Smash Mouth Lead Singer Steve Harwell Quits Band Following Disastrous Gig
At one point during the set, Harwell appeared to perform the Nazi salute.
Steve Harwell, the lead singer of oft-memed band Smash Mouth, has stepped away from the group, citing “physical and mental health” issues.
The news drops following a disastrous concert at Big Sip in New York. While performing, Harwell appeared disoriented and slurred his words, making a series of mostly unintelligible comments and appearing hostile to the audience.
“We’re going to Greece,” Harwell said at one point, before flipping off the audience and shouting, “Fuck you, bitches!”
Harwell also delivered a Nazi salute, while the band around him crumbled into chaos. As noted by MusicFeeds, Smash Mouth bassist Paul De Lisle stepped up and began performing vocals himself, but it was not enough to save the gig.
Watch the footage here:
In a statement, Harwell’s representative cited “long-term medical issues” as the cause of the erratic behaviour.
“Steve has been dealing with long-term medical issues over the last eight years and during his last performance at the Big Sip stage, he suffered numerous symptoms directly linked with his current medical situation,” the rep said.
The long-term medical issues referred to include “cardiomyopathy”, a condition affecting the heart muscle, heart failure, and “acute Wernicke encephalopathy,” which can affect memory and behaviour.
“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,” Harwell said in a statement. “To my bandmates, it’s been an honour performing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with.”
Smash Mouth are yet to report what will happen to the band following Harwell’s departure.