Smash Mouth are making headlines again, which, in 2021, doesn’t augur well.
Smash Mouth headlined The Big Sip beer festival in Bethel, New York on Saturday, 9th October. Footage of the performance has gone viral, and for all the wrong reasons.
Singer Steve Harwell can be seen—and heard—slurring his words, threatening and flipping off the audience and handing the microphone over to crowd members. The Los Angeles Times reports that Harwell also appeared to give a Nazi salute to the crowd.
Bass player Paul De Lisle did his best to rescue the performance, filling in for Harwell on vocals, but it was an exceptionally messy affair.
Following the performance, Harwell handed in his notice to the rest of the band. He also made a statement to TMZ, saying, “Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a Rockstar performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream.
“To my bandmates, it’s been an honor performing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with.”
There’s more to Harwell’s retirement than the rowdy Big Sip show. Rather, Harwell was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy eight years ago, and has since experienced heart failure and Wernicke’s encephalopathy. The latter is said to impact motor functions, including speech and memory.
You can see the Big Sip footage below.
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