Smart Remarks began in 1980 with Todd Ellis (guitar, vocals), Chris Gordon (bass), and Ant Barbalace (drums) as an original punk/ power pop trio out of Bordentown, NJ. School friends and co-workers at the local Ocean Spray Cranberry factory, the band was influenced by early power pop bands like Paul Collins' Beat, The Records, The Knack, and especially the Staten Island, NY three-piece Dirty Looks. Smart Remarks recorded their first single Was It Something We Said... in 1982, which spawned the power pop classic "Mary's Got Her Eye On Me." Often the opening act for larger bands that came through town (The Replacements, The Ramones, Joan Jett, Haircut 100), the band became the favorite house band at Trenton, NJ's famous City Gardens Night Club. Smart Remarks re-entered the studio in 1984 to record the five track EP Seriously Speaking with new bassist Steve DeStefano, which would become their final recording together. Collecting Smart Remarks' entire discography and includi ng liner notes from Randy "Now" Ellis, the famed owner of City Gardens, Foreign Fields: 1982- 1984 is a must for fans of classic, catchy US power pop.
