We’re proud to present our interview with the heavy hitting Smoke Signals! This band has been on the rise out of North Little Rock, Arkansas with one hell of a sound crossing elements of alternative metal, groove, metalcore, and some sweet modern djent tonality. The overall delivery is very professional with no shortage of potential. For example, check out their new music video for the track “Epilogue” down below!
It also bears saying that Smoke Signals recently put out an album by the name of “Anxiety”. It’s safe to call this one a monster! You can stream through and purchase the music over on Bandcamp or check their merch by CLICKING HERE! This is highly recommended for all fans of the style!
To be more specific on today’s interview, we caught up with guitarist / clean vocalist Britton Scott Shrum (also previously a guitarist for the band Bermuda). You can read over the goods below the video and learn much, much more about this band!
BSS = Britton Scott Shrum (Guitars / Vocals for Smoke Signals, ex-Bermuda)
TCP = The Circle Pit
TCP – First off, can you tell us – who is Smoke Signals?
BSS – Smoke Signals is:
George Rich – Vocals
Britton Shrum – Guitar/ Clean Vocals
Nick Warlick – Guitar
Rob Bollig – Bass
Ryan Thaibault – Drums
TCP – You guys just launched your album ANXIETY last month. How do you feel about the response so far?
BSS – The response has been absolutely amazing, better than we expected honestly. We have had people message us telling us how much they love the album, some of them even said that certain songs made them cry, because of the connection they felt with it. Our fans seem to genuinely care about our material and it means the world to us. We have the best fans on earth, hands down.
TCP – Can you tell us a bit about the album and what went into making it happen?
BSS – The album entitled ‘ANXIETY’ is a very personal and real album. The lyrics touch on subjects like Anxiety, Depression, Personal Loss, Addiction and even Death. Most of the songs talk about things that have happened in our personal lives, which most of them are not easy things to talk about. Making the album was a challenge all in itself, as well. From production and tracking, to lyrical themes and even a lineup change in the middle of the process. ‘ANXIETY’ took roughly 8 months to finish due to many setbacks.
TCP – Any favorite tracks in particular?
BSS – Personally my favorites are Ghost and Fixation. Fixation is hands down the most personal song on the album to me. Even playing that song live can be tough for me at times.
TCP – You guys currently have South By So What, Texas Revolution Fest, and even a run with No Bragging Rights coming up. How stoked are you for all of that?
BSS – Extremely! We recently started working with a new booking agent and he has been absolutely amazing. So What?! Is going to be insane and we cannot wait to play Dallas again. However, at Texas Revolution we are playing with some of my all-time favorite bands. Soilwork, Ion Dissonance, our good friends in Seeker and even HATEBREED… That show is going to be absolutely nuts. Haha
TCP – Do you have any crazy or funny stories to tell from the road?
BSS – Oh man, luckily nothing too bad has happened to us yet. (knocks on wood). For one, our old vocalist backed the van into a building in Denver, CO. haha. We got pulled over by border patrol in El Paso, TX and they ripped apart everything in our van and stole one of our candy bars. Also, we visited almost every single Breaking Bad location in Albuquerque, NM and even bought some of the fake (Rock Candy) “Blue Meth” from the candy shop in town. Definitely need to go back and finish the tour and see the rest of the city.
TCP – You guys seem pretty involved with the local Arkansas scene. Can you tell us about it and which bands people should be checking out?
BSS – Our scene here is amazing and full of life. There are way too many artists to name off but here are some off the top of my head.
Levels (Djent/ Metalcore)
Census (Djent/ Metalcore)
INRAGE (Hardcore)
The Lucid Archetype (Progressive metal)
VAIL (Industrial Rock)
K. Toomer (Rap/Hip Hop/R&B)
TCP – If you could set up a dream tour for yourselves, what would it look like?
BSS – It would have to be a festival haha. Meshuggah, Breaking Benjamin, KoRn, Slipknot, RAMMSTIEN, Deftones, Sylar, Cane Hill, Marilyn Manson, Volumes… The list goes on, there are too many bands to pick from haha
Final lineup: Meshuggah, Soilwork, Deftones, Cane Hill, Smoke Signals
TCP – What are your plans for the rest of 2016 into 2017?
BSS – Shows, Shows, Shows and more Shows haha. We have this upcoming 3 day run with No Bragging Rights, then we are setting up a three week run in December where we will be hitting the Mid-west, West Coast, and most of the south. Also, we’ve already started preparing for another release sometime early/mid next year.
TCP – Any last words for the people?
BSS – We just want to say thank you so much for anyone who has given our band a chance. The music industry is so flooded these days and keeping anyone’s attention is harder now than ever before. Some of you have followed us for nearly 3 years and we have no intention of stopping anytime soon. We love each and every one of you. For anyone who is a new fan or has never heard of us, follow us on social media and we hope that you join the family!
Links: Facebook // Bandcamp // Merch
