Band history
Colossal was formed in Elgin, Illinois, in late 2001 by friends Jeff Feucht (bass), Jason Flaks (trumpet, guitar, vocals), Rob Kellenberger (drums, backup vocals), and Pat Ford (vocals, guitar). They began playing shows in spring of 2002 in and around Chicago, Illinois. Asian Man Records released their debut, a self-titled, six-song EP (also known as "Brave the Elements"), in January 2003. The band’s genre-crossing ways were already evident on the EP, as the songs fuse elements of punk, jazz, and jangly pop with a focused singularity. The sound is intricate and dense but still accessible and unified. The EP received universal critical acclaim and attendance at shows steadily increased. The band's first tour, of eastern Canada and the East Coast, was that summer.
The following months were spent writing what would become their first full-length. In early 2004, Feucht left the band to dedicate more time to his teaching career. He was replaced by Eli Caterer (of Smoking Popes), who finished writing and recording the new album. Welcome the Problems, the debut full-length, was released on Asian Man in September 2004 on the heels of a western U.S. tour. Musically, the full-length is the logical next step from the EP; the songs are more concise in their arrangements and the sounds are more developed and cohesive. Critical reaction to the album was overwhelmingly complimentary, and the band’s following continued to expand at a rapid pace. After the album’s release, Neil Hennessy (of The Lawrence Arms), who’d been sitting in as a second drummer since the first Colossal tour, joined the band, as did Chris Perrin, who replaced Caterer on bass. A brief east coast tour with the new lineup followed the release of Problems. The vinyl version of the album was released by Grey Flight Records in January 2005. Also in January, Jason, Pat, and Rob assisted Asian Man Records/Plea for Peace Foundation founder Mike Park in the writing and recording of his second album, North Hangook Falling , which was co-released by Sub City Records & Asian Man Records in July 2005. In 2005, the band did a western and Midwestern tour with Mike Park, an eastern jaunt with Alkaline Trio, and a small tours of the Midwest and eastern Canada.
Flaks left the band in fall 2005 and was replaced on guitar by the returning Eli Caterer. In December 2006, Caterer's band, Smoking Popes, announced their reunion, with Colossal drummer Kellenberger taking over on drums. Kellenberger left the Popes, and Caterer again left Colossal, this time to concentrate on the Popes. The band went on hiatus in 2007.
Flaks, Ford, Hennessy, and Kellenberger reunited to play a single show for Asian Man Records' 20th Anniversary in San Francisco in July 2016. A split 7-inch with Owen was released by Asian Man in September 2016 featuring the first new Colossal material in 11 years.
A remastered Colossal EP was issued on vinyl by Count Your Lucky Stars Records and Topshelf Records in 2017. Welcome the Problems was remastered and reissued on vinyl by Asian Man in 2018.
The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively.
The Falcon is an America, Chicago-based punk rock supergroup. The band features The Lawrence Arms members Brendan Kelly and Neil Hennessy on drums, Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano and The Loved Ones’ Dave Hause.
Smoking Popes is an American pop punk band from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. They are composed of brothers Matt Caterer (bass), Josh Caterer and Eli Caterer and Mike Felumlee (drums).
The Honor System was an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999 by Dan Hanaway and Rob DePaola, after the breakup of their previous band The Broadways. The band briefly featured future Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath as a bassist. They broke up in 2004, leaving behind two studio albums and three EPs.
Josh Caterer is an American, Chicago-area musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of pop-punk band Smoking Popes, which he founded in 1991 with his older brother Matt and younger brother Eli. Josh has also written and recorded Christian and gospel music as a solo artist and with the pop-punk band Duvall. In 2015, he founded the blues band Jackson Mud Band, which has released one full-length album called "Stranger Blues".
Mike Felumlee, a native of Crystal Lake, Illinois, is chiefly known as the current drummer for the rock band The Smoking Popes. He is known to a lesser extent for his stint of several years as drummer in the band Alkaline Trio and for his solo music.
Tuesday was a punk and emo band formed by three ex-members of Chicago ska punk band Slapstick after the latter's breakup in 1996. The band's initial line-up consisted of Dan Andriano (bass/vocals), Matt Stamps (guitar), and Rob Kellenberger (drums/vocals). They released a demo on 1133 in 1996, before releasing an EP, titled Early Summer, on Asian Man Records in 1997. Later that same year, they released their first and only album, Freewheelin. While recording this album in California, the members of Tuesday also served as the backing band for Mike Park for the first album by The Chinkees, The Chinkees Are Coming. Also during this time, Rob and Matt were in college, and Dan found himself with extra free time. He started playing with other bands on the side including an instrumental band called Dulcet Tone, and eventually Alkaline Trio, after their original bass player Rob Doran departed. In early 1998, Tyler Wiseman from Dulcet Tone joined as a second guitarist for Tuesday to help expand the band's sound and tour in support of Freewheelin. They toured the U.S. in spring and the summer of 1998. They continued to write songs throughout this period intended for a follow-up album. With other members of the band devoting more time to family and college, and Dan enjoying success with the Alkaline Trio, Tuesday faded away as an active band sometime in 1999.
Slapstick is an American punk-ska fusion band from the Chicago area that was primarily active from 1993 to 1996. Started by a group of friends from the Elgin area, the group took inspiration from Operation Ivy and the guttural punk vocals of Crimpshrine. Though they had made the decision to break up a couple of weeks beforehand, their original final show was October 5, 1996 at the Metro with Less Than Jake and Skankin' Pickle. Since disbanding, Slapstick has periodically reunited to perform shows for various reasons, including benefits and anniversaries. The band is known for being the root of the "Slapstick Family Tree", a group of musical projects which spawned from members of Slapstick, including Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, The Broadways, Tuesday, Duvall, Colossal, The Honor System and The Falcon.
Neil Kevin Hennessy is a punk rock musician, music producer and engineer from Chicago, Illinois.
Get Fired is the debut album by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released in 1993 by Johann's Face Records. It was recorded in 1993 at Sonic Iguana Studios in Lafayette, Indiana with recording engineer Mass Giorgini. The raw production and punk rock sound of the album are in contrast to the higher production values and more pop-leaning sound of the band's later works.
2 is the third EP by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released independently in 1993. It was recorded in 1992 at Solid Sound Studio in Hoffman Estates, Illinois with recording engineer Phil Bonnet, the same location and engineer used for their previous EP Break Up.
Sundowner is an American mostly acoustic project of Chris McCaughan of The Lawrence Arms, also featuring Jenny Choi, Neil Hennessy, and Eli Caterer.
The discography of the Smoking Popes, a Chicago-based pop punk band, consists of six studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, six EPs, five singles, one video album, and four music videos.
Destination Failure is the third album by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released August 26, 1997 by Capitol Records. It was their second, and final, album for Capitol and their last before their nearly seven-year hiatus; their covers album The Party's Over was rejected by Capitol and the Smoking Popes disbanded in December 1998, reuniting in November 2005 to record At Metro. Destination Failure was not as successful as the band's previous album Born to Quit; it failed to chart despite the release a single and music video for "I Know You Love Me". The album was recorded at the Chicago Recording Company and at Conway Studios in Hollywood with producer Jerry Finn and recording engineer Phil Bonnet. Bonnet had worked with the band since early in their career, engineering and producing their EPs Break Up and 2 as well as Born to Quit.
Born to Quit is the second album by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, originally released in 1994 by Johann's Face Records and re-released in 1995 through Capitol Records. It became their only release to chart, reaching #37 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart, partly on the strength of the single "Need You Around" which reached #35 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Stay Down is the fifth studio album by the American, Chicago-based pop punk group, Smoking Popes. Released on Curb Appeal Records on August 5, 2008, it was the band's first studio album since their 2005 reunion and their first album of original material since 1997's Destination Failure. It's the only Smoking Popes album to feature drummer Ryan Chavez, who joined the band in 2006.
Buttsweat and Tears is an EP by the Chicago punk rock band The Lawrence Arms, released October 27, 2009 by Fat Wreck Chords. It was the first recorded output from the band in three years, following their 2006 album Oh! Calcutta! In the interim, singer/bassist Brendan Kelly and drummer Neil Hennessy performed in The Falcon, Hennessy also performed in the Smoking Popes, and singer/guitarist Chris McCaughan performed in Sundowner.
"Need You Around" is a song by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released as the second single from their 1994 album Born to Quit. The album was originally released by Johann's Face Records in 1994, and "Need You Around" received radio play on Chicago's Q101 and Los Angeles' KROQ. When Born to Quit was re-released in July 1995 by Capitol Records after the band signed to that label, "Need You Around" and "Rubella" were remixed by Thom Wilson for release as singles. A music video for "Need You Around" was filmed, and the song was featured in the soundtrack of the film Clueless. It became the only Smoking Popes song to chart, reaching #35 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks.
Noise By Numbers is an American pop punk band featuring Dan Schafer, Jeff Dean, Rick Uncapher, and Jimmy Lucido. Their sound has been described as reminiscent of Hüsker Dü, the Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., Naked Raygun and the Effigies.
This Is Only a Test is the sixth studio album by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released March 15, 2011 through Asian Man Records. It was produced by Matt Allison and is their first album with drummer Neil Hennessy, who joined the band in 2008. It is a concept album, with all of the songs written from the perspective of a single teenage boy dealing with the growing pains of adolescence. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Josh Caterer described it as "kind of a concept album about a teenage life. All of the songs are written from the point of view of a high school student, and they explore aspects of teenage life. This would be [about] a contemporary teenager. It's not specifically autobiographical of my high school experience. Obviously, those things are incorporated into what I write, but I tried to create a character who is the protagonist in these songs."
