Photo by Chris Tracy
Revered Chicago indie rock/punk luminaries SMOKING POPES are celebrating the upcoming 30th anniversary of their seminal, sophomore album, Born To Quit, with a live re-recording of the album dubbed Born To Quit Live Session due out September 27th via Anxious & Angry. Recorded in front of a live audience at Bombsight Recording Studio in Bloomington, IL, the record features all 10 original tracks performed live, some for the first time in years.
Pre-Order Born To Quit Live Session: smokingpopesmerch.com
Founding vocalist/guitarist Josh Caterer says of the record: “For us, there’s something magical about playing this album from start to finish because it puts the songs in their proper context. Songs like Need You Around and Rubella that we’ve been playing at every show for years, you tend to think of those as singles, but they’re really part of a larger thing, like pieces of a puzzle. To see the whole puzzle at once is pretty cool. That’s what made this recording such a special experience. I think everyone there, the band and the audience, we all felt it.”
First revealed at BrooklynVegan, SMOKING POPES have released the first single from the record and beloved deep cut “On The Shoulder.” Find the track on all streaming services and watch the live session video below.
Adding about the song, Caterer says:
“Eli wrote the music for this one. It’s such a beautiful guitar riff, really fun to play, but it’s always been a deep cut and we haven’t included it in our live set very often, so I’m glad this song is finally getting some attention. The new version feels pretty vibrant to me.“
SMOKING POPES Tour Dates (w/THE GET UP KIDS):
Aug 30 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
Aug 31 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
Sep 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
Sep 3 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 4 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 6 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
Sep 7 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
Sep 8 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
Sep 10 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
Sep 11 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
Sep 13 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
Sep 14 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
Sep 15 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
Sep 24 – Columbus, OH – The Athenaeum
Sep 25 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
Sep 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
Sep 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
Sep 29 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
Oct 1 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Stone Pony
Oct 3 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live
Oct 4 – Buffalo, NY – Electric City
Oct 5 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Oct 6 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
Oct 8 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
Oct 9 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theater
Oct 10 – Chicago, IL – Metro
OCt 11 – Chicago, IL – Metro
Bursting onto the Chicago punk scene in 1991, Smoking Popes built a relationship with their legion of fans by melding raw songs about bittersweet heartache with soaring melodies, power chords and infectious energy. From their early indie releases to their critically acclaimed major label albums, Smoking Popes developed a unique blend of buzzsaw guitars, caffeinated rhythms and heartfelt crooning vocals, combining the angst of punk with the smooth sophistication of Frank Sinatra, creating music both urgent and timeless, and influencing a generation of musicians in their wake.
Over the course of their 30+ year career, Smoking Popes have released 10 albums, including 2 live albums, 1 collection of EPs and singles, and 7 full-length studio albums, the most recent being 2018’s Into The Agony, which found the band reunited with their early drummer Mike Felumlee.
With the original lineup solidified, featuring Josh Caterer (vocals/guitar), Eli Caterer (guitar), Matt Caterer (bass) and Felumlee (drums), Smoking Popes emerged with new found vitality as well as a renewed appreciation for their seminal records.
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the band’s quintessential release, Born To Quit, and to commemorate the occasion the band re-recorded the album in front of a live audience at Bombsight Recording Studio in Bloomington, IL. The record, Born To Quit Live Studio Session, is due out September 27th from Anxious & Angry Records.
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