The Caterer brothers were raised on rock 'n' roll and crooners like Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. In 1980 Matt got a guitar, Josh a bass guitar and Eli a drum set and they began to play together. Soon after, their eyes were opened to the world of the Ramones and punk rock. Other early musical influences included Mel Tormé, Tom Waits, The Replacements, The Smiths, early AC/DC, The Cars, and Dinosaur Jr.
In 1990 Matt and Josh, calling themselves Speedstick, got a gig at a party and played approximately 10 original punk-style compositions. About this time, Matt switched to bass and Dave Martens joined as drummer. Josh became an Elvis Costello fan and his style, accordingly, became more pop influenced. Speedstick recorded 10 songs in their first studio session, including "Brand New Hairstyle," which would become a staple of the Smoking Popes repertoire.
They changed the band's name, taking "Smoking" from Matt and Josh's penchant for excessive cigarette smoking and "Popes" from the movie "The Pope of Greenwich Village." (The band's original name was simply the "Popes", but it was decided to add the adjective to distinguish the band from the Chicago gang The Popes.)
Martens, disenchanted with the band's musical direction, stopped attending rehearsals and the Caterers recruited Mike Felumlee of Article One to replace him.
In 1991, the band released five tracks recorded during their Speedstick days as the Innoculator EP, with local indie label Radius Records. With the proceeds and what other funding they could scratch together, the Smoking Popes bankrolled the recording of the Break Up EP in 1992. In February Eli Caterer joined as a second guitarist and in October Break Up was released. They played as often as possible in the Chicago area and ventured occasionally to small venues in Indiana and Tennessee.
In 1993 the band recorded their best-yet compositions on the 2 EP. They also recorded a split 7" single with Groovy Love Vibes. GLV vocalist Erik Pertl guested on the Popes' track "Leather and Lace" and Josh guested on the GLV track "Goodtime Music."
The band got a break when pop punk icon Ben Weasel of Screeching Weasel became a fan and used his connections to recruit Mass Giorgini of Squirtgun to produce the Smoking Popes' first LP, Get Fired. With their improved status, the band scored a three-week tour with The Bollweevils and played to bigger audiences.
That year also saw the release of two Popes tracks from the same sessions as the Break Up EP. "Run Away" and "Let's Hear It for Love" appeared on the "It's a Punk Thing... You Wouldn't Understand" compilation on Shakefork Records.
For the follow-up to Get Fired the band worked with producer Phil Bonnet, who also produced much of their early material. "Need you Around," which would later launch Smoking Popes to a huge audience via the soundtrack to the movie Clueless, was recorded in December.
In early 1994 the band opened for Green Day, who extended the invitation after hearing Get Fired. In mid-1994 the Popes finished their new album, Born to Quit. After "Need You Around" took off on alternative radio, they opened for Elastica and gained the attention of record label scouts. They signed with Capitol Records, which rereleased Born to Quit. In a promotional blitz, they toured America with the Goo Goo Dolls and Tripping Daisy.
In 1996 The Clueless soundtrack was released in the UK and "Need You Around" was dropped as a single to capitalize on their newfound popularity there. It was promptly designated "Single of the Week" by the New Musical Express. They toured England and Scotland for a couple of weeks, then crossed back over the Pond to tour with Jawbreaker.
Despite the touring, album sales didn't meet Capitol's expectations and it became clear that the band had to deliver a hit. Producer Jerry Finn, who had added gloss to the sound of Green Day and Rancid, was brought in to do the same for Smoking Popes. In September they toured with labelmates Jimmy Eat World.
The start of 1997 brought dissatisfied label execs who insisted they didn't hear a single among the tracks Smoking Popes submitted for the new album. The band spent six months writing and demoing songs until Capitol was finally determined that new song "I Know You Love Me" had commercial potential. However, the label fired the Popes' A&R representative and the new album was shelved.
After negotiations, Destination Failure was released in August. At this point Tom Counihan, a.k.a Tom Daily, joined the band as a touring guitarist. In October they began to tour with alternative icon Morrissey, who said of Born to Quit, "[it's] extraordinary, the most lovable thing I'd heard in years."
Album sales picked up and the band garnered new fans at every stop. Still, the label couldn't be convinced to devote significant resources to promotion.
In 1998 the band toured with Triple Fast Action and Menthol. Afterward, the band decided to record a covers album, which would fulfill their contract with Capitol.
Around this time Josh became very involved in Christianity and wanted to devote his work to his faith. The label rejected the new album but released Smoking Popes from their contract. The band played several large shows before Josh quit, effectively breaking up the band.
In a later interview, Josh commented about this time "I became a Christian in May 1998 and I quit the Popes in January 1999. I tried to incorporate my faith into what we were doing in the Popes, but it just didn't seem like a good fit."
In 2001, record label Double Zero finally released the covers album The Party's Over.
In November of 2005 the Smoking Popes reunited for a packed and much-anticipated show at the Chicago club The Metro with Rob Kellenberger replacing Mike Felumlee on drums. The tickets sold out in a mere 36 minutes. In that show — immortalized on a DVD called At Metro, bundled with a CD of the performance — Josh, Matt and Eli were conspicuously happy and energized. Eli remarked that he hadn't had that much fun in seven years, a reference to the time since the band's previous break-up. Josh has become somewhat more accepting of much of the music of his former band, and the Popes have decided to reunite on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. They embarked on a U.S. tour in early 2006 with the band Bayside. Several older, pre-1999 songs in the band's repertoire Josh retired from their set list, owing to their expression of views incongruent with his Christianity. During this time, the Popes have acquired a new drummer, Ryan Chavez, who replaced Kellenburger, who had prior commitments. Chavez now seems to be the permanent replacement. During August 5th of Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, Josh introduced and played two new songs which he announced would be on the forthcoming Popes album, though no release date or album title was given. The new songs, entitled "If You Don't Care" and "Stay Down", are now available to hear on the band's MySpace page.
Need You Around
Smoking Popes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then would I know just where to start?
Because I'm lost and I need to be found
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
If I could stand to be on my own
Then I would probably just leave you alone
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
Turning, tossing and turning
My love is burning me down
If I could change one thing in this world
I'd change your mind and make you my girl
Because I'm lost and I need to be found
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
I'm gonna feel this way till I'm six feet underground
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
In Smoking Popes' song "Need You Around," the singer expresses his intense desire for the person he loves to be with him. In the first stanza, the singer states that he is lost and needs to be found, but he feels clueless about how to do it. He wishes he could see into the other person's heart to know where to start. The chorus emphasizes the irrationality of his desire, stating, "Crazy as it sounds, I need you around." In the second stanza, the singer admits that he would leave the other person alone if he could stand to be on his own, but he can't. He is haunted by his love for the other person, and he believes it will continue until he is "six feet underground." In the final stanza, the singer expresses the depth of his feelings by imagining that if he could change one thing in the world, it would be to change the other person's mind and make them his love.
The song's lyrics are simple yet powerful, capturing the intensity and irrationality of love. The repetition of the phrase "Crazy as it sounds" emphasizes the singer's awareness that what he wants may not make sense to others, but it is essential to him. The metaphor of being lost and needing to be found suggests that the singer feels incomplete without the other person. The line "My love is burning me down" emphasizes the all-consuming nature of a powerful passion, while the final line of the song reinforces the idea that the singer's love is eternal.
Line by Line Meaning
If I could see into your heart
If I could truly understand your emotions
Then would I know just where to start?
Then I would know how to begin repairing our relationship
Because I'm lost and I need to be found
Because I'm feeling disoriented and I need guidance to find my way
Crazy as it sounds
As unusual as it might be
I need you around
I need your presence and companionship to feel complete
If I could stand to be on my own
If I could bear being alone
Then I would probably just leave you alone
Then I would likely end our relationship
But I'm gonna feel this way till I'm six feet underground
But I'll continue feeling this way until I die
Turning, tossing and turning
Unable to sleep or rest
My love is burning me down
The intensity of my love is overwhelming me
If I could change one thing in this world
If I had the power to change anything in the world
I'd change your mind and make you my girl
I would persuade you to love me romantically
I'm gonna feel this way till I'm six feet underground
I will continue feeling this way until I die
Crazy as it sounds
As strange as it might seem
I need you around
I require your presence in my life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOSH CATERER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ANDY BAR
If I could see into your heart
Then would I know just where to start?
Because I'm lost and I need to be found
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
If I could stand to be on my own
Then I would probably just leave you alone
But I'm gonna feel this way till I'm six feet underground
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
Turning, tossing and turning
My love is burning me down
If I could change one thing in this world
I'd change your mind and make you my girl
Because I'm lost and I need to be found
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
I'm gonna feel this way till I'm six feet underground
Crazy as it sounds
I need you around
Dale Kay
There's TONS of great music out now days man!!! Your just not looking in the right places and DEFINITELY turn your fucking clear channel radio off. That's number 1.
You're on the very platform, YouTube where you can find endless NEW GREAT music. If you like rock check out the scene coming out of Australia, it's killer!!! Here's some bands from down under that are new and killing it------>
King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard
Violent Soho
DZ Deathrays
Hockey Dad
Amyl and the Sniffers
Tame Impala
US bands------>
Wavves
The Coat hangers
Mastodon
Wallows
Together Pangea
Random----->
Idles
Starbenders
SLIFT (bad ass instrumental look up their KEXP session)
Minus the Bear
Boundaries
My Morning Jacket
Animal Collective
Kurt Vile
Chon
Viagra Boys (Highly recommend)
MyASMR Rants
Underrated band. This song needs to be heard more. After 20plus years
phenocom
Unfortunately a one hit wonder but it was in clueless so that was good for them i bet
Jim Mowreader
This guy's either the greatest singer in the known universe or the deafest--it takes some serious talent to be able to sing like Sinatra while your band is playing like Blink-182.
ian scott Howrie
Sounds more like Morrissey, but get the Sinatra comp
Rui Pereira
Funny!
Ollie M. 1371 USMC
I love the faster beat paired with the lounge singer vocalization style. It's like Frank Sinatra stepped in at the last minute to replace the lead singer during a Ramone's concert.
Mark-Daniel Probst
Yes! It shouldn't work but it does. It works so well! Love the Popes
Larry P.
Joey Ramone would have been down with that.
Chad Chotia
this comment.
sdriza
@Katori Chaz? couldn't resist a comment... I knew a guy who was writing a thesis on something like, "The Understated Genius of Nirvana" (or something similar...). But he died before he ever completed his studies. True story.
There are some interesting academic papers: Google: "Chopin and Nirvana" and you should find a 2015 paper...
I don't disagree with you, but the comment made me laugh...