Steve Harwell, the former lead singer for Smash Mouth, died Monday at the age of 56 due to chronic liver failure, just one day after entering hospice.  Harwell retired from the band in 2021 after cardiomyopathy and Wernicke encephalopathy led to him being intoxicated and threatening audience members during a performance at a beer and wine festival.  His drinking was known to be out of control following the death of his six-month old son in 2001 due to acute lymphocytic leukemia.

I saw Harwell, and Smash Mouth, perform in May of 2008 when they performed at the opening-night party for the JavaOne Conference.  I don’t recall much of their set, other than a multi-song set of Van Halen covers in the middle of their performance.