History

With original members Jack Jaggard, Clay Shea, Shawn Moncrieff and Stefan Levasseur, Choke has toured non-stop in Canada and the USA.

Choke released their first two albums independently, Lotion in 1995 and Give'er in 1996, which was later released through Smallman Records

Smallman Records

Smallman Records is a Winnipeg based record label created in 1997 by Rob Krause and Jason Smith as an avenue for releasing albums from their own bands. Smallman started out as a side venture but soon became a full time pursuit. Smallman has signed many bands that have become staples of the...

 who signed the band in 1997. Choke released Needless To Say the following year, an album that was chosen by Exclaim magazine as one of the top ten punk albums of the year. 1999 saw the release of Foreword

Foreword

A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...

, which charted on both the CMJ (US) and Earshot (Can) radio charts. In 2002, There's A Story To This Moral

There's A Story To This Moral

-Track listing:# Far From True # Concrete Timeline # Every Word # Signing Off # Forget To Learn # Fallout Leader # Record Stop # Framed in Poor Light # Fourteen Days...

 was released to critical acclaim. Slow Fade Or How I Learned To Question Infinity was recorded in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 with Blair Calibaba (Gob

Gob (band)

Gob is a Canadian punk band from Langley, British Columbia formed in 1993, The Band consists of Tom Thacker, Theo Goutzinakis, Gabe Mantle and Steven Fairweather. Gob's most successful album is World According to Gob and their most successful song to date is I Hear You Calling...

, Propagandhi

Propagandhi

Propagandhi is a Canadian punk band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba....

) and Paul Forgues (Slayer

Slayer

Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

, Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...

, Treble Charger

Treble Charger

Treble Charger was a Canadian rock group, consisting of vocalist Greig Nori, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Trevor MacGregor. Guitarist Bill Priddle, a founding member of the band, left in 2003. They began with a melodic indie rock style, but evolved into more of a pop punk band after signing to...

), and became the fifth release through Smallman Records. The band was heralded by Exclaim!

Exclaim!

Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...

 as "...one of the finest technically progressive bands on the planet".

Choke has toured with The Ataris

The Ataris

The Ataris are a rock band from Anderson, Indiana. They have released five studio albums, and their most recent E.P. was released on November 25, 2010 on the Gainesville, Florida based label, Paper + Plastick. It contained the brand new tracks "All Souls' Day" and "The Graveyard of The Atlantic"...

, No Use for a Name

No Use for a Name

No Use for a Name is a punk rock band from San Jose, California, United States formed in 1987 by Chris Dodge , Steve Papoutsis , Rory Koff and John Meyers...

, Satanic Surfers

Satanic Surfers

-History:Satanic Surfers were formed in fall 1989 by vocalist Erik and drummer Rodrigo. Soon after Frederick and Magnus joined on guitar and Tomek on bass, but the band did not release their debut, Skate to Hell, until 1993. Skate to Hell was the first release issued by Bad Taste Records...

and Bad Religion

Bad Religion

Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...

, Strung Out

Strung Out

Strung Out is a Californian punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1992. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of punk rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They have released seven albums on Fat Wreck Chords and appeared on numerous...

and AFI

AFI (band)

AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...

, Good Riddance

Good Riddance

Good Riddance was a punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums on Fat Wreck Chords, and their final album was a live recording of their farewell concert in 2007. Led by vocalist Russ Rankin, the band's longtime lineup included guitarist Luke Pabich,...

, My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...

, Small Brown Bike

Small Brown Bike

Small Brown Bike is a band from Marshall, Michigan, United States that started in 1996. The trademark of Small Brown Bike is their "double vocals" backed by melodies. Their sound is often identified as being similar to other post-hardcore bands, such as Avail, Hot Water Music and Dillinger Four...

& Piebald

Piebald (band)

Piebald is an American alternative rock band. Piebald started as a hardcore band in Andover, Massachusetts, out of the same scene that produced legends Converge. They later moved to the Boston suburb of Somerville and became a staple of the Greater Boston indie rock scene. Two members still live in...

.

Breakup

On April 3, 2007, the members of Choke announced the end of the band on their official website. They also announced a farewell tour across Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 beginning in May 2007. Band members Shawn Moncrieff and Clay Shea have started a new band Passenger Action with Ryan Podlubny (ex The Fullblast, fordirelifesake) and Allan Harding (ex Thirty Nights of Violence, Sleeping Girl, and path of a logical liar, and manager/co-owner of the Acoustic Drum Shop, Edmonton AB). Jack Jaggard has also started a new experimental indie band Team Building. Stefan Levasseur has not made any comment on his plans.

Band members

• Stefan Levasseur - Drums
• Clay Shea - Bass Guitar/Vocals
• Jack Jaggard- Guitar/Vocals
• Shawn Moncrieff - Guitar/Vocals

Discography

• Lotion (1994)
• Give'er (1995)
• Needless To Say (1998)
• Foreword
  Foreword
  A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
  
   (1999)
• Across The Water (Split with Adhesive
  Adhesive (band)
  Adhesive was a Swedish punk rock band that was active between 1994-2002. Though Adhesive played the majority of their concerts in the band's native Sweden, they also toured throughout Europe and North America...
  
  , Layaway Plan & Astream) (2001)
• There's A Story To This Moral
  There's A Story To This Moral
  -Track listing:# Far From True # Concrete Timeline # Every Word # Signing Off # Forget To Learn # Fallout Leader # Record Stop # Framed in Poor Light # Fourteen Days...
  
   (2002)
• Slow Fade Or: How I Learned To Question Infinity (2005)