''Get Fired'' is the debut album by the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band the

Smoking Popes Smoking Popes is an American pop punk band from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. They are composed of brothers Matt Caterer (bass), Josh Caterer (lead vocals/guitar) and Eli Caterer (guitar/backing vocals) and Mike Felumlee (drums). History ...

, released in 1993 by Johann's Face Records. It was recorded in 1993 at Sonic Iguana Studios in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

with

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

Mass Giorgini Massimiliano Adelmo Giorgini (born 1968) is an American bassist and record producer who rose to fame when several of the bands he produced experienced huge gains in popularity during the pop-punk boom of the mid-'90s. Among these bands was Giorg ...

. The raw production and punk rock sound of the album are in contrast to the higher production values and more pop-leaning sound of the band's later works. Tim DiGravina of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave ''Get Fired'' three stars out of five, calling it "a fine document of a great, somewhat under appreciated band that would later scale higher peaks." He calls "That's Where I Come In" "the real gem" of the album: "It revolves around a brilliant hook and a sadly sweet motif of a girlfriend who just wants 'to be somebody's baby.' Vocalist

Josh Caterer Josh Caterer (born April 12, 1972) is an American, Chicago-area musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of pop-punk band Smoking Popes, which he founded in 1991 with his older brother Matt and younger bro ...

sounds morose and overjoyed at the same time, happy to be with a girl he loves, but unhappy that where he comes in is as a crutch." DiGravina also notes "Off My Mind" and "Days Just Wave Goodbye" as more aggressive tracks than the band's usual material, comparing the former to the

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...

and the latter to

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

. The Smoking Popes re-recorded the songs "Let's Hear It for Love" and "Can't Find It" for their 1997 album ''

Destination Failure ''Destination Failure'' is the third album by the Chicago-based pop punk band the Smoking Popes, released August 26, 1997 by Capitol Records. It was their second, and final, album for Capitol and their last before their nearly seven-year hiatus; t ...

''. Remarking on the differences between the recordings, DiGravina notes that the ''Get Fired'' version of "Can't Find It" is faster and that "It's hard to say which version of the song is better; this raw, punk sounding recording or the more-produced version which was to come." All nine tracks from ''Get Fired'' were reissued on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

''1991–1998'' in 1999, the original album having gone out of print. Reviewing the compilation, Ari Wiznitzer remarked that ''Get Fired'' demonstrated growth in Josh Caterer's songwriting and guitar playing, citing "Let's Hear It for Love" as an example: "Tracks like these are the Smoking Popes at their best, as Josh Caterer's smooth vocals slide effortlessly over the band's distorted canvas." Several of the songs from ''Get Fired'' were

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by other artists for the 2003 '' Smoking Popes Tribute'' album. Death on Wednesday covered "Let Them Die", former Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee performed "Don't Be Afraid", Notaword covered "Off My Mind", and

Grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

contributed a version of "Days Just Wave Goodbye".

Alkaline Trio Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass) and Derek Grant (drums, vocals). Founded in late 1996 by Skiba, bassist Rob Do ...

also covered "Off My Mind" for a split single with the Smoking Popes in 2006. In 2009

Asian Man Records Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

announced plans to reissue a

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

version of ''Get Fired''. It was remastered by Carl Saff and released on October 12, 2010.

Track listing

Personnel

Band

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Eli Caterer – guitar *Matt Caterer –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Mike Felumlee –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Production

–

*Carl Saff – remastering (2010 re-release)

References

External links

*
Get Fired
' at the official Smoking Popes website, including song lyrics. {{Authority control Smoking Popes EPs 1993 debut albums