Following former singer Steve Harwell's retirement late last year, Smash Mouth have decided to Rickroll us...while also revealing their new replacement frontman.
Smash Mouth revealed the news via a cover of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." The new singer is Zach Goode: a Brooklyn/San Diego musician who, as Audacy reports, introduced himself to the band with a goofy email.
“They’re not going to ever respond to this email,” he recalled his initial thoughts when reaching out to the band. “[I] didn’t put too much thought, well, maybe I put a little bit of thought into it. It was like, ‘hey do you want a guy with some bad ‘90s tattoos and a dad bod?’”
Smash Mouth was interested and had Goode sing a variety of songs from their catalogue. Evidently, it was a perfect fit.
“I was sort of a casual fan,” Goode said of Smash Mouth. “I knew the hits, I didn’t really know the deep cuts. After listening to the songs and seeing how good they were - what a great songwriter Greg [Camp] was and is and getting a new respect for Steve’s voice too… how iconic that sound was - it really drew me in. I was like, ‘wow this band is really more dimensional than they get credit for.’”
As Stereogum noted, Goode was previously part of Ghoulspoon, Divided by Zero, Secret Seven, and a “mock-senior citizen Weezer/Beastie Boys performance art band” called Geezer.
ICYMI: @SmashMouth exclusively announced that their new singer is @dividedbyzach!
— Audacy (@Audacy) March 2, 2022
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Steve Harwell decided to retire from music following a performance that took place on October 9 in Upstate New York. During it, the frontman was seen slurring his words, giving crude gestures, and making vaguely threatening comments towards the audience. Footage of the show then went viral online. It was later revealed Harwell was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy eight years ago. It led to other medical setbacks like heart failure and Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which “has greatly impacted his motor functions including speech and impaired memory,” a Smash Mouth spokesperson said.
“Despite Steve’s best efforts to work through these ailments, he is heartbroken to share that it has become impossible for him to continue doing what he loves most, performing in front of the band’s millions of fans around the world,” the band said in a statement.
On the matter, Harwell said: "Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a Rockstar performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream. To my bandmates, it’s been an honour performing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with. To our loyal and amazing fans, thank you, all of this was possible because of you. I’ve tried so hard to power through my physical and mental health issues, and to play in front of you one last time, but I just wasn’t able to. I cannot wait to see what Smash Mouth accomplishes next and am looking forward to counting myself as one of the band’s newest fans.”
With Goode serving as frontman, the current lineup of Smash Mouth includes longtime bassist and backing vocalist Paul Delisle, keyboardist Michael Klooster, guitarist Sean Hurwitz, and drummer Randy Cooke.
Listen to Smash Mouth's new cover of "Never Gonna Give You Up" below.
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Article Image: The original lineup of Smash Mouth at the WB Radio Music Awards at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. (Featureflash Photo Agency via Shutterstock.)
