There are a lot of ways to describe the essence of celebrity chef and cultural phenomenon Guy Fieri. Some might say he’s managed to perfectly capture the spirit of a recently divorced dad who decided to reinvent himself with a new hairstyle and a shiny pair of Oakleys. Others might compare his general look to a guy in a bowling league who drives a PT Cruiser featuring a window decal of Calvin peeing on the Honda Logo.
However, I’ve always been partial to the parallels between Fieri and Steve Harwell, the lead singer of Smash Mouth— a band that’s seen a bit of a renaissance ever since cool teens decided to turn Shrek into a meme. Both men share a similar appreciation for hair gel, questionable goatees, and an aesthetic best described as “Ed Hardy and Criss Angel.” In fact, the two are so similar that I’ve often wondered if Harwell decided to start a secret life as a chef after the “All Star” residuals started running out.
However, it appears that this conspiracy theory can finally be put to rest after Fieri crashed a Smash Mouth concert while the band was performing at the county famous Sonoma-Marin Fair in California (the same event where the crown for World’s Ugliest Dog was handed out). The two men managed to exist in the same place at the same time without the universe collapsing upon itself and a fan captured the magical moment for posterity.
Hartwell also posted a picture he took with Guy backstage, presumably to put to rest any rumors that he’d used the same technology they used to resurrect Tupac at Coachella in order to summon Fieri.
— Smash Mouth (@smashmouth) June 24, 2018
Eat your heart out, Ansel Adams. This is what true art looks like.
