About

Smell My Pillow (SMP) is an original Rock band from Minneapolis, MN. The sound is Rock with hints of Alternative, Grunge, and Acid. While there is no band that SMP sounds "just like", fans have commented that some songs sound like Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Cake and others have said Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin with a touch of old Jefferson Airplane! There are cool covers that have been added to the LIVE shows in the last couple years!

The MISSION of the PILLOW is to write and record the greatest ROCK song ever, perform live for fans around the world, and finally save money on therapy bills for our fans & us through loud & deliberate ROCK Music that smells like your pillow.

 
 
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Marc “KWall” Kowalski

Marc “KWall” Kowalski is the founder, music writer, and guitarist of Smell My Pillow born in Minneapolis, MN. Marc grew up in a family of musicians and started playing guitar @ age 8. Former bands include; Deck O’ Squares (Boston)(with former members of the Modern Lovers, Human Sexual Response, the 2X4’s, and The Classic Ruins), LeeKy BeeTs (Mpls), Tim Mahoney, Retail, and other side projects. Influences include, Peter Frampton, Early Chicago, Black Sabbath, KISS, Led Zeppelin, Boston, Many one hit wonders from the 70’s, new wave of the early eighties, namely The Cars, Gary Numan, Devo, The Police, and Trio. The grunge explosion in the early 90’s, namely, Sound Garden, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains. We have not seen him play anything but Gibson Les Pauls in SMP.

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Amy Shaw

Amy Shaw is SMP's lead vocalist and lyric writer. Amy channels Ozzy Osbourne and Grace Slick, seriously! She likes cold walks in the MN winter time. No, she doesn't but she does ROCK w/ serious diesel pipes!

Curt “Curtis” Rehbein

Introducing Curt Rehbein on bass, who joins Smell My Pillow this year replacing “E”, to drive the high energy that carries the spine of the pillow.

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Troy Berg

Drummer extraordinaire, Troy Berg, started playing drums at the age of 8 years old and was in his first band before his voice changed at age 13. Troy has recorded and toured with many great bands in the Twin Cities including; St. Cry, Droplet, and Produkt with Greg Herriges and John Wright.

Previous Members

Elijah Deaton Berg plays bass and currently plays with several projects including Fire at The Falls and Avians of Autonomy. He may or may not be related to the drummer.

Mike Matheson is former singer songwriter & founder, 2009-2012.

Brian LaMere is former bass player & original member 2009-2013.

Mike Hinton played drums in 2009.

 
 

October 2006 I was attending my Uncle Tom's wedding in Charleston, SC along with a bunch of my family. I was riding in a cab with my two aunts, Colleen from Michigan and Sherry from Switzerland. They are both very fun and funny baby boomers in the their 50's and 60's. We had just got into a minor accident, we were all fine but the cabbie just threw out a few swear words then continued to drive us to our destination. After, we all just looked at each other, then looked at the cabbie, still swearing under his breath, we resumed our conversation about my new Rock band concept. I explained how the new band name needed to be kind of edgy like shittruck or something kind of obnoxious like that. While I will forever love the name of my last band, Leeky BeeTs, I needed more of a statement. My aunt Sherry, in her Swiss accent, asked if we would play late at night and I told her most definitely! We would sometimes get home at 3 or 4am (used to be dawn, but I am no spring chicken anymore). She kind of rolled her eyes and with a sigh said, "Oh goodness, if I ever go out late like that anymore, I just can't wait to get home, lie down and smell my pillow." I was like, YES!!!!!!! That is it! Thanks Auntie Sherry! "What?" she replied. "You just named my new band!" "What?""Smell My Pillow!" She said, "NO..." I said "YESSS!" She's like, "ohhh you wouldn't" I'm like, "Oh yeah! That is the best name I have ever heard! It is perfecto!" We all belly laughed into tears about Smell My Pillow which then gave us some good nuggets to keep referencing for the rest of the weekend. Good times! - Marc

Why the name?

Press

“Es una buena estacion muy buena”

- epbcb, Jango.com

“Awesome (:”

– Ali Bo Dali, Jango.com

“Debbie…very cool song!”

– FareWellKing, Jango.com

"Off Switch is a perfect release for those music lovers who have been looking for a little more energy in the things they have been listening to. While there are a few moments on the new release that don’t live up to the rest of it, the vast majority of Off Switch is well done, and the talent of the musicians in the band helps make the release a strong alternative to a majority of what’s on the radio."

— Matheson Kamin, Review Your CD Reviews

"Off Switch" is the debut album from the intriguingly named Smell My Pillow, a rock quartet from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA. Not a band that can be easily categorised, the songs range from pop-punk to prog to soft rock, fusing the musical influences of each member. Despite the variety of genres covered on this collection, nothing feels out of place; each song runs smoothly into the next, with no abruptness or surprises. The entire album is full of energy and the majority of songs are up-tempo, making it impossible to resist bopping along.”

— Sian Jennifer Smith, Room Thirteen

"Minneapolis band Smell My Pillow get me interested from the off with this debut cd. I was expecting sleaze or gutter rock with that name but what you're actually getting is a pumped up, rock fuelled version of Cake, a dash of early Chilis when they didn't give a fuck and Faith No More. Don't go thinking FUNK, think FNM when they explored other avenues, the good stuff."

— Ross Welford, Uber Rock

"SMELL MY PILLOW ‘OFF SWITCH’ (KWALL RECORDS/USA IMPORT/TSM SLW PROMOTIONS) Minneapolis is the American city where this band is coming from and their debut CD ‘Off switch’ contains influences from especially the 1970s and the 1990s. Big heavy guitar riffs straight out of the LED ZEPPELIN meets BLACK SABBATH book and SOUNDGARDENish Alternative Rock/Metal slowness is easily notable here. Opener “Free” could have been lifted from an early 1990s SOUNDGARDEN record, while next track “Off switch” is pure 1970s Rock and Roll in the LED ZEPPELIN/BLACK SABBATH style. And this way it goes throughout the rest of the CD, big groovy guitar riff orientated Rock and Roll meets Stoner Rock meets Alternative Rock. The production is quite good and if the combination as described earlier in this review meets your requirements, then do check out this band at: www.smellmypillow.com"

— Fabion Gabor, Strutter Magazine

"Smell My Pillow??? Eat My Shorts!!! Truly horrid monicker... but I suppose it's mean to be fun and entertaining? It's a nifty little album and the "explosive" material works the best when above lyricist strange hitting wordplay meets its match with tracks built around a quirky template of biting guitarwork and weird sounding choruses (Debbie, Off Switch, My Girl, Urban Decay Package). I could also pick up influences and the sound of acts such as XTC, Weezer, Pixies. It's very "independent" and against the whole urban enslavment somehow. It's not meant to be "easy-listening" elevator music, rather than head-scratching stuff which makes you stop and think... 'these guys are not quite right'."

— Urban "Wally Wallstrom, RockUnited

"Many moons ago in 2010, I reviewed Smell My Pillow's debut disc and was suitably impressed - this follow up is no different. I stated that the Minneapolis band were ploughing a lone furrow and not following any pattern that would probably get them more airplay - but that's what SMP are all about. Cake would be a great reference point for these guys, very early RHCPs, a splattering of '60s vibe crossed with The Strokes' New York cool, in fact The Strokes are a good case in point - some people are just cool whilst others are geeky cool, but then there are those that just seem to try too hard. I get the feeling that SMP mainman Kowalski neither cares himself or what others think of him and his band, thus making the band and the man exactly that: non-manufactured cool. If you like your rock a bit different, a bit Indie, a bit quirky, non-radio friendly yet catchy and 100% individual, then Smell My Pillow are your band. "

— Ross Welford, uber rock

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