Kalistan

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Sulari based Smoke releases 7 song EP Nihilism on ARC



ARC signs Sulari Noise Alternative Band Smoke
Nihilism forces us to ask "Why do Heroin Users make such loud music"
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
July 8, 5562

Sulari is well known for its incredibly loud music, and the newly signed trio Smoke is no different.  But their debut EP, Nihilism makes us wonder:  Is there something about heroin use that makes rock musicians play their guitars excessively loud?

"Oh haha," said George Cacophonous (born George Burton).  "Yeah, I mean I play loud because that's the kind of music I really like.  I come from more of a metal and a punk background.  Turning the guitars way up just makes sense.  It's only a coincidence that I am also one of the drug people..."  Cacophonous said he's clean now, and being in a band was the thing that straightened him out.  "Our manager told us that if we ever want to be taken seriously, we can't be shooting up all the time, so we had a choice of either making music or killing ourselves.  So we decided to get clean together and put all that energy into making music."

Smoke's lyrics frequently discuss drug use and the influence that broken family lives and domestic violence often contributes to drug use.  "Like a lot of the people, myself included, took to drinking at an early time and then it was was weed and then it was I don't know, like crack, and maybe quaaludes and acid then of course, you are just all twisted up in a hotel room and some dude comes out of nowhere and asks if you want to smack up with him and all of a sudden you are doing month long detox trying to get signed to a record label.  It's a tale as old as time.  That's probably how all these guys got into music."

Cacophonous said he met Black "Bob" Michelson, Smoke's bassist and Don Heavy Dee, Smoke's drummer, in Sulari at a party.  "Once we found out we all could play, we started practicing, and playing parties and little concerts around Sulari.  There's a zillion clubs, and it seems like every other show, the guy who owned one of these clubs would offer to pay us in beer and drugs, and since only Black was paying rent, and we were kind of all crashing out at his place, the only thing we ever needed money for was to buy drugs, so cut out the middle man, you know?"  This cycle continued for about three years, and then the insurgency started in Kalistan.

"So we were like beaten up one night by these people who could only be described as fascists," said Dee.  "Real jack boot fascists, yelling at us about the Empress and everything and all these foreigners.  And I had just shot up and these guys were harshing my sh-t you know, so I stood up and punched one right in the face, and then they broke my jaw.  Real Mother fu--ers."  The band decided that Sulari was probably not the safest place for them to be at that time, and so they relocated to Kaliburg.  "When we were there and were recuperating on a bunch of pain killers, we started going to clubs and hearing this noise alternative stuff, and we were like "Man we can do that!"  So we started playing in clubs in Kaliburg, trying to like emulate the guitar work of Amethyst Lemon, and like George really liked Sawmilly, and Ultrafuzz, and we found our sound."

Following the Rebellion, the band moved back to Sulari and decided to make a real effort to become a professional Alternative Rock Band.  "We would probably fit more into straight alternative," said Cacophonous, "because our sound isn't about making a bunch of weird experimental stuff.  We have the volume sure, but if you turned the guitars down, or recorded them acoustic, the songs would be sweet, maybe even kind of depressive.  So I mean, they are more along the lines of a straight alternative songs with the volume of noise."  Based on the strength of a three song demo, they were signed to ARC last year on a development contract, and have now released their first EP, called Nihilism.

"Our goal is to get the music out, of course, and get heard," said Cacophonous.  "And you know, if we do well, since we all made the promise that as long as we keep working, we will stay drug and alcohol free, if we do well, you know, maybe we will have a long life and career ahead of us."

"Yeah, so buy our record!" added Dee.  "Our lives depend on it!  HAHAHA."

Radio 1 has already picked up Smoke's first single off Nihilism called "Now I Can't Smile", and they have made enough off of single sales to produce a promotional video which is beginning to get play on M7.  You can listen to Smoke's debut album Nihilism, released on ARC, right here, and check out their debut video for "Now I Can't Smile."

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9TgL1zh-rk]

Smoke's "Now I Can't Smile" of their ARC debut EP Nihilism