Smithereens singer mixes music, memories in ‘Confessions of a Rock Star’

Riding his bicycle with an acoustic guitar strapped to his back as a child.

Walking down Sunset Boulevard toward Tower Records, the first time he had $100 in his pocket to spend on records if he damn well pleased. And, for the first time ever, getting stopped on the sidewalk by someone who recognized him.

So what if the fan referred to the Smithereens’ breakout hit "Blood & Roses" as "Guns N’ Roses"?

Or the Smithereens playing Calamity Jayne’s on Boulder Highway. DiNizio asked the driver shuttling them to the club to tune in to the local rock station. When he punched in, "Only a Memory" was playing.

"It’s one of my most vivid recollections ever," he says.

But all of them seem vivid when recounted by the 56-year-old rocker and raconteur. As the Smithereens faded from the frontlines of rock, DiNizio put his storytelling skills to use as a satellite radio host. And now he has combined the two for a show called "Confessions of a Rock Star."

Last week, DiNizio started slowly breaking in a residency that may be the strangest development on the Vegas show scene this year. The Riviera’s new CEO, Andy Choy, invited DiNizio to dig in with an early show each night as a roommate of the "Crazy Girls."

"When I signed on, I was really encouraged by what Andy said: ‘This show has to rock.’ "

And so it does, with DiNizio backed by guitarist Kenny Howes and drummer Nate Stalfa on a musical journey through his life and era. One that mixes Smithereens hits with relevant covers, such as the Beatles’ "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and Buddy Holly’s "It Doesn’t Matter Anymore."

"It’s the story of a kid who was obsessed with rock ‘n’ roll and music his entire life, who went to bed one night at age 31 as a garbage man and woke up the next morning as a rock star," DiNizio says.

"Inexplicably," he adds, "with a hit song on the radio called ‘Blood & Roses.’ "

That’s at least the Twitter-length account of the longer climb by a New Jersey band that broke late in life by today’s video standard for cuteness.

DiNizio and bandmates Dennis Diken, Jim Babjak and Mike Mesaros had made some noise on college radio with two EPs. But "Blood & Roses" was the hit that made the difference from their first full-length album in 1986. It was a disc full of punchy songs that married DiNizio’s love of classic ’60s songcraft with the power chords and attitude of the punk and new wave bands they toured with, such as the Ramones and Fleshtones.

"But for fortune or timing, anyone could have been a Smithereen," DiNizio says. "We just happened to be standing on the right corner at the right time and we were ready."

The Seattle grunge explosion of the early ’90s swept aside upbeat hits such as "A Girl Like You," stranding the Smithereens as a band that never hit the stratosphere. But they still perform, commanding a loyal enough following to support such indulgences as remaking The Who’s "Tommy" album.

"We never got big heads about it, but it was thrilling to be part of it," DiNizio says, "after all the work we had put into the band — total obscurity and no success for six years — was beginning to pay off a little bit. It was nice just to do what we do for a living."

Now, DiNizio hopes to cultivate a niche as the Strip’s only resident rock show. In Kerouacian spirit, he drove across the country to get here. And the Riviera employees who carted about 600 DVDs up to his room hope they don’t have to pack them up again.

DiNizio hopes word will spread that this isn’t all about a guy from a modestly successful rock band singing his own hits. "It’s not just my history," he says. "There’s a commonality to the stories and to the songs, and the imagery that you see (on the video screens), that everyone can relate to."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.