: : SMASH Fashion - History : :

SMASH Fashion Defined:
1. A talent or aptitude
2. Instinctive discernment
3. A distinctive elegance or style
4. A Los Angeles-based rock group known for their distinctive sense of style, infectious bittersweet songs and explosive stage show

Hello Kiddies...Curious about SMASH Fashion are you? Well welcome!
Welcome to the world of SMASH Fashion. A world of volume, flash, style & substance, a world that's sexy and absurd, the world according to SMASH Fashion!

"The Sex Pistols on acid", "Cheap Trick meets the Buzzcocks"...These are only a few comments on how people are reacting to this modern flash rock band. So pour a drink, light up a smoke, dim the lights & let me tell you the whole strange story....

Dandy Rock
There’s been lots of rumors and speculation of the origins of this band of rock and roll fancy lads. That they were once the house band at a private club owned by some of the worlds wealthiest decadents. Or the hushed whisper that Roger and Jami were born as Siamese twins separated at birth only to reunite 20 years later under a white Flying V guitar hanging on the wall at a local guitar store. While these tales of SMASH Fashion folklore are neither confirmed nor denied by anyone close to the band it definitely makes for some great rock and roll mythology.

SMASH Fashion's seeds were sewn when 2 kindred spirits found themselves sizing each other up at a Pleasure Club concert. “I'd seen Roger around and he always looked and carried himself like a total star. He seemed like he didn’t give a shit,” recalls Jami. “I asked him if he was in a band. Of course he was, he was playing bass in a band but he wasn’t really that into it because he was a singer and wanted to sing again”. Realizing that they had similar tastes musically, these two Dandy’s got busy crafting what was to become the trademark SMASH Fashion material. “Jami showed me some of his riffs, I was blown away” says Roger. “I been waiting all my life for him”.

With a set worth of great songs, Roger & Jami decided to take their music to the people and dress it up in a flamboyant Dandy Rock outfit dedicated to the delivery of pure entertainment, a direct response to the pretentious Silver Lake rock scene. "God how boring, everyone is so serious here" exclaimed Roger.

Now they needed the best rhythm section in L.A., an explosive rhythm section that could understand the dynamics of the material. That is a tale that is "coming soon"....

Click on an image below to
"Meet The Gents"

Roger Deering
Vocals

Jami Patrick Phelan
Guitars/ Vocals

Tony Babylon
Bass/ Vocals

Reijo on those Drums

Click on an image above to
"Meet the Gents"

The Songs
And what a bunch of songs they are! Songs that arrive fully developed, some having a timeless “already a classic” feel. From balls out rockers to lush ballads, not many bands can cover as much ground, stylistically and emotionally as SMASH Fashion. Punishing and Pugnacious on one moment, embracing Pop prettiness the next. Songs with surreal influenced lyrics, songs with Vaudeville flourishes and songs with go mental rave-ups. It’s all here! Then there’s the subject matter…Chasing rainbows, mile high club, deviated septums, aging rock stars, sinful pigeons, waxing mustaches and ah yes…Bittersweet love songs. Influences can be heard (Beatles, Yardbirds, Sex Pistols, Cheap Trick, Faces, Big Star, Damned, Queen, Who, Bowie, Kinks, Brian Jones's Stones…, etc) yet unlike most of todays so-called Rock Acts, SMASH Fashion are about inspiration instead of imitation. “Were not reinventing the wheel, were just putting new tires on it” states Roger.

The Rock Show
A SMASH Fashion show is pure excitement. They are here to entertain you. The band onstage is an amalgamation of bright colors, bizarre shapes, scarves, sunglasses and cool guitars exuding attitude, humor and the utter confidence born of knowing you're good. They take the stage like stars yet they have the right amount of self-depreciation and irony. The visual match up of androgynous singer Roger with the equally androgynous gutarist Jami is a real sight for sore eyes. Are they brothers? Lovers? One things for sure – a match up in the tradition of Tyler/Perry, Page/Plant, May/Mercury or Bowie/Ronson.

Roger, all snake hips, with rose in hand, singing his heart out about another lost love, is a master frontman. With his warm hearted stage demeanor, he hardly ever fails to connect with his audience.

Jami, resplendent in white from head to toe, ripping out sonic chunks of meat all so elegantly. Guitar histrionics are his forte, it is the essence of who he is.

Screamin Lord Duff to stage left rattling the fillings out of every sweet tooth in the house. Lord Duff leaves no note unplayed. His style is his own, impossible to duplicate. He truly is a sight to behold.

A working band that loves to play. Old fashioned showmanship with a solid work ethic. SMASH Fashion have been playing an unending series of California club dates alongside such groups as Ian Hunter, Jet, The Flash Express, Tsar, Lo-Five, Arthur Lee and Love, The.88, The Zombies, Run Run Run, The Alarm, Missing Persons and countless other great bands. SMASH Fashion boast an unshakeable and infectious belief in Rock and Roll. You want proof? Check ‘em out! They will rock you.

SMASH Fashion have been in the studio with producers such as Dave Jerden (Janes Addiction, Stones), Warren Hewitt (Hot Hot Heat), and Jimmy Sloan (Fishbone, The Hangmen). The debut release called “The Gentlemen’s Guide to Sophisticated Savagery” was released on April 6th 2006. In the meantime please indulge yourself and step into the Dandifyed presence of SMASH Fashion.

Rock On!