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.