“Sometimes, I wish I could be one of those more abstract songwriters – and I’ve tried – but it’s just not who I am. It’s just not what these songs are, you know? I think my songwriting style is really straightforward and honest, and I think people connect with that.”
Connecting with people is at the heart of Kerosene Heights’ success, and with every release, vocalist Chance Smith has found new ways to deepen the bond between band and audience.
There’s something to be said about an unambiguous and unapologetically pure lyric – something that demands to be felt in your core and belted back to the band in sweaty clubs and dive bars. Smith struck gold on the Asheville, North Carolina quartet’s debut ‘Southeast of Somewhere’ and he’s gone one better on stellar new album ‘Blame it on the Weather’.
“I don’t have many broken heart songs to write – or any at all, really”
What’s unusual, though, is the content of these lyrics. While Kerosene Heights – completed by guitarist Justin Franklin, bassist Elle Thompson, and drummer Benji Bennis – are undoubtedly an emo band, they aren’t playing songs about broken hearts or missed connections (even if this is something of an outdated trope). Instead, they play heart-on-sleeve love songs and broader musings on the human condition. As the saying goes, write what you know…
“I don’t really exist in a world of relationship problems,” says Smith, who got married last year, “But there’s a lot of interpersonal stuff on the record – stuff that two humans will run into when they’re cohabitating. I don’t have many broken heart songs to write – or any at all, really – so a lot of the songs really are reflections of where I was at in that moment.”
A case in point is the undoubted heartbeat of the new album, ‘New Tattoo’; it’s the kind of song that would make Prince Daddy & The Hyena jump through walls, or which Joyce Manor would crowd surf to the back of the venue to (which is apt, as today Chance is wearing a pretty vintage Joyce Manor t-shirt).
“That song is about me and my wife getting married,” says Smith. “We got married December 13 of last year, and then the band went into the studio on January 15. That was a song that we had never played together. I just demoed it out and shared it with them. We had the track listing for the record – we were ready to go – but everybody felt like we should add it, because that has been a theme in our band. I mean, [fan favourites] ‘Kathryn’ is a love song, ‘Growing Up’ is a love song. This record didn’t have one of those.”
“I really wanted it to have an emotional arc”
What it has in spades is intensity, with the band’s hardcore roots shining through. Before recording with production guru and emo tastemaker Billy Mannino (of Brain Synthesizer Records – home to Townies, Innerlove, and more), Smith was worried that Mannino’s clean production, as heard on Macseal’s fantastic ‘Permanent Repeat’, might dilute Kerosene Heights’ rough edges. But with Mannino approaching the project as a fan first, the band has never sounded better.
The result is a record that captures the group’s dynamic interplay, with ‘Blame it on the Weather’ a more considered, refined, and judicious follow-up, rather than just a barrage of emo anthems.
“This is a way more collaborative project,” considers Smith. “I think everybody in the band is singing more backups and harmonies. Everyone was a lot more involved with the writing process, too.
“The other thing is that it’s not a concept record at all, but I really wanted it to have an emotional arc. I wanted to create a real ‘sit and play through’ kind of record. My biggest inspiration for that is Glocca Morra’s ‘Just Married’. I wouldn’t call that a concept record, but it does feel like an emotional roller coaster of a record. It’s got high highs and low lows. It’s super emotionally dynamic. That’s very much what we were going for on this new one.”
Spending an evening with Smith, it quickly becomes apparent just how much he loves music – and talking about music. While this might be clear from Kerosene Heights’ social media profile (if you want hot tips on the best up-and-coming emo/punk acts, they’re a sure follow), it’s undeniably infectious in person.
“I’d never experienced anything like it, and hopefully never will again”
Beyond referencing Glocca Morra, Smith discusses SideOneDummy labelmates Carpool and CLIFFDIVER, plus the enduring influence of folk-punk hero Theo Hilton (“My favourite songwriter of all time”), and his bands Defiance, Ohio and Nana Grizol (“The Weakerthans for people from the South”).
Indeed, the title of the album is culled from a lyric in the Defiance, Ohio song ‘I’m Just Going to Leave’, from the group’s 2003 full-length debut ‘Share What Ya Got’. It was something Smith had knocking around for a while, but it took on greater relevance after their hometown was devastated by Hurricane Helene in the autumn of 2024.
“Our bassist Elle’s house was destroyed,” says Smith. “She lived in one of the towns outside of Asheville, which got hit really hard, and that ended up with her moving to Philadelphia, where she is now.
“I’d never experienced anything like it, and hopefully never will again. I was fortunate, all the stuff in my house was fine – it was definitely a lot worse for a lot of other people – but it’s crazy to live without power or water or cell service for weeks.”
While the hurricane may have left its scars on Kerosene Heights, it is somewhat symbolic of the broader history that Smith and the band have weathered, both personally and professionally. This history informs not only their music but also the resilience at the band’s core.
“Our thing was, like, ‘We’re not wasting time’”
Smith was born in Memphis and grew up in Nashville. He moved to a sober living community in Asheville after leaving drug rehab on March 18, 2020 – the day of the Covid lockdown. During this period, he picked up a guitar for the first time and taught himself to play, treating the project as a de facto day job. Within two years, the young band would have a growing fanbase and admirers from established record labels, including No Sleep – once home to Touche Amore and La Dispute, and at this point representing up-and-coming acts Hot Mulligan and Saturdays at your Place. For a band on the up, it was a no-brainer to sign with them.
However, rumours were circling about poor business practices, and by the time Kerosene Heights released ‘Southeast of Somewhere’, No Sleep was on the verge of imploding. It would be easy for Smith to be bitter about the effective false start, but he remains grateful for the doors it opened and philosophical about being associated with the label.
“There had been rumblings for a long time about things with that label, and when we made that decision and signed to them, we were a really young band. We had all played music to varying degrees before, but our thing was, like, ‘We’re not wasting time. We want to immediately go out and do all the things that we never got to do in our prior bands.’ We wanted to put out vinyl, and we wanted to hit those little markers that were personal goals for us.
“Also, we were like, ‘This might be the only record we put out. We want vinyl more than we want money.’ We were not thinking long-term, and we had so much respect for the label and what it had done in the past. We wanted to be part of that redemption arc, and it didn’t work out. Now, everything is great, though. We own all of our music, and we have all the rights to everything again.”
A similar experience with the high-flying indie Thumbs Up Records, which had agreed to release 2024’s excellent ‘Leaving’ EP before effectively collapsing under the pressure of a hectic release schedule, meant the band was spending as much time wrapped up in the difficulties of business as it was on the road. “That was tough,” says Smith. “I think that person just got a little bit in over their head and didn’t know how to handle it. I feel for them, and I hope they’re doing good. No hard feelings.”
“SideOneDummy are a hugely influential label for us as a band”
All the while, the band was reaching new ears and new audiences, and through adversity, Smith kept writing. “People started caring about our band in a way that felt like we should keep doing it – it felt like it made sense,” he says. But now, more switched onto the business side – and a growing realisation that this could be something more permanent – they had to find a new home for the album.
With friends in Carpool and CLIFFDIVER already on the recently rebooted SideOneDummy, Smith reached out to label boss Phil Bender-Simon. Their values aligned, and the jump to the long-running punk institution felt like the next natural step.
“Over the course of six to eight months, we just got to know each other. Phil was adamant about building a relationship, which was really cool, given what we had just experienced. It just felt really good. He showed our demos to the owner, and he liked them a lot.
“I think it’s rare to find a label that’ll sign a band with maybe 8,000 monthly listeners off the strength of just demos that we hadn’t recorded yet. It meant a lot that they were willing to work with us and invest in us. It just felt like it made sense; not to mention that they’re a hugely influential label for us as a band.”
“I squandered away my early 20s doing drugs and sitting at home”
Despite this success and their impending breakout, there are no signs of Kerosene Heights resting on any laurels. The band are just back from a tour with Equipment and have already played Faux (previously Fauxchella) and Warped Tour this year. The day after this interview, they’ll be on the road with their pals in Dikembe and Swiss Army Wife (sadly aborted midway through after members of the party caught Covid), and in August, they’ll be out with Michael Cera Palin and Newgrounds Death Rugby. That’s not to mention another appearance at Florida’s The Fest in October, where, last year, they were bumped up to a prestigious main stage set following an incendiary set in the tiny How Bazar spot in 2023.
If it feels like they’re living the dream, you can understand why they’re embracing everything that comes their way. “I just look at it as something that… like,” Smith pauses. “I squandered away my early 20s doing drugs and sitting at home, and it’s really special that I get the opportunity to do something like this,” he says.
“I just turned 30 this year, and a lot of people don’t get to start bands when they’re 26 years old, and basically be touring when they’re 30, if they hadn’t laid the groundwork for that in their early 20s, when life is less complicated and cheaper.
“So, I do look at it like opportunities are really hard to pass up. A lot of people would love to be able to do this, and the fact that we do get to do it is huge. We’re hard-pressed to say no to things that we’re excited about.”
With an excellent sophomore album behind them, Kerosene Heights are sure to find more opportunities coming their way – a rare occasion where you might truly be able to ‘Blame it on the Weather.’
Kerosene Heights’ album ‘Blame it on the Weather’ is out now.
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