Smash Mouth’s Steve Harwell – HuffPost 8.29.12
Mike Ragogna: Steve, what advice do you have for new artists?
Steve Harwell: Well, you know, the industry’s changed. It operates in a different way. It’s more of a challenge, I’ll tell you that. I think my biggest advice to anyone — and I’ve always said this and I’ll say it again — Practice, practice, practice, practice. Do your best to write great songs. The easiest way to get somewhere is to write a hit song. Of course, today, with YouTube and all the social media, people are getting famous overnight. They’re becoming YouTube sensations and it’s done it for everyone, from your Beibers to all of these other people. I think that’s a whole new world that I’m having to accept. I get it now, but I fought it for a long time. I was like, “I don’t want things to change,” but things change. There’s a whole new way of doing things out there. But if I could give advice to anyone, I’d tell kids, “Don’t expect to be superstars overnight. But if you’re passionate about it and you love what you do, go do it, but make sure you have a backup plan.” That’s my advice.
MR: As you say in “The Game,” all you’ve got to do is play the game.
SH: All you’ve got to do is play the game. If I can suggest anything, don’t be afraid to play the game. At the end of the day, it is a game, but people still have to sign our checks. I’ve always had no issue with playing the game, because I play just as good as anybody. I might’ve written the book on it, too, I don’t know. Work hard, practice, write songs, have a backup plan, don’t be afraid to play the game, and stick with what you love. If you love it, love it. Go for it. You don’t ever have to stop playing music. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be a rock star, but you know what? You will be in your own right, and that’s okay. Sometimes, I wish the garage days were here again. I used to love that, when you’re eating Taco Bell and tuna fish seven days a week and you’re struggling to pay rent, your cable’s getting turned off and you’re plugging extension cords into your neighbor’s house to steal their cable and their power. We did whatever it took because we loved it. And for me, personally, I don’t think I had a backup plan, per se, that would’ve been as successful as this was. I think for the most part, all of us were at the age going, “Okay, we’re still pretty young, but not that young. We’re in our twenties. Let’s just stick to it and practice.” We practiced six days a week for two years straight. We did not play that much, but when we did play, we kind of started shocking people. All I did was just get on the phone every day and call record labels and call radio promotion people and build a friendship over the phone and I think that helped a lot. When we finally did go down to LA and we started showcasing here and there, I could actually name a name. I had it multiple times where I was standing around having a conversation and I’d hear this voice behind me and I’d turn around and go, “Kevin?” and he’d go, “Steve?” From knowing these people on the phone and just working it, and working it, and working it, and working it, and trying to kick those doors in and trying to come in the back way all the time, it paid off. I built these friendships before I’d even met these people and that worked in our favor big time.