Pat Dinizio, Take 2

Although Pat DiNizio is probably best known for being the frontman of the Smithereens, he's not afraid to occasionally dip his toes into the waters of a solo career once in awhile.

The most recent time DiNizio made a stop in the Hampton Roads area for a solo gig (and, up until this point, the only time) was in early 1998; he was at Club Rogue's, supporting Songs & Sounds, his solo debut on Velvel Records.  Unfortunately, several factors, most notably the show occurring on an incredibly stormy night, led to a decidedly lackluster audience turnout…a fact which DiNizio remembers to this day.

Since then, DiNizio has reunited with the Smithereens, who released the critically-acclaimed God Save The Smithereens in late '99.  His solo career, however, has continued to bubble in the background, thanks primarily to his website, http://www.psycholaborations.com.

The original concept behind the Psycholaborations site was, as the name implies, that of collaborative songwriting: you send DiNizio a set of lyrics and a check or money order for $350.00, he puts your lyrics to music, and, boom, you've got yourself a song.  DiNizio would record the song and send it to you.

As it happens, the concept proved so successful that DiNizio's second solo album, Strangers On A Refrain, is tentatively set to include 30 of the collaborations.

To support the impending album, DiNizio decided to try something a bit unique: a tour consisting strictly of his fans' backyards and/or living rooms.  The concept has gone through more than a few changes, however, since its original inception.

"When I first devised the plan," he explained, "there were gonna be several corporate sponsorships.  Like, I was trying to set something up with Amtrak to take me from venue to venue, since the title of the album was a play on Hitchcock's 'Strangers On A Train.'  But, y'know, the sponsorships didn't really work out as I'd intended, and, frankly, looking at it, I'm almost glad they didn't.  Corporate sponsorship goes completely against the intended low-key, for-the-fans aspect of this kind of tour.

"The sets that I'm performing…well, there are 2 sets, and, all told, it lasts about 2-1/2 hours.  And it's a revolving set list, because the fans are the ones who are putting it together.  It's pretty much an all-request kind of thing."

The tour isn't promoting Strangers On A Refrain quite as much as was originally intended, however, primarily because Strangers On A Refrain isn't exactly complete yet.  "It's an evolving project, because of its nature as a collaborative effort.  Originally, it was intended to be available as a digital download via Liquid Audio, but I'm currently looking for another online sponsor to distribute it."  Odds-on favorite at present is Artemis Records, a new label run by former Led Zeppelin publicist Danny Goldberg.

Local musician Seth Gordon, guitarist & vocalist for the Mockers, was responsible for organizing DiNizio's Hampton Roads stop on the so-called Living Room Tour.

"Somebody had E-mailed me about how Pat was doing the tour," explained Gordon, "and, well, Tony (Leventhal, the Mockers' bassist and co-vocalist) and I had known Pat for years, thanks to the band.  The Mockers had played a Smithereens album release party a bunch of years ago, and, to this day, we share a lot of the same friends.  So I E-mailed Pat, and he said, sure, he'd be up for a date in the area.  He also suggested that maybe (the Mockers) might want to open for him.

So I called my friend Mike (LaVerdiere), who used to work sound for the Mockers back when we played with the Smithereens, and who'd just moved to a farm out in the country, and he was all about doing it.  We looked at it as being kinda like an old-fashioned keg party…y'know, except that Pat DiNizio would be playing!"

The Mockers will be performing an acoustic set to start off the evening.  Although it'll basically just be Gordon and Leventhal, Gordon hints that "there may be a special guest or two."

DiNizio (and the Mockers) will be performing in Virginia Beach on April 22nd at 7:00 PM.  Tickets are $25.00 while they last, but, due to the intimate nature of the performance, they are decidedly limited.  Further information can be obtained by calling 640-1609.