Smash Mouth’s Paul De Lisle on All Star, Shrek, and the Long Road to Mercury Comet

For some people, Smash Mouth begins and ends with a handful of massive hits. But the band’s story goes much deeper than “All Star,” “Walking On The Sun,” or their immensely popular take on The Monkees’ “I’m A Believer.”

This week, founding bassist Paul De Lisle joins me to look back at the road that took Smash Mouth from the ska-punk energy of Fush Yu Mang to multi-platinum success, movie soundtracks, internet memes, and a place in pop culture that few bands ever achieve.

We talk about the band’s early days, getting signed to Interscope, the evolution of their sound, and why Smash Mouth always seemed to have a knack for turning cover songs into something entirely their own. We also dive into the unexpected afterlife of “All Star,” from Hollywood blockbusters and Shrek to becoming one of the internet’s most enduring musical touchstones.

Along the way, Paul reflects on Steve Harwell’s legacy, what it means to honor the past while continuing forward, and why now felt like the right time for Smash Mouth to return with their first album of original material in more than a decade, Mercury Comet.

If you’ve ever wondered how a band navigates fame, reinvention, loss, and longevity while remaining unmistakably itself, this conversation is for you.

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