Smoke was a band from the Cabbagetown

Cabbagetown (Atlanta)

Cabbagetown is a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia located south of Inman Park, east of Oakland Cemetery, north of Grant Park and west of Reynoldstown. It includes Cabbagetown District, a historic district listed on the U.S...

 neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 that dissolved in 1999 with the death of writer/singer Benjamin

Benjamin Smoke

Benjamin Smoke was a musician who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. He was noted for being a radical, gay rock 'n' roll performer. He died on January 29, 1999 due to liver failure caused by Hepatitis C at age 39. He performed his final concert in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve, 1998...

. Benjamin

Benjamin Smoke

Benjamin Smoke was a musician who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. He was noted for being a radical, gay rock 'n' roll performer. He died on January 29, 1999 due to liver failure caused by Hepatitis C at age 39. He performed his final concert in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve, 1998...

 is the subject of Peter Sillen and Jem Cohen

Jem Cohen

Jem Alan Cohen is an award-winning New York City-based filmmaker known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats and collaborations with music artists. He is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Award and many first place awards for feature filmmaking...

's documentary Benjamin Smoke (2000).

History

The group formed during the demise of the Opal Foxx Quartet, starting with Benjamin

Benjamin Smoke

Benjamin Smoke was a musician who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. He was noted for being a radical, gay rock 'n' roll performer. He died on January 29, 1999 due to liver failure caused by Hepatitis C at age 39. He performed his final concert in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve, 1998...

 on vocals, Bill Taft on cornet and banjo, Brian Halloran on cello, and Todd Butler on guitar. Coleman Lewis and Tim Campion later joined on guitar and drums, respectively, followed by Will Fratesi on drums.
Their last show was New Year's eve, 1998. Benjamin

Benjamin Smoke

Benjamin Smoke was a musician who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. He was noted for being a radical, gay rock 'n' roll performer. He died on January 29, 1999 due to liver failure caused by Hepatitis C at age 39. He performed his final concert in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve, 1998...

 died January 29, 1999.

Though many of the band's CDs are apparently out of print, some copies may be currently available at online record stores.

Bill Taft and Will Fratesi went on to form Hubcap City

Hubcap City

Hubcap City is a band from Atlanta, Georgia that formed in 2000 after the end of Bill Taft and Will Fratesi's previous band, Smoke.- History :...

, who are still active in the Atlanta area.

Discography

• Dirt 7" (1993, Colossal Records)

1. Dirt gjfkkgf
2. Pretend
   • Heaven on a Popsicle Stick CD (1994, LongPlay Records)
3. Hole
4. Awake
5. Freak (Winn's Song)
6. The Trip
7. Hank Aaron (lyrics by Dana Kletter)
8. Luke's Feet
9. Beeper Will
10. The Pond
11. I Do
12. Ballet
13. Guilt
14. Abigail
15. Curtains
    • Another Reason To Fast CD (1995, LongPlay Records)
16. Trust
17. Friends
18. When It Rains
19. Clean White Bed
20. Shadow Box
21. Dream
22. Fatherland
23. Train Song
24. Debbey's Song
25. Chad
26. That Look
27. I Don't
28. Snake

Compilation appearances

• ? CD (1992)

1. Smoke - Dog

The lineup on this song was Benjamin

Benjamin Smoke

Benjamin Smoke was a musician who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. He was noted for being a radical, gay rock 'n' roll performer. He died on January 29, 1999 due to liver failure caused by Hepatitis C at age 39. He performed his final concert in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve, 1998...

, Bill Taft, Brian Halloran, and Todd Butler. This CD was a benefit compilation.

• Radio Oddyssey Volume 2: The Georgia Music Show CD (1997 Altered Records/Ichiban)

1. The Rock*A*Teens - Black Ice
2. The Continentals - Please, Please
3. Pineal Ventana - Dark Cloud
4. DQE
   DQE (band)
   DQE, or Dairy Queen Empire, is a band formed by singer/songwriter Grace Braun, New York photographer Chris Verene and former Fat Day drummer Zak Sitter in 1986 in Atlanta. The band later evolved into one built around the core of Grace Braun and her husband/drummer, music writer Dugan Trodglen...
   
    - Mermaid And The Sailor
5. #1 Family Mover - Hey Soul
6. Bob - Ants
7. Velvet Overkill Five - Pillow Talk
8. The Goodies - Live On WRAS-FM
9. Tweezer - Sucking Midgets
10. Marcy - Driver
11. Heinous Bienfang - Stay Behind The Cones
12. Babyfat - Redd Lobster
13. Frontstreet - Scandinavian Pamphlet (Sex Book)
14. 17 Years - Doing Wrong
15. Smoke - Hamlet
16. Benjamin
    Benjamin Smoke
    Benjamin Smoke was a musician who fronted the Atlanta, Georgia band Smoke. He was noted for being a radical, gay rock 'n' roll performer. He died on January 29, 1999 due to liver failure caused by Hepatitis C at age 39. He performed his final concert in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve, 1998...
    
     - Big Daddy Story and Other Saucy Tales

• Rudy's Rockin' Kiddie Caravan CD (1997 Bloodshot Records
  Bloodshot Records
  Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois which specializes in roots-inflected indie rock, punk blues, and a Chicago brand of outlaw country...
  
  )

1. Susie Honeyman - Bus
2. Schoolly D
   Schoolly D
   Jesse B. Weaver Jr. , better known by the stage name Schoolly D, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.- Career :...
   
    - This Old Man
3. Smoke - Old Joe Clark
4. Calexico
   Calexico
   Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana / Alternative country band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Quarterstick Records, while their 2005 EP In the...
   
    - The Man on the Flying Trapeze
5. The Waco Brothers - Them Bones
6. Giant Sand
   Giant Sand
   Giant Sand is an American rock band, based in Tucson, Arizona, USA. The name is shortened from the original Giant Sandworms, a reference to the creatures in the Dune books. Overseen by singer-songwriter Howe Gelb, its membership has shifted over the years—at times with each album...
   
    - Blow the Man Down
7. Anne Richmond Boston - What Can the Matter Be?
8. D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces - J'ai Passe Devant Ta Porte?
9. Zydeco Elvis - The ABC Song
10. Sally Timms
    Sally Timms
    Sally Timms is an English singer and songwriter. Timms is best known for her long involvement with the Mekons whom she joined in 1985....
    
     - Hush Little Baby
11. New Orleans Klezmer All Stars - Nokas for the Kinder
12. The Chiselers - Playmate
13. The Rock*A*Teens - She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain
14. Moonshine Willy - Skip to My Lou
15. Kelly Hogan
    Kelly Hogan
    Kelly Hogan is an American singer-songwriter born in Atlanta, Georgia.In the 1990s, Hogan sang with The Jody Grind , singing on their full-lengths One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure and Lefty's Deceiver . The group disbanded after two of its members were killed in a car crash...
    
     - The Great Titanic
16. The Black Mama Dharma Band - A Frozen Road
17. Mekons - Oranges & Lemons
18. New Kingdom - John Henry
19. Rob Gal - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
20. Blacktop Rockets - Froggy Went A-Courtin'
21. Vic Chesnutt
    Vic Chesnutt
    James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
    
     - Home on the Range
22. The Grifters - The Muffin Man

• Hidden Tracks] CD (2000, Daemon Records
  Daemon Records
  Daemon Records is an Atlanta, Georgia based, not-for-profit independent record label started by musician Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. The label is run mostly by the musicians who record on it....
  
  )

1. Kick Me - Arms
2. Smoke - Midnight
3. DQE
   DQE (band)
   DQE, or Dairy Queen Empire, is a band formed by singer/songwriter Grace Braun, New York photographer Chris Verene and former Fat Day drummer Zak Sitter in 1986 in Atlanta. The band later evolved into one built around the core of Grace Braun and her husband/drummer, music writer Dugan Trodglen...
   
   - Ivytwine
4. Parlour - The Cold Snap
5. Kick Me - Black Coat
6. Kick Me - Blue Midnight
7. Parlour - Baby Doll
8. Bill Taft & Neil Fried - Old West
9. Smoke - Pretend
10. Palookaville - Seventh Day
11. Long Flat Red - Eighty-Six Days
12. Railroad Earth - Keep Seeing That Soul
13. Kick Me - Lucky Nights
14. The Hollidays - Miles Away

External links

• Smoke's fan-made Myspace
• Smoke at CD Baby
• Rare Smoke mp3s and more info
• Daemon Records Page on Hidden Tracks
• Amazon Page on Radio Oddyssey 2
• Bloodshot Records Page on Rudy's Rockin' Kiddie Caravan