Published on Aug 5, 1998
With some members living in Iowa City and some residing in Cedar
Rapids, Johnny Smoke is afforded some unique advantages. They can
claim two hometowns. Their 1996 debut tape
Halo travels through a wise and interesting selection of
emotions. Among the delicate grooves are the prevalent themes of
love and needing to be loved. The eleven track tape was recorded in
one of the band member’s kitchen and mixes groove-oriented music,
delectable two-part vocal parts and scorching arrangements. Since
the band has been together long enough to weed out a bass player or
two and six drummers, Johnny Smoke has fine-tuned their craft.
Currently getting limited gigs in their hometowns, the band is
working to break to a higher level in the coming months. The band
is currently putting the final touches on a new release.
During the summer of 1996, when this first came out, I coined
the phrase “Summer of the Smoke.” Judging from the catchy riff of
“Broken,” it seems to be only a matter of time before the band
enjoys widespread recognition. Just when “Broken” seems to be
ending, the catchiest riff this side of the ole Miss jumps back in,
followed by the rest of the band. Carefully executed two-part
harmonies on “River Baby” accentuate the band’s strength. Trippy
lyrics in the title track “Halo” like “Sweet little taste of your
daisy wine/ would taste just fine to keep me down /maybe just a
little/ but not right now” showcase the band’s ability to maintain
the listener’s ear with interesting lyrics.
Much of the material here revolves around an acoustic guitar
rhythm. This allows vocalist Corey Ritter the opportunity to
stretch out his lungs. Rhythm guitarist Kristoff Truemper blends
his voice into Ritter’s, forming a strong vocal department. The
backbeat of Dan Felmeth gives the band a solid base, most evident
in “Broken” and “Lemonade.” Guitarist Timm Lin adds creative leads
that fit into the song’s structure, changing his tones from clean
to dirty tones, all depending on the song, all tasteful.
Johnny Smoke seemed poised for domination of the local scene
when this came out a couple of years ago. The band successfully
tossed aside the safe song structure of “verse, chorus, verse” in
favor of original song structures resembling stew. The Smoke has
been playing a lot of local gigs in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City
area over the past two years and are preparing a new release in the
very near future. Until that is available to the public, I’d get a
hold of this tape ASAP. You can contact Johnny Smoke at: