Instruments: Lead Guitar & Drums

Influences: Tom Morello, Page Hamilton, Dave Grohl, Chino Moreno, John Frusciante, John Petrusci, and Jimmy Page

Favorite Bands - Deftones, Tool, Incubus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice In Chains, Live, Depeche Mode, Led Zepplin, Rush

Smiles grew up outside of Pittsburgh. He comes from a family of local rock & blues legends, sporting Norm Nardini and Art Nardini (Joe Gruschecky & the Houserockers) as his cousins, and his father having played drums for numerous recognizable local bands throughout the years. It was only natural that he would eventually learn to play the drums from his father, which is what happened when he was in his mid-teens. He told his friends to pick-up a guitar and bass, and from there he collaborated with different people in his social circles to form numerous bands throughout high-school.

College hit, and it become inconvenient to cram drums into a small dorm room, so Smiles decided to take his marginal guitar knowledge that he picked up throughout the years and turn himself into a full-fledged guitarist. A few years down the road he slimmed his way into the band Aurora Again that current bass-player Cory "The Captain" Schuster was in, and from there they went on to have success playing at bars and venues all over State College. In just a matter of a few months, they wrote and recorded a 4-song demo that got airplay on college radio and got them into 4th place out of 50+ bands in a competition for the "Moving On" event that is held every year. Eventually graduation took its toll on the band and its members had to go their separate ways.

Three years later, Smiles and the Captain find themselves teaming up with Dan the Man and Spiffy Sean to form Walk of Shame. They look to take Pittsburgh by storm, playing covers of 90's and other rock tunes that they grew up on, and eventually creating original music that they hope will be loved by the masses.

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