artist Choke

April 2007 - Choke decides to call it quits!

Press release: After thirteen years of blood, sweat, and forty-hour drives, Smallman Records stalwart, Choke, has announced their final tour.  Beginning May 2 Choke will be hitting the road for an extensive good-bye tour that will take them across Canada from Moncton, NB to Victoria, BC.  Joining them on this tour will be label-mates Ghosts of Modern Man for central and eastern dates and Daggermouth for the west.

Critics and fans alike have praised Choke for their incomparable, innovative, and experimental approach to post-hardcore and punk.   Intricately layered, complex and technical, Choke's sound managed to remain distinct and original throughout their entire discography.

Originally forming in 1994, Choke released Lotion in 1995, followed a year later by Give'er.  Choke signed to Smallman in 1997 after sending a cassette that had been lodged under the seat of their car for what must have been months.  Crinkled, covered in mud and barely audible, that cassette was enough to seal the deal and Smallman released Needless to Say in 1998. Foreword followed in 1999, There's A Story to this Moral in 2002, and Slow Fade OR: How I Learned To Question Infinity in 2005.  

Now, thirteen years later, this seminal force in Canadian punk has sadly come to an end.  Choke's drummer Stefan Levasseur explains,

 "After a handful of videos, six full-length albums, and countless tours, stories, and new friends we have decided to officially announce the end of the band.

"The Choke experience has been incredibly fulfilling.  Not only have we managed to skip out on working real jobs and growing up for a decade longer than what is socially acceptable but, in being given the opportunity to live out our dreams, we have experienced and enjoyed life to its fullest.  Through our travels, we have explored the continent on an intimate level and have subsequently met a wealth of people of whom many are now close friends.  We thank those of you who have shared unforgettable moments with us for the friendship and inspiration.

"In the end, it seems that, as is too often the case, life is getting in the way of living.  It would be impossible for us to dedicate the time necessary to write another album we could be more proud of than Slow Fade: or How I Learned to Question Infinity and we feel that touring one last time across Canada and celebrating the last thirteen years with all of you is more befitting the end of this stage of our lives."

background:

Since forming in 1996, Edmonton's CHOKE have become known as one of the most innovative punk bands in Canada. 1998's 'Needless to Say' was listed as one of Exclaims top ten albums of the year, and 1999's 'Foreword' has garnered them critical acclaim. With their newest album, 2002's 'There's a Story to this Moral', Choke continues to push the boundaries. Touring non stop in 2002 with bands such as Small Brown Bike, Piebald, Fairweather and Rescue, Choke will be focusing on the USA in 2003.