Smoke or Fire
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Smoke or Fire is a punk band from Richmond, Virginia, USA. Clearly influenced by predecessors like Hot Water Music and Avail, these young upstarts also blend in some additional elements of Americana with their hints of The Replacements and Bruce Springsteen.
The band was formed in Boston in 1998, originally under the name Jericho. They played many basements and small clubs throughout the Northeast and put out their first album, When the Battery Dies (Gunboat Records) in 2000 and in 2003. It wasn’t long the band members graduated from college that they tired of Boston’s high cost of living and migrated south to Richmond, Virginia. It was here, tucked beneath the Mason-Dixon line, that the band could not only live affordably and work on their songs, but also be a part of a vibrant musical community that boasts a storied punk rock past and is presently teeming with talent.
It was at about this time when they were first contacted by a 1970s-era Christian rock band from Australia that were also called Jericho. They were claiming that somehow Jericho (USA) were capitalizing off their (defunct) band’s popularity. The band then became Jericho RVA and released an EP, Worker's Union (Iodine Records/All About Records), which caught the attention of reviewers and established bands interested in taking them out on tour. Things were going along just fine until the southern religious groups also complained about the bands name and they then were forced to change their name again to Smoke or Fire.
Due to the strength of the Worker's Union EP, and their relentless touring, Smoke or Fire were approached by esteemed California punk rock label Fat Wreck Chords in late 2004. Their debut album, Above The City, was co-produced by Fat Mike of NoFX and was released in March 2005. Since then the band has toured the US and abroad many times over. The band relocated to Boston in the summer of 2006 and is currently recording their next full-length in Chicago.
