Cigar is an American

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

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, and, later,

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. Cigar was formed in 1996, discovered by

Fletcher Dragge Pennywise is an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band took its name from the antagonist in Stephen King's horror novel '' It'' known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Between their 1991 self-titled de ...

of the band Pennywise and signed to Theologian Records in 1997. Its first album, ''Speed is Relative'', was released in 1999 and produced by

. The band also appeared on several punk compilations and surf and skate videos (including Toy Machine's "Jump off a Building" during Chris Senn's part).

History

In 1996,

Jon Sortland Jon Sortland (born September 12, 1973) is an American musician, record producer and video director, currently playing the drums for indie rock band The Shins. Sortland has also played drums, bass, keyboards and backing vocals in the band Broken ...

(currently sponsored by Paiste and C&C Drums), alias "Big Jon" (

The Shins The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...

Broken Bells Broken Bells is an American indie rock band composed of artist-producer Brian Burton (better known as Danger Mouse) and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band The Shins. Broken Bells compose and create as a duo ...

, Circus Tents) and

Jason Torbert Jason Torbert is an American musician currently in the solo project Goddamn Electric Bill on the record label 99X/10 (founded by keyboardist Roger O'Donnell of The Cure (and previously, The Psychedelic Furs, Thompson Twins and Berlin)). Torbert ...

(Goddamn Electric Bill) met through the local classified advertisements. Following this, Jeff Jones (Circus Tents) joined the band as a guitarist. Badly needing a singer, Sortland, then working at a local movie theater, asked everyone who came in if they would like to be in a band and Rami Krayem was found. After recording the first demos, Jones left the band and Krayem took over on guitar.

Reunion

In 2013 and in 2016, Cigar reunited to headline a benefit show for Music 4 Cancer in Ste-Therese,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In 2014, Cigar headed back to Quebec to play

Amnesia Rockfest Montebello Rock, formerly known as Amnesia Rockfest and Montebello Rockfest, was an annual outdoor Rock festival that took place each June in Montebello, Quebec. Founded in 2005 by then 17-year-old local resident Alex Martel, it became the larg ...

alongside bands including

Blink 182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

, and more.

Lineup change

In June 2019, after 23 years in Cigar,

announced on Cigar's Facebook page, that he left the band in January 2019 to "focus on my family and continue to make music when possible." Bassist Jonathan Hischke replaced Torbert shortly after. In 2022, Cigar released their debut

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is an independent record label based in San Francisco focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) and his wife at the time, Erin Burkett in 1990. ...

release, The Visitor.

Band members

Current

* Rami Krayem – vocals, guitar *

– drums, vocals * Jonathan Hischke – bass guitar (2019–present)

Past

* Jeff Jones – guitar (1996–1997) *

– bass guitar (1996–2019)

Discography

*''Speed is Relative'' (1999) Theologian Records Track listing # "No More Waiting" # "Mr. Hurtado" # "Two Kevins" # "Wright & Rong" # "Laundry Basket" # "Back To Home" # "The Bind" # "Nick Of Time" # "Long Run" # "Watch It Fall" # "Weight Of The World" # "Show Me" # "Captain" # "Dr. Jones" *''The Visitor'' (2022)

Track listing # "These Chances" # "Legacy of the 7 Plies" # "We Used To" # "Gone Wrong" # "The Loss" # "In Armor" # "Classic You" # "Forget About Me" # "Move On" # "Knocked Down"

Soundtracks

* 1998 ''Jump Off A Building'' - Toy Machine * 1999 ''The Year'' - A Curran Film * 2001 ''TK5 - The Kill Five'' * 2002 ''TK6 - The Kill Six''

References

Musical groups from Eugene, Oregon Musical groups from San Diego Punk rock groups from Oregon 1996 establishments in Oregon 2004 disestablishments in Oregon Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2013 Skate punk groups {{US-punk-band-stub