Smart Remarks---New Jersey Power Pop Trio! circa 1983! a brief history! and uncomfortable usage of !

Check this out! About 15 years ago, as i was in the midst of my more exploratory record collecting time period, i was on one of my thrift store circuit Sundays and ended up, as i often still do, sitting on the floor indian style in front of a mess of LP's at a Goodwill. This one was in Bordentown, NJ--one of my least fav places if only due to the unusual percentage of unhip (c'mon i'm too cool) or poor conditioned records.

Stuffed somewhere in the mire of frayed cardboard was a record, low budget but intriguing in it's cover--vibrant and likeable. The band was called Smart Remarks and the title of the album was "Seriously Speaking". Five Songs. Three young guys in Chucks, rolled up sleeves and tight jeans adorned the cover in goofy poses circa 1983-ish. One of them even had the obligatory thin tie with short sleeve shirt! The real clincher was this piece of info:

"INFORMATION REGARDING SMART REMARKS-CRIMINAL RECORDS, 10 EATON RD., BORDENTOWN, NJ 08505"

Aw man, this was right around the corner from where i was sitting, and about 15 minutes from where i lived at the time. I had to get it. Fifteen years later, i still spin it at least once a week.

SO CHARMING, this record is. One of the most engaging self pressings I've ever heard. The songs have a Dirty Looks/Records feel mixed with a Cheap Trick energy to it (especially the drum tracks). "Seriously Speaking" doesn't have a cheesy chord in it's grooves, a rarity in early eighties records--self pressed or major label. The music is tight as heck too. Power pop harmonies flow throughout the record as well as just the awesomist drum sound ever.

Four of the five songs are originals; the cover is the Dirty Looks tune "Disappearing". The others are all written by Todd Ellis, lead vocalist and guitarist, with the exception of "Reverse Velocity" which was written by Ellis and bassist Steve Destefano. Drummer Ant Barbalace (credited as just Ant on the disc) finished off the trio. Produced and Engineered by Scott A. Evans, who also provided additional backing vocals, it was recorded Oct. '83 to March '84 at Songram Studios in Mercerville, N.J., except "Disappearing", which was recorded at Joe's Sound Studio in Trenton, N.J. Also of note is the appearance of Assistant Engineer Tom Marolda, also know as The Toms, who went on to work with Richie Sambora and do movie soundtracks (latest Rocky movie) as producer/writer.

After doing more research, i discovered that Smart Remarks had been a pretty big band in central Jersey in the early 80's--playing iconic Trenton club City Gardens numerous times including an opening slot for Joan Jett. They had first released a single, in 1981, on Criminal Records called "Mary's Got Her Eye On Me Tonight" b/w "Machine Working Overtime" This featured the trio of Ellis, Ant, and earlier bassist Chris Gordon. "Mary" is the hit that never was--a caffeinated version of their later work that starts with a traveling guitar riff and proceeds to lay the groundwork for the later pop punk of the Descendents and All. Lyrically romantic and innocent, musically hyper and short, the single should be considered a holy grail find in the punk genre. (Check it out on my youtube page here)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlMR-fz_kcw&feature=channel_page

The boys soon ended up going their seperate ways, making music a part time gig as the pressures of adulthood (women, jobs, facial hair) quelched their artistic souls. But we all know that the Spirit of RAWWWK never really leaves the creative body. This, and the resurgence in popularity of early eighties punk and pop records in the last decade or so was why i wasn't surprised in October 2006 when I got word Todd was getting coaxed out of retirement to play City Gardens promoter/TSR DJ Randy Now's 50th Birthday party at the Conduit in Trenton. Of course i went. And in the last 2 years he has played a handful of solo gigs, most notably opening for ex-Monkee Peter Tork at The Record Collector in Bordentown. Also of note was a Smart Remarks reunion of sorts, with Todd and Steve Destefano doing both an acoustic and electric set at the same locale. Ant apparently would have loved to play but he was busy that night, AND he lives in North Carolina.

If you take a look on the internet, you can find some sights where you can download their stuff. Or check out their myspace: http://http//www.myspace.com/smartremarksnofrills

I think it might be the official, but there are some other Smart Remarks myspace pages out there and they all have songs readily available to listen to.

There is also at least one live video recording of the band in their prime that hopefully hits youtube soon. Hopefully with gained exposure there will be a better chance of seeing this hit the web, or better yet an official release of the single, EP and whatever else may be in the vaults on CD.

That's it. I'm starting a petition to get this rolling. HELP ME