It took seven years for the Smithereens to become an overnight success.

At least that’s what the group’s guitarist, Jim Babjak, said. 

Now in their late 60s, the members still know how to bring it.

“We’re not dried up,” Babjak said. “We just love to play, love, love to play.”

The Smithereens will be appearing and playing their hits beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at La Rosa Arts Center, 800 N. Country Club Road. A ticket to the standing room only show costs $44.67.

Speaking from his home in New Jersey where he said there was four feet of snow on the ground, Babjak talked about making music and the band. The Smithereens formed in 1980 but a couple of the members had known each other in high school. Three of the four original members still play together. Frontman Pat DiNizio died in 2017 so several guest vocalists have since taken over lead singer duties. Today Babjak plays guitar and sings, Mike Mesaros is on bass guitar and sings and Dennis Diken has drums and percussion duties.

The band named themselves after something Yosemite Sam said frequently to Bugs Bunny: “I’m-a gonna blow ya to smithereens!”

The core of the band has played together for so long Babjak said teaching them a song he wrote is now easy, for example, “I’m Sexy.”

“Dennis and I go back to 1971, we were freshmen in high school and that’s how long we’ve been playing together,” Babjak said. “When I show him a song I’ll just play it for him and he knows what to do. I don’t have to tell him anything.”

But it wasn’t just with Babjak that Diken could forge ahead. When the other members would come in with a simple demo, Diken went to work.

“Dennis knew exactly what to do,” Babjak added. “It was like second nature in a way and that’s a great thing to have in a band. It’s like a sixth sense.”

When DiNizio joined the band he tried to tell the others what to do. That didn’t work very well.

“At first he tried to tell me what he wanted me to do,” Babjak said. “I’m like, ‘Pat, I’m not good at following directions. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Right from the beginning I did it my way; we all did. That was the process.”

Although the Smithereens have new work they are perfecting they only play the hits when performing. There’s a reason.

“I find that unless (the new music) is out on CD or vinyl or whatever, streaming, if it’s not out people don’t know it and sometimes don’t know how to react to it,” Babjak said. “When we were recording the ’11’ album we were recording ‘A Girl Like You.’ Nobody’s ever heard it except us. We were at a restaurant that had a stage and we asked, ‘Mind if we play a song?’”

Nobody in the audience reacted. No one at all. Also, no one knew it was the Smithereens because mostly nobody knew what they looked like. He called them a faceless band. Later, he overheard a couple of people talking.

“They were saying, ‘That band that just played, they were trying to sound like the Smithereens,’” Babjak said. “I didn’t say anything but I was like, ‘We are the Smithereens!’ That’s why when we record something in the studio we don’t know if people are going to like it.”

As with everything in life, popularity comes and goes. Even so, the band still played 26 shows a year at their lowest popularity. Today there is a renewed interest in the Smithereens’ music brought on by the now-grown children who listened to the band when they were little because their parents had them on. One thing Babjak said he really enjoys about his audience is when he hears them singing along.

“I see people singing along and it’s just a big thrill for me,” Babjak said. “How much better can it get when people sing along with you? They’re having a great time and I’m having a great time. You forget about the world for two hours and it’s an escape from all the craziness that’s going on.” 

The Smithereens 

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12 

WHERE: La Rosa Arts Center, 800 N. Country Club Road
COST: $44.67, the show is standing room only

INFO: wl.eventim.us/event/the-smithereens/674779?afflky=LaRosaTucson