The Smithereens with guest vocalist Marshall Crenshaw will be performing at the Southern Theater in Columbus, Ohio Saturday July 28th. Click here for more info .

Pat Dinizio was a complicated person. Surely without his talent and voice there would be no Smithereens. However, as much as it pains me to write this, in recent years he was often the band’s worst enemy. Like I said, Pat was a complicated person. May he rest in peace. (Click here for a story I wrote on that subject)

However, I am extremely happy that original band members Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros will be able to perform all those great songs together for the first time in years. Back in the day, I was extremely lucky to get to open a tour for The Smithereens while playing with Watershed. The 'Reens treated us great and I became not only a huge fan of the music, but of the guys themselves. Though Pat’s voice will be missed Saturday in Columbus, his songs will be there representing him. A door closed with the passing of Pat Dinizio, but I’m hoping another door opens and we get one more chapter in the story of the Smithereens.

Colin Gawel plays in Watershed and wrote this at Colin's Coffee.