Choke is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

History

With original members Jack Jaggard, Clay Shea, Shawn Moncrieff and Stefan Levasseur, Choke has toured in Canada and the USA. Choke released their first two albums independently, ''Lotion'' in 1995 and ''Give'er'' in 1996, which was later released through Smallman Records, who signed the band in 1997. Choke released ''Needless To Say'' the following year, an album that was chosen by Exclaim! magazine as one of the top ten punk albums of the year. 1999 saw the release of ''

Foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between th ...

''. A departure from the skate-punk sound that defined "Needless to Say", "Foreword" was described jokingly by Shea as the "career killer". Despite this, Exclaim! magazine called the album "a tremendous accomplishment by punk standards". Foreword cemented the band's reputation as one of Canada's top punk acts, alongside Propagandhi,

Painted Thin Painted Thin was a Canadian hardcore punk band, formed in Winnipeg, and active from 1993 to 1999. The core of the band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Stephen Carroll and bassist and vocalist Paul Furgale, with a variety of guest musicians, ...

, and I Spy. In 2002, '' There's A Story To This Moral'' was released, followed by 2005's ''Slow Fade Or How I Learned To Question Infinity''. The latter was recorded in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, with Blair Calibaba ( Gob, Propagandhi) and Paul Forgues (

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

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), and became the fifth release through Smallman Records. The band was heralded by

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

as "...one of the finest technically progressive bands on the planet."

Breakup

In 2007, the band decided to split up after one more tour that would end in Edmonton on June 9. Band members Shawn Moncrieff and Clay Shea started a new band Passenger Action with Ryan Podlubny (ex. The Fullblast, Fordirelifesake) and Allan Harding (ex. Thirty Nights of Violence, Sleeping Girl, and Path of a Logical Liar). In 2013, the band reunited for one final tour. In 2022, the band began playing live shows and recorded a new song "Out of Sync".

Band members

* Jack Jaggard – guitar, vocals * Shawn Moncrieff – guitar, vocals * Clay Shea – bass guitar, vocals * Graham Churchill – drums

Discography

* ''Lotion'' (1994) * ''Give'er'' (1995) * ''Needless to Say'' (1998) * ''Foreword'' (1999) * ''Across the Water'' (Split with

Adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

, Layaway Plan & Astream) (2001) * '' There's a Story to This Moral'' (2002) * ''Slow Fade Or: How I Learned to Question Infinity'' (2005) * “Out of Sync “ 2022

References

External links