SMOOCHKNOB CD RELEASE FOR “DRIVE BY HIGH FIVE”, AT ANALOG CAFE & LITTLE THEATER March 23rd
On March 23, 2013, Portland, Oregon-based pop-punk band Smoochknob will celebrate the release of their seventh full-length, Drive By High Five (DRD Records), at DRD Records’ new restaurant, bar, and theater, The Analog Cafe & Little Theater (720 SE Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon), for their grand opening weekend.
Doors are at 8pm, show starts at 9pm. Tickets are $10.00 in advance via Tickets West and $16.00 day of show, or free with the purchase of Drive By High Five via the band’s website, www.smoochknob.com. Also on the bill: Crown Point’s Jon Davidson, Cellar Door, and Elora.
Late in 2012, Smoochknob released Drive By High Five’s first single, “Meet Me Half Way,” a song that featured a growth in songwriting and a more pop leaning, accompanying it’s release with a video:
Written by Smoochknob front man/drummer, Donnie Rife, the song was conceived when Rife’s wife was eight months pregnant with their first child, who is now four years old. Although the single showcases a deeper dimension to Smoochknob, one listen to Drive By High Five will prove that the band still has bite and doesn’t let go of their hard-hitting, feral sound. Instead, choosing to focus on stronger pop hooks with a wider pop span.
“Our philosophy with the album was to just record the best songs we had, regardless of them fitting into our normal style,” says Rife. “I had a back log of pop songs and song ideas that Javier Canteras [the band’s lead guitarist] and I just started working on.”
The end result is what many have described as Smoochknob’s most sonic-sounding album to date.
“We wanted to record an album without worrying about sounding like the previous albums,” continues Rife. “We all love and write so many different types of music. We wanted to showcase this on our new record. Javi and I – and I think most artists are in the the same boat – have tons of songs that we put into that, ‘someday I will do a side project with these songs’ folder. This release allowed us to explore that folder, and be true to ourselves as songwriters.”