The story goes something like this: Before Nirvana recorded its momentous album "Nevermind" in 1991, the indie icons toured tirelessly, crisscrossing the country by van, with as little as one mixtape jammed into the cassette deck.

On one side of the tape was the Swiss heavy metal band Celtic Frost.

The other? The 1986 album "Especially For You," penned by Jersey's own The Smithereens.

It's a fun anecdote, breeding the idea that Nirvana -- the band that ushered in a new generation of rock music and pop culture -- was influenced by a few dudes from Carteret (Nirvana's Krist Novoselic claims there's truth to this).

And it's a tale you'll hear quite a bit over the next few days, as rock fans try to put into context the passing of the great Smithereens frontman Pat DiNizio, who died Tuesday night at the age of 62. The cause of death was not immediately revealed, though he had suffered health problems in recent years.

"Pat had the magic touch. He channeled the essence of joy and heartbreak into hook-laden three minute pop songs, infused with a lifelong passion for rock & roll," the band wrote on its Facebook page. "Our journey with Pat was long, storied and a hell of a lot of fun. We grew up together. Little did we know that we wouldn't grow old together. Goodbye Pat. Seems like yesterday."

Those locked into the New Jersey music scene won't need any Cobainian legends to place DiNizio. He was known locally not only as an impassioned songwriter -- the band's alt-rock staples "Only A Memory" and "Blood and Roses" were little more than Beatles facsimiles without his spoken heartache -- but as a Garden State rock n' roll community member.

DiNizio fronted what was, after Springsteen and Bon Jovi, the most impactful New Jersey rock band of the '80s and '90s -- a group that knew melody, arresting choruses and just what made the British Invasion bands so popular two decades earlier. The fact that in Union County in the late '80s -- and in the shadow of Bon Jovi's meteoric rise just a few towns away in Sayreville -- DiNizio and the Smithereens were able to repurpose those sonic sentiments and sell it to a cynical college-rock crowd is a feat in itself.

"I'm a professional songwriter and member of a band ... what could be better?" DiNizio told the Los Angeles Times in 1990, around the time the Smithereens were most famous: the crunchy jam "A Girl Like You" cracked the Top 40 that year.

But long after the Smithereens fell from the alternative charts and rock relevance altogether, DiNizio was a relentless contributor to the local scene, performing weekly free shows at Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park in 2014 -- he called his one-man show, which also took up residence at Crossroads in Garwood, "Confessions of a Rockstar" -- and attempting to convert his childhood home in Scotch Plains into a small arts center, where concerts could be held and special needs children could learn to play music.

DiNizio was, too, a longtime contributor to the annual Light of Day festival in Asbury Park, which raises money for Parkinson's Disease research. The Smithereens headlined the week's main event at Paramount Theatre in 2016.

DiNizio lived in Scotch Plains until his death, telling The Aquarian in 2010: "It's the only place in the world I feel centered. New Jersey is my home. I lived in England for a while, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles. I'm at the point in my life where I don't want any more surprises. I'm in Scotch Plains for good."

If you attended North Jersey local shows in the '80s, also comprising Jim Babjak (guitar), Dennis Diken (drums) and Mike Mesaros (bass), you likely saw the group cutting its teeth in New Brunswick -- the enduring Hub City haunt The Court Tavern was a favorite spot -- or at the long-gone Dirt Club in Bloomfield, which local punk Ted Leo tweeted Wednesday was an inspiration for him.

"Knowing that The Smithereens were a staple at my hometown's Dirt Club early on, actually helped me understand that good songs, hard work, and a love of playing music can be a path to making some kind of life out of it," Leo wrote.

Aw, man. Knowing that The Smithereens were a staple at my hometown’s Dirt Club early on, actually helped me understand that good songs, hard work, and a love of playing music can be a path to making some kind of life out of it. https://t.co/v56URCccLL — Ted Leo (@tedleo) December 13, 2017

Fans and musicians alike took to social media Wednesday morning to share their grief and commemorate DiNizio, among them Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath, who called DiNizio: "A man who learned from the greats & could craft an effortless, classic pop song...had the pleasure of meeting him a few times, he was complimentary & down to earth. Rest easy thanks for the music & memories."

Though there was more to the big man at the microphone: in 2000 he ran independently for U.S. Senate. He even tried to play for the Somerset Patriots minor league baseball team on the ESPN reality show "7th Inning Stretch" in 2006.

But as longtime New Jersey music writer Jay Lustig noted in his DiNizio tribute Wednesday, DiNizio was as commonly viewed as a friend as he was a successful player, quick to smile and say "hello" from beneath his trademark thick-rimmed glasses and baseball cap, the brim flipped skyward.

Rest easy Pat, behind the wall of sleep.

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier. Find NJ.com on Facebook.