Archived News

December 9, 2001 - The incredibly red walls of a church basement in Normal, IL were witness to a couple new songs on Duvall's setlist last night. The first was another awesome Duvall tune and the second was a cover of the old Smoking Popes song, "On The Shouler". The band was very well received there by the college folk. Mike Felumlee's band was once again triumphant and Tom Daily did a really cool acoustic set, which was my pleasant surprise for the evening.

- New show dates should be added this week sometime, including a show in Downer's Grove this Saturday.

-Josh's solo shows will feature some Duvall songs as well as some songs from his Why Me EP, and the 21st will be highlighted by a few Christmas songs. Check out this site for more on that show.

December 1, 2001 - The show last night was the best yet (I know I say that every time, but seriously, the shows keep getting better and better). Red Hot Valentines, Retro Morning and the Honor System were all good. Tom Daily premeired some new songs. His band was great, consisting of Jeanne McClure (Mary Tyler Morphine), Mark Ruggeiro (Light FM, fomerly the Men's Group) and Cory Verblen (ex-Nymb). Tom was as wonderful as ever. Mike's band sounded great, as usual also, and played a nice set, featuring the best tracks from his album.

Look for new concert dates in the coming weeks.

December 1, 2001 - New Mp3s are up!!!!

November 29, 2001 - It's official; Duvall is opening for Weezer on December 2 in Madison, WI. They are replacing Jimmy Eat World for that show.

November 21, 2001 - Double Zero Records Showcase is on the 30th!!!This show will be great, go get your tickets. Ticketmaster.com has tix for eight dollars.

Six reasons to see this show are as follows:

6. Red Hot Valentines

5. Retro Morning

4. Tom Daily

3. Mike Felumlee

2. The Honor System

1. DUVALL!!!!

Go see it!!!

Go see it!!!

Double Zero Records will love you forever if you go there.

Go get your tickets!!!

November 10, 2001 - Tonight's Metro show was a blast. The set was their shortest, but the band could not've sounded better. The crowd was huge and they seemed to like Duvall, at least between songs. The Standing at the Door EP was released at the show and sold very well, as did Mike's 64 Hours. It was a very exciting evening indeed.

- The Standing at the Door EP is out and available at the shows. Four incredible tunes that completely rock! This EP was recorded at Atlas Studio in Chicago last month, mixed by the legendary Matt Allison and rushed into production for this tour. Get yours at a show near you or by mail order from Double Zero Records.

November 7, 2001 - Duvall is a band of familiar faces to Chicago local music fans and to many pop-punk fans worldwide, except one face. Who's that skinny guy with the bass guitar? find out here.

November 4, 2001 - The Duvall show last night was a great success. The crowd was much more alive and twice as big as the first show. Eli joined the band earlier than originally reported and Duvall debuted another new song. I have a couple bits of news from the show.

- Mike Felumlee's "64 Hours" is incredible. I dub it "the greatest release to come out of Chicago in 2001". Mike's guests are well picked as they are some of the same people that made the Alkaline Trio great and the Smoking Popes amazing. Mr. Dan Adriano, of Alkaline Trio/Tuesday fame, puts his bass magic on half the tunes and Mr. Eli Caterer stands in on guitar and bass for a few. The title track features Josh Caterer on lead guitar.

Check out his live show, it features Eli Caterer (Duvall, Smoking Popes), his brother, Matt Felumlee and Robbie Kellenberger (Slapstick/Tuesday).

- The "Standing at the Door" EP's track listing is, Standing at the Door, Game is Up, Tomato and Time is Gone. Standing at the Door and Time is Gone are both new recordings and not the demo versions available at Double Zero's website, they sound amazing.

November 2, 2001 - Double Zero Records is reporting this month;
-Mike Felumlee's "64 Hours" is now availble at shows and by mail order. In stores Nov. 27.
-Duvall 4 song EP "Standing at the Door" will be available shortly at shows and by mail order. In stores Dec.11
-Felumlee and Duvall t-shirts and hoodies are available now from Double Zero Records by mail order and at shows!!

The bad news is that "the Party's Over" may be delayed until early 2002.

October 28, 2001 - I am posting next months Mp3s a couple days early, so I can begin preparation on the upcoming "holiday" tracks for December.

In Duvall News, Eli Caterer will be an official member of the Duvall line-up starting with the November 30th show!!

October 20, 2001 - Duvall's first show was incredible and is posted in its entirity on the Duvall website linked at the bottom of this page.

October 15, 2001 - Duvall has a new bass player, John Sewell of Kidsnack. for more take a look at the Duvall website.

October 10,2001 - Tom Daily is no longer with Duvall. He does not have the time to go on as extensive of a tour as they plan on doing this winter. No replacement has been named, but he believes one has already been found. Here is an interview I did with him where he gets more in depth about the band and his upcoming work.

October 1, 2001 - New Mp3s are now up, and they are awesome as usual. Unfortunately I don't have any Duvall for you yet, but don't fret they'll be here. Also there is another video on the video page, accessible through the media tab. Enjoy!!!

September 23, 2001 - I have posted the confirmed dates for Duvall. See them!!! Hopefully I'll have those Duvall Mp3s for downloading next month. We'll see.

September 7, 2001 - I have added another band to the Tribute Album track listing. Retro Morning is confirmed!!!

September 1, 2001 - Do you have a band or know anyone who does? Check out the SmokingPopes.Net Tribute Contest!!!

August 14, 2001 - There is a link to the Smokingpopes.net Duvall page at the bottom bar of this site now. Take a look!!!

August 12, 2001 - I have cataloged my bootleg collection at http://www.smokingpopes.net/boots. I have all the track listings and how to obtain them. The link will permanantly be on the other links page for future reference.

August 9, 2001 - It's been reported that Josh Caterer, Mike Felumlee and Tom Daily have formed a new band called Duvall. Word on the street says that the trio may be joined by Eli Caterer and may do shows in November, Stay tuned for some official news on this subject soon.

July 26, 2001 - I have added a song to the tribute album list.

July 18, 2001 - I have fixed some links and finished posting the mp3s. Sorry if it takes too long to load. I'm working on a total redesign and it will be up in a month or so. Also check out the Where are They Now Page?, It's been reworked with complete discographies for each member.

July 14, 2001 - Well, the sites been moved and temporarily redesigned. Another redesign will be coming real soon, so don't get too attached. Any how, unlike with most sites "going official" this will only mean good things for this site. It will still get updated as often and you'll get the same bonus's you got at the old site.

Lots of good news coming out of Double Zero Records from Mike this morning. Here's the word:

Over the next month I will be going into Atlas Recording studio to record my solo album with Matt Allison. I'll be playing most of the instruments but I will be joined by some friends on a few tracks. You can look for that to hit stores sometime in September/October. I have also been doing some recording with Josh Caterer (Smoking Popes) and it looks like he and I will be heading into the studio in August to record an EP. I'm hoping we can be playing shows by September sometime. Maybe a show to support the release of The Party's Over (the last studio record the Popes recorded). That should also be hitting stores in September.

July 10, 2001 - Star Stuck Chat!!! As if the message board wasn't enough, now there is a Star Struck Chat Room at http://mercury.beseen.com/chat/rooms/v/18028. Register there for free and chat away. Please play nice. I'll probably be in there on weeknights anywhere between 9 and 12.

July 8, 2001 - A message board has been added to the site. Use it or it will suck. That's all I have to say on that matter. It is located at http://pub83.ezboard.com/bsmokingpopes.

Also I have a list of current Tom Daily covers that will be released on various tribute albums. He has done First Time for the Smoking Popes tribute, Jet Black for the Jawbreaker tribute, Throw It Away is a Joe Jackson song available on the recently released Living Tomorrow Today compilation, and Something in the Way for a Nirvana tribute. He's been a busy guy with all these covers and I recommend you check him out.

Also once again, on the tribute subject, Mike Felumlee has recorded a cover for the Popes tribute album of "Don't Be Afraid". Look for that this Summer.

July 2, 2001 - Mike Felumlee has been kicked out of the Alkaline Trio by Matt Skiba. Mike has not disclosed much information publicly on this ordeal and has remained very professional. Rumors have it that Matt Skiba felt threatened by Mike's increasing involvement in the band and they had "troubles" while touring together. For Mike's letter to the fans click here.

Pete from Face to Face will be taking over the drums for the Alkaline Trio on their remaining tour dates.

June 11, 2001 - Two bits of news on Tom Daily and one piece on the Alkaline Trio.
First off, Tom Daily will be recording his fourth release and second Double Zero Records release this summer for a possible fall release. Joining him on the rhythm will be Mike Felumlee and Dan Adriano of the Alkaline Trio (who are also two of Double Zero's three owners). Also Tom Daily will be opening at some time on the upcoming Honor System tour, along with other Double Zero artists. I'll post any information as it becomes available.

The Alkaline Trio are opening for Blink 182 and New Found Glory at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park as those bands begin their North American Tour. That show is July 7 and costs about 20 bucks after service charges.

May 21, 2001 - I now have the Tom Daily interview I did up on the site. You can find it here.

May 17, 2001 - I want to apologize for already being late with the mp3s. I have had some really bad computer problems that are just about over with. I promise I have some good stuff coming soon. I have a ton of bootleg shows and some rare studio tracks that will be on your browser in no time. I will make up for the late posting by putting up more than the 4 that were promised. It'll be a few more days though. Sorry again and stay tuned.

Also here is a link to a nice article about Phil Bonnet that you might find interesting, it was sent to me by long time Starstruck friend Carlo DeFranco. http://www.chireader.com/hitsville/990212.html

April 9, 2001 - Josh Caterer Show!!!
On July 7, 2001 Josh Caterer will be performing at the Cornerstone Festival. The festival's Website is at http://www.cornerstonefestival.com. I NEED HELP!!! I will not be able to make this concert. If anyone is going, I beg you to please, please video tape Josh's performance. I really wish I could make it, but it falls on the one week this summer that I can't. I will trade anyone who can get a video of this; my entire Smoking Popes Bootleg collection, that's like 3 video tapes and 10+ CDs. E-mail me if you can make it there, please.

April 1, 2001 - You've probably noticed most of the news for today, but I'll run you through it anyhow. Star Struck will now feature 4 rare tracks from the Popes a month. They will change on first or second of every month. Also I have redesigned the site again. I don't know if this is bad or good, but I like it. E-mail me and let me know what you think and what you'd like me to post. I won't post any songs that are currently available on CD.

Also, I'd like to announce that Tom Daily's website is updated and redesigned, check it out at http://www.tomdaily.com.

March 25,2001 - Two bits of news. There are now demo tracks available of the Men's Group on their website now located at http://www.localchicagomusic.com. There are four tracks in all.

Also, within the week Star Struck will be moving to http://www.localchicagomusic.com as well. For you this means no more pop-up ads and MP3s posted on the site.

March 23, 2001 - The Alkaline Trio's From Here to Infirmary is out in less than two weeks! I've had the pleasure of hearing it and have to say it is one of the best albums I own. Be prepared it ROCKS!!!!

Track Listing:
01. Private Eye
02. Mister Chainsaw
03. Take Lots With Alcohol
04. Stupid Kid
05. Another Innocent Girl
06. Steamer Trunk
07. You're Dead
08. Armageddon
09. I'm Dying Tomorrow
10. Bloodied Up
11. Trucks and Trains
12. Crawl

The Release date is April 3rd. They are also doing a couple Acoustic shows to promote the album. Check their message boards at Alkalinetrio.com for more information about these.

March 1, 2001 - I have added a ton of Alkaline Trio concert dates and one for Tom Daily, who by the way did an awesome show last week. Go see him, you're in for a treat I promise you. What are you waiting for....GO!!!!

February 18, 2001 - More news on the Tom Daily front, from our friend, Mark Ruggiero.

Tom has a new backing band called the Volunteers. It consists of myself and Jeanne McClure of Mary Tyler Morphine on bass and backing vocals (I drum). This particular ensemble puts an emphasis on the "rock", so to speak - stripped down, tight, fast, loud. Jeanne is an amazing bass player, and her stage presence cannot be matched. It's been great fun, and we do have some more shows coming up in the immediate future.

Tom Daily & the Volunteers have recorded a wicked cover of Joe Jackson's "Throw It Away" for a compilation that will be released by Asian Man Records in (hopefully) June. It is being compiled by Julie Wager, webmistress for such bands as the Alkaline Trio, Honor System, and Asian Man Records themselves. All proceeds will benefit a young man who has been stricken with cancer. The comp will feature unreleased/rare tracks from us, the Trio, Honor System, Sig Transit Gloria, and some other, bigger surprises. More info as things develop.

The upcoming shows are listed in the concert section, to the right.

February 2, 2001 - A couple peices of news for everyone!

A note on the new Alkaline Trio merchandise website from Mike Felumlee:

Hi there,

I just wanted to let you all know that the Alkaline Trio merch page is up & running. Right now everything is mailorder but we will be able to take Credit cards within a week if all goes well. I hope you all enjoy the site. If you have any questions about any of the stuff you can email me Smopo@aol.com or email Meagandoublezero@aol.com. We'll be posting some tour dates and other news very soon as well. We're also working on getting an MP3 or two as well as some buttons and stickers. If you've emailed me and I haven't gottten back to you personally yet, keep hanging on. I try to answer all of my emails, although some get deleted by my computer when I get too many. I really enjoy reading all of your letters and I hope you keep sending them. Thank you all so much for your support and love. We would be nothing without it. Here's the linkClick Here: BloodiedUp.com
Enjoy Sincerely,
Mike Felumlee/Alkaline Trio

PS, if you get bored there go to Click Here: DOUBLE ZERO RECORDS that's my label's website. Check out the MP3/sounds page. You might like some of it.

New Tom Daily Album is released!

This information comes directly from Mark Ruggiero of Lite FM and formerly of the Men's Group:

FYI - Tom Daily has a new album coming out on Jan. 23rd on Thick Records. It's called "The Burlington Northern", and it features contributions from myself, Eli (Caterer) and Mike (Felemlee). It just received a great review from Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, January 5th (Showcase section - you can find it online)...and for good reason. It's a great record.

For anyone who doesn't know, Tom Daily was the guy who joined the Popes on a couple of thier tours. I am going to put up a page about him at this site and I will put up concert dates as they are available. I highly recommend you catch a show of his, he is an amazing entertainer and he puts together a great band.

January 1, 2001 - Welcome back to Star Struck. I hope you like the new design. Everything is still here. I want to announce that I have now aquired what I believe to be the complete Smoking Popes studio recordings, except for the upcoming album. Expect mp3s of the out of print material to be posted shortly.