Tommy "The Nightmare" Smith is the host of the classic rock radio station K-DST in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
He is voiced by Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose.
History[]
Background[]
Smith is the former frontman of 1970s progressive rock act Crystal Ship (which is also the title of a song by The Doors), and it is fairly obvious from listening to his radio broadcasts that he thought pretty highly of the group, especially his contributions to it (despite the callers to his station thinking otherwise). It is not known when the group dissolved or if they were still active by 1992, the year Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is set. As a DJ, Smith constantly reminisces about the classic "rock n' roll" lifestyle" of the 1970s.
As mentioned in the call-ins to Smith's radio show, the other Crystal Ship bandmembers are implied to have achieved great fame, whereas Smith has not, though he claims "a lot of people make a living off my name", name-dropping the owner of K-DST, the Glory Hole Theme Park and even the President.
Tommy and Sage, who is the host of alternative rock station Radio X, appear to hold grudges against each other, presumably for dislike of the other's musical preferences. On air, Smith tells her to "get over it!" during one of the intros to Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream", which is ironic because Sage states on Radio X that she "slept with this guy once" before Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" (which Rose sang) starts.
His attitude is similar to that of CSR 103.9 host Phillip Michaels, as they both hold themselves as A-list celebrities and are cocky despite Tommy being the only member of his band that didn't achieve fame and Phillip Michaels getting rejected from low tier gigs such as a recurring role in the sitcom My Five Uncles.
After Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird", Tommy mentions "I remember playing that song on the way to put my wife down... Just joking people, she survived", suggesting he tried to murder his wife (which is likely a reference to the Guns n' Roses song "Used to Love Her").
Tommy is also a drug addict as he says to his listeners after the mission "Are You Going to San Fierro?" that he "wished he was there with a good pair of lungs" and after a brief weather report about fog he states because of foggy weather he tries to "stay as high as possible" (due to fog being "clouds on the ground'). Also after the "555 We Tip" mission he makes a reference to the DA caught with the drugs (which were planted by Carl Johnson) calling him "an asshole for keeping the drugs to himself" (a reference to Axl himself as he, along with other members of GnR, were infamous for their bad drug habits). He is also implied to be an alcoholic. Tommy is divorced, claiming that he "constantly cheated on his ex-wife, including with her sister" (another reference to Rose's turbulent relationship with his ex-wife, Erin Everly, who inspired the GnR hit "Sweet Child O' Mine").
During the intro to Kiss's "Strutter", Tommy says "This song will put hair on your chest; it certainly did on my ex wife", which could be suggesting a past marriage to Mary-Beth Maybell, the host of K-Rose, because she says "Here's a record that'll put hair on your chest. It sure did in my case. A whole lot of it" to introduce Patsy Cline's "Two Cigarettes in an Ashtray".
Smith is mentioned in Grand Theft Auto V on Weazel News during a report about a hotel offering new packages, including one called the "Tommy 'The Nightmare' Smith deal". At the end of the report, the reporter mentions that Smith drowned in his own vomit, implying that he died some time in the HD Universe before the events of GTA V, and also in a very similar fashion to the late rock stars Jimi Hendrix, John Bonham and Bon Scott.
Smith is one of the honored celebrities on the Vinewood Walk of Fame.
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