had a great
hook, and even better, it
did not follow the typical,
conventional songwriting
pattern. It was unique and
it was us. Even Mr. Industry
could not deny the passion
of B.T.I.C., even though
he preferred the direction
of the pop driven Generation
Zero. The conflict of musical
interest though, was of
no matter to him, because
with Generation Zero, he
felt that he had the “hit”,
and all that he needed to
score a big deal with the
“majors’ and get the “big
bucks.” Feeling over-zealous,
he rushed to get us a showcase,
in front of A&R reps immediately.
The initial feedback was
quite obvious. We were told
that we had two distinctly
different styles and that
we needed to develop a more
congruous sound, focused
more in the direction of
top 40 radio. Mr. Industry
was not pleased one bit.
He basically did a 180 on
the band and blamed us for
going against the grain
and for foiling the plan
that would guarantee us
(more importantly himself)
overnight success. He left
us with an ultimatum to
write more songs in the
vein of Generation Zero
or else it was over. Well,
we thought it over for about
30 seconds and said “Go
Fuck Yourself!”
At this point, we were
a band, a mere 8 months
and had nothing but the
future ahead of us. We made
a strict pact to go underground
and continue writing the
music that was in our hearts
and that we believed in.
We knew that as long as
we believed in our dream,
others would believe too!
We began booking our own
tours, to get the music
to the street. With a strong
DIY ethic and hardcore grassroots
promotion, we were off to
conquer the world . . .
alone. For the next couple
of months, we played tons
of shows all across the
Eastern seaboard and were
steadily making fans one
by one.
Our next stroke of fate
came on a quiet, rainy Tuesday
night, at Arlene’s Grocery,
in the heart of Downtown
Manhattan. A young entrepreneur
and music merchandiser,
named Steve Kops, happened
to be at our show with some
friends. Kops, who had never
seen the band, was thoroughly
impressed and hung around
after, to find out what
our plans were. We basically
said, that we were doing
this shit ourselves, whether
we had help or not. Fortunately
for us, Kops was willing
to help and wanted to do
whatever it would take to
get us to the next step.
Kops had just started a
new Skateboarding Apparel
Line, called HY, and was
organizing a Canadian tour.
Timing couldn’t be better
because we were definitely
hungry and ready to get
ourselves some poutine cross
the border. We set off for
one of the most memorable
and chaotic tours in the
history of rock, strapped
in a small Winnebago, housing
8 team skaters, a belligerent
drunk photographer, the
band, the gear, and Kops.
The tour was an incredible
growing experience for us
and helped solidify our
relationship with Kops.
We would take him on as
our manager, something we
swore never to do again.
In December 2003, the band
completed some new material
that roused the attention
of producer Sal Villanueva
(Thursday, Taking Back Sunday).
Sal took the band under
his wing, and after a few
grueling weeks of pre-production,
we headed into Big Blue
Meenie studio, to record
an EP. The experience was
incredible and we earned
a Masters in production,
being under Villanueva.
After completing the EP,
the SmashUp and Steve Kops,
decided to take the relationship
one step further. Adhering
to our DIY ethic, we started
our own label, out of Brooklyn,
called Aimfirst Recordings.
We pressed 1,000 copies
of the Villanueva sessions
and couldn’t believe how
quickly we sold out. With
a stealth internet campaign
and constant touring, we
were building a steadily
growing fan base and were
able to move the EP’s, like
biscuits and gravy in the
Carolinas.
Currently, we are working
on a new full length, at
SmashUp Recording Studios,
in Floral Park, NY, with
a fall tour in the works.
We are looking to partner
up with a more established
company for this next record.
We hope to reach many more
people and make many more
fans. Patience, Persistence
and Perseverance is the
SmashUp code. We love the
music that we play and live
the music we write. There
is no way possible that
we could ever fail because
as long as we are creating
and reaching people, we
are doing it, we are making
it, and no one can ever
take that away from us.
This is what it’s all about!
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