Get Fired
Encyclopedia
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.
Tim DiGravina of Allmusic gave Get Fired three stars out of five, calling it "a fine document of a great, somewhat under appreciated band that would later scale higher peaks." He calls "That's Where I Come In" "the real gem" of the album: "It revolves around a brilliant hook and a sadly sweet motif of a girlfriend who just wants 'to be somebody's baby.' Vocalist Josh Caterer
sounds morose and overjoyed at the same time, happy to be with a girl he loves, but unhappy that where he comes in is as a crutch." DiGravina also notes "Off My Mind" and "Days Just Wave Goodbye" as more aggressive tracks than the band's usual material, comparing the former to the Deftones
and the latter to The Police
and Joy Division
.
The Smoking Popes re-recorded the songs "Let's Hear It for Love" and "Can't Find It" for their 1997 album Destination Failure
. Remarking on the differences between the recordings, DiGravina notes that the Get Fired version of "Can't Find It" is faster and that "It's hard to say which version of the song is better; this raw, punk sounding recording or the more-produced version which was to come."
All nine tracks from Get Fired were reissued on the compilation album
1991–1998
in 1999, the original album having gone out of print. Reviewing the compilation, Ari Wiznitzer remarked that Get Fired demonstrated growth in Josh Caterer's songwriting and guitar playing, citing "Let's Hear It for Love" as an example: "Tracks like these are the Smoking Popes at their best, as Josh Caterer's smooth vocals slide effortlessly over the band's distorted canvas."
Several of the songs from Get Fired were covered
by other artists for the 2003 Smoking Popes Tribute
album. Death on Wednesday covered "Let Them Die", former Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee
performed "Don't Be Afraid", Notaword covered "Off My Mind", and Grade
contributed a version of "Days Just Wave Goodbye". Alkaline Trio
also covered "Off My Mind" for a split single with the Smoking Popes in 2006.
In 2009 Asian Man Records
announced plans to reissue a remastered
version of Get Fired. It was released on October 12, 2010.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band the Smoking Popes
Smoking Popes
The Smoking Popes are an American pop punk from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1991. They play punk-influenced pop music with crooning vocals...
, released in 1993 by Johann's Face Records. It was recorded in 1993 at Sonic Iguana Studios in Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
with recording engineer Mass Giorgini
Mass Giorgini
Mass Giorgini is an Italian-American bassist and record producer, who rose to fame when several of the bands he produced experienced huge gains in popularity during the pop-punk boom on the mid-90's. Among these bands was Giorgini's own Squirtgun, which received minor MTV rotation and several...
. The raw production and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
sound of the album are in contrast to the higher production values and more pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-leaning sound of the band's later works.
Tim DiGravina of Allmusic gave Get Fired three stars out of five, calling it "a fine document of a great, somewhat under appreciated band that would later scale higher peaks." He calls "That's Where I Come In" "the real gem" of the album: "It revolves around a brilliant hook and a sadly sweet motif of a girlfriend who just wants 'to be somebody's baby.' Vocalist Josh Caterer
Josh Caterer
Josh Caterer is a Chicago-area musician and songwriter. With his brothers, Eli Caterer and Matt Caterer , he was a founding member in 1991 of The Smoking Popes, in which Josh plays lead guitar and sings. After his conversion to Christianity the Smoking Popes split up, and Caterer later founded...
sounds morose and overjoyed at the same time, happy to be with a girl he loves, but unhappy that where he comes in is as a crutch." DiGravina also notes "Off My Mind" and "Days Just Wave Goodbye" as more aggressive tracks than the band's usual material, comparing the former to the Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
and the latter to The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
and Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
.
The Smoking Popes re-recorded the songs "Let's Hear It for Love" and "Can't Find It" for their 1997 album Destination Failure
Destination Failure
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...
. Remarking on the differences between the recordings, DiGravina notes that the Get Fired version of "Can't Find It" is faster and that "It's hard to say which version of the song is better; this raw, punk sounding recording or the more-produced version which was to come."
All nine tracks from Get Fired were reissued on the compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
1991–1998
1991–1998
1991–1998 is a compilation album by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released August 17, 1999 by Double Zero Records, a label founded by the band's former drummer Mike Felumlee...
in 1999, the original album having gone out of print. Reviewing the compilation, Ari Wiznitzer remarked that Get Fired demonstrated growth in Josh Caterer's songwriting and guitar playing, citing "Let's Hear It for Love" as an example: "Tracks like these are the Smoking Popes at their best, as Josh Caterer's smooth vocals slide effortlessly over the band's distorted canvas."
Several of the songs from Get Fired were covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by other artists for the 2003 Smoking Popes Tribute
Smoking Popes Tribute
The Smoking Popes Tribute is a tribute album to the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes. It was released March 25, 2003 by Double Zero Records, a label founded by former Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee...
album. Death on Wednesday covered "Let Them Die", former Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee
Mike Felumlee
Mike Felumlee, a native of Crystal Lake, Illinois , is chiefly known as the former drummer for the influential rock band The Alkaline Trio...
performed "Don't Be Afraid", Notaword covered "Off My Mind", and Grade
Grade (band)
Grade was a Canadian hardcore/emo group. Grade's first release was the Grade/Believe split which was released in 1994 on a small Canadian label - Workshop Records. And Such Is Progress followed in 1997 and Separate the Magnets was released in 1998, earning them critical praise and high profile...
contributed a version of "Days Just Wave Goodbye". Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
also covered "Off My Mind" for a split single with the Smoking Popes in 2006.
In 2009 Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
announced plans to reissue a remastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
version of Get Fired. It was released on October 12, 2010.
Track listing
Band
- Josh CatererJosh CatererJosh Caterer is a Chicago-area musician and songwriter. With his brothers, Eli Caterer and Matt Caterer , he was a founding member in 1991 of The Smoking Popes, in which Josh plays lead guitar and sings. After his conversion to Christianity the Smoking Popes split up, and Caterer later founded...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Eli Caterer – guitar
- Matt Caterer – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Mike FelumleeMike FelumleeMike Felumlee, a native of Crystal Lake, Illinois , is chiefly known as the former drummer for the influential rock band The Alkaline Trio...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
External links
- Get Fired at the official Smoking Popes website, including song lyrics.