Smoking Popes preach band resurrection
Published June 8, 2006
Q. The first thing people new to the Smoking Popes are going to notice is your vocal style, which is almost a throwback to the crooners. What led you to that?
A. "I guess that's just the project of enjoying those kind of singers, you know. In addition to being a fan of rock and punk, I also really like Frank Sinatra and Mel Torme and that style of music. So it was pretty natural to try to incorporate that."
Q. So, you broke up at the end of 1998, and you played your first comeback show in November of 2005. Was it sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing to play a reunion show, or was there a lot of thought that went into it?
A. "It's something that we started to talk about in July. And I talked to my brothers about it, and we decided it was something we wanted to try but we didn't want to jump into it. So we played through some of the old songs to see how it felt and it was a lot of fun."
Q. When you play college towns like Columbia, are you surprised by the number of people who only started listening to the Popes after the break up?
A. "Yeah, it seems like most of our audience, at this point, didn't even find out about us until, like, 2000. They still had a few years, you know, to connect with our material. So there's a certain excitement because they've been listening to it for a few years, but they never thought they'd see us play. It's really like a celebration."
Q. How does the new material you guys are working on differ from the more secular offerings from your Christian band, Duvall?
A. "I was trying to do something very specific in Duvall — I was being very intentional about wanting to incorporate Biblical ideas in the songs. But now, writing for the Popes again, that's not what I'm trying to do. So there's a bit more liberty in my approach to lyrics. But some of the Duvall songs would have made good Popes songs."
Q. Has there been much in the seven years between shows that influenced you and the band musically?
A. "We're always continually listening to music and continually influenced by things we hear, but I couldn't pinpoint any one thing."