SXSW 2005 Showcasing Artists
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Smoke or Fire
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Smoke or Fire is the latest of gritty post-hardcore bands to emerge from the Southeast's plentiful punk scene. Clearly influenced by predecessors like Hot Water Music and Avail, these young upstarts also blend in some additional elements of Americana with their hints of The Replacements and Springsteen. Smoke or Fire is fixin' to be a real treat from the land of Dixie and we at Fat couldn’t be happier to have snatched them up in time for their debut full length, Above The City.
It all started back in 1998 when these brainy punks were still attending college. The long-time pals Joe and Nick teamed up to form what was a band then known as Jericho who played basements and small clubs throughout the Northeast. It wasn’t long after graduation that they tired of Boston’s high cost of living and migrated South to Richmond, Virginia. It was here, tucked beneath the Mason-Dixon line, that the band could not only live affordably and work on their songs, but also be a part of a vibrant musical community that boasts a storied punk rock past and is presently teeming with talent. It would seem that the change of scenery has paid off in spades as the band has been able to produce new stuff that has got them recognized by, well, us! It was at about this time when they were first contacted by a 1970’s-era Christian rock band from Australia that were also called Jericho. The whiners from Down Under were claiming that somehow our fateful Jericho were capitalizing off their (defunct) band’s popularity. It’s plumb loco. But at any rate, the band then became Jericho RVA and released an EP which caught the attention of reviewers and established bands interested in taking them out on tour. Things were going along just fine until the bible-thumpers from the Southern Hemisphere once again reared their ugly and oh-so-pious heads to put the kabash on Jericho RVA as well. Just when you thought rock & roll was about hedonism and dereliction, and along come some litigious motherfuckers that are no longer even rockers! Not that they ever were, but…ANYHOW, they then were forced to change their name again, and here we are: Smoke or Fire. The band is going into this release with a full head of steam having just got off tour with Avail and is already booked for tours with Against Me! and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Their debut album, Above The City, was co-produced by Fat Mike and is slated for release in March 2005. It’s 14 songs of socially-conscious Southern-fried punk rock from a band that relies upon their musical merits rather than imagery gimmicks or a trendy sound. Fashion-core be damned, Smoke or Fire’s upbeat and earnest brand of rock flies in the face of the musical carpetbaggers prevalent today. Refreshing concept, no? |
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