Give Smash Alley lead singer Paul Messina credit for at least one thing:
He`s not pretentious.
”I come from the bump and grind, rock `n` roll style, like Rod Stewart, Aerosmith, that sleazy kind of thing,” he said. ”I need a beat that I can move to.”
Messina`s no-holds-barred approach, combined with a dollop of heavy metal, has helped make Smash Alley one of the most popular hard rock bands in the Chicago area. But the 28-year-old Mt. Prospect resident said it has taken several false starts for his band to forge its identity.
In 1988, Messina joined forces with guitarist Tyler Bates and bassist Alan Joseph. ”Within the first minute when we jammed it clicked, and I knew it would work,” Messina said.
The band`s first serious recording project was backed by a major Chicago studio. But Messina said that personal and business problems sidetracked the managers` attention, and the tape came to naught.
For its next two demo tapes, the band, which by now included drummer Alex Lacascio, was produced by former Survivor guitarist Frankie Sullivan and songwriter John Caesario, then based in Naperville, who had written hits for Eddie Money and Cheap Trick, among others.
”With them, we learned a little bit more of the business end of things, and also found out what not to do,” Messina said.
”The feedback to the first batch of songs they produced was that we sounded a little raw. So, based on that feedback, we went back into the studio where they wanted us to gloss us over a little more, which was the opposite of the direction we wanted to go.”
Still, the tapes, recorded at Lake Geneva`s Royal Recorders, generated enough interest to justify four visits over the last 1/2 years to Los Angeles, where Smash Alley played showcase sets for music industry talent scouts.
The trips eventually resulted in a deal with a major management company.
Last month at Palatine`s Studio 53, Smash Alley finished its first self-produced tape. ”We`re at our best when we let it all hang out,” he said.
”So this time we said, OK, this time we do it our way. We had some new songs that were going over great live, so we went in wearing our hearts on our sleeves. No more thinking.”
Through all the ups and downs, Messina said that Smash Alley`s considerable Chicago area following has kept the band afloat. (The band was named as the favorite heavy metal and favorite hard rock band by Chicago Rocker magazine and its song ”Bedroom Window” was voted best local rock on heavy metal radio station WVVX.)
Messina earned a degree from Illinois State University and worked for three years driving a delivery truck before quitting in 1989 to pursue music full time.
”We all decided not long after Smash got started, we`ve done this too long-either go after it 100 percent or forget it. Because you can`t work eight, nine hours a day, then come to practice and say, `Hey, let`s write a hit.` You`re just too tired.
”So we decided to go for it and quit our jobs, which meant for me giving up my townhouse, paying bills on time, privacy, new clothes. It was quite an adjustment.”
”People look at you and say, `It must be nice to have every day off.`
But they don`t know the pressure of not knowing where your next dollar is coming from. I get up and spend four hours non-stop on the phone some days, and then rehearse, then record or play a gig.
”So that`s basically where we are now, struggling and barely standing. Fortunately, we can survive because of support from our fans.”
