Smoke or Fire 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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States.

History

Early history as Jericho (1998–2004)

The band originally formed in Boston in 1998, when western Massachusetts native Joe McMahon got together with Chris Brand, Bill Ironfield, and Nick Maggiore, who hailed from New Hampshire. The four met while attending

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. Originally calling themselves Jericho, the band released their debut album, ''When the Battery Dies'', in 2000. After the release of this record, Chris Brand left the band, and a new guitarist, Jeremy Cochran, replaced him. Their fan base grew as they played DIY basement shows and small clubs throughout the Northeast. After the release of ''When the Battery Dies,'' the quartet moved to

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, where they worked on their second album. This was when Bill Ironfield left the band, and Ken Gurley joined on bass, with Joe McMahon taking over guitar. It was at about this time that the band was contacted by a 1970s-era Christian rock band from

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, also called Jericho, to inform them that the name was already taken. To avoid confusion and legal action, the band amended their name to Jericho RVA. The initials were a nod to their new hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Jericho RVA is the name that appears on their 2003

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

'' Worker's Union''. An older version, released under the band's original name Jericho, does not include the song "Oxygen" that is on the Jericho RVA release. The other six songs of the EP are the same on both records. ''Worker's Union'' caught the attention of reviewers, labels, and established bands interested in taking them out on tour, such as

NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

and

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. ...

Name change to Smoke or Fire (2004–2010)

Jericho RVA changed their name again to Smoke or Fire in 2004, citing continued protests from Christian groups who complained about the religious "blasphemy" of the band adopting a bible-derived name. Due to the strength of the ''Worker's Union'' EP, Smoke or Fire were approached by the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

California punk rock label

in late 2004. Their debut full-length album, '' Above the City'', was co-produced by

Fat Mike Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He was the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the cofounder and bassist of the punk rock supergroup cov ...

of NOFX and was released in March 2005. After a tour to support ''Above the City,'' the band's drummer, Nick Maggiore, departed the group. Shortly before the band began recording their second full-length album ''This Sinking Ship,'' they hired a new drummer, David Atchison, from the

neo-crust Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...

band

From Ashes Rise From Ashes Rise is an American neo-crust band, formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in the mid-1990s. They helped define the gloom-heavy sound attributed to groups like His Hero is Gone and Tragedy (band), Tragedy by combining a dynamic, eerie open ...

. The band released their second album '' This Sinking Ship'' on February 20, 2007. Later in 2007, Ken Gurley departed the band. The next year, Gwomper from

Avail Avail is an American melodic hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia. Originally from Reston, Virginia, the band formed in 1987, its members including Joe Banks, Doug Crosby, Brien Stewart, and Mikey Warstler. The only original remaining member, ...

joined as the band's new bassist. Their third and, to date, latest album, ''The Speakeasy'', was released November 9, 2010. Some of the tracks were released ahead of time as teasers, such as "Neon Lights" and the title track "The Speakeasy".

Joe McMahon's solo career and ''Beauty Fades'' (2016–present)

Joe McMahon relocated to

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in 2013. While there, he recorded acoustic covers of several Smoke or Fire songs, including "Neon Lights." He released his debut solo album, ''Another Life'', on September 2, 2016, under Smartpunk in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and Gunner Records in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In 2022, the Boston-based label

Iodine Recordings Iodine Recordings is an independent record label based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Iodine Recordings releases punk music, punk, hardcore punk, hardcore, and indie rock music. It was once home to bands such as Brand New (band), Brand N ...

announced their intentions to release ''Beauty Fades.'' The compilation features all the songs from the ''Worker's Union'' extended play, as well as other previously unreleased tracks and B-sides. ''Beauty Fades'' was released on May 27, 2022.

Members

* Joe McMahon – vocals, guitar * James Muñoz – bass * Jeremy Cochran – guitar * Dave Atchison – drums

Past members

* Ken Gurley – bass * Ryan Parrish – drums * Nick Maggiore – drums * Chris Brand – guitar * Bill Ironfield – guitar

Discography

* ''When the Battery Dies'' (released as Jericho VAin 2000; re-released as Smoke or Fire in 2015) * '' Worker's Union'' EP (2003) (released as Jericho VA * '' Above the City'' (2005) * '' This Sinking Ship'' (2007) * '' Prehistoric Knife Fight'' 7" (2010) * '' The Speakeasy'' (2010) * ''Beauty Fades'' (2022)

Music videos

* "California's Burning" (2005) * "The Patty Hearst Syndrome" (2007) * "It All Went Black" (2016)

Production

* ''Billy Liar / Some Legacy'' (2019)

External links

Full Live Set from The Fest 6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoke Or Fire Punk rock groups from Virginia Fat Wreck Chords artists Musical groups established in 1998 American melodic hardcore musical groups Pop punk groups from Massachusetts