Kory Gasser
Smoke Screen.
They did the show and met a friend who booked them for a run of gigs; they did about 30 shows that year. Since then, the group has shared the stage with acts such as Kid Cudi, Wale and People Under the Stairs. In 2007, the band released its debut, Self-Educated Learning Process, and the group dropped a few "free projects" before releasing the full-length follow-up, Imagination Beyond Illustration, in 2010 and Ice Cold Water in 2012.
And now, with 15 years under its belt, the group is releasing its fourth studio effort and playing one last Cleveland show before pulling up stakes and moving to Los Angeles.
“Honestly, we have done a lot in Cleveland, and we thought the time was right to move,” says Sheridan in a recent conference call with Mynatt. Smoke Screen will play a release party on Saturday, March 25, at the Grog Shop that will double as its farewell show. “We have some friends who are doing cool stuff in Los Angeles, and we are looking forward to throwing our hat in the ring out there. Our friend Connor Musarra has made a good name for himself. He gained some traction. It’s cool watching that happen. He did a song a day for a year on Instagram, and that got him some notoriety.”
In addition to killing it with their albums and live shows as Smoke Screen, Sheridan and Mynatt have held down a number of side projects during Smoke Screen's 15-year run. A couple of years ago, the group collaborated with the solo artist Ghost Noises to form Smoke Noises. That group even did a few East Coast tours together.
The new album, From the Yard, represents the band’s crowning achievement. The samples feature the kind of whimsical approach that made acts such as De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest famous.
“In a lot of ways, the new album is a return to form,” says Sheridan. “Our first album was self-produced, and it’s come full circle. The title is a reference to the neighborhood in South Euclid where we grew up, and the album is our love letter to Cleveland. For the production, we just wanted to have jazzy samples and jazzy instruments. The song ‘Time Flies’ is a sequel. The first song told the story of our first album, and now, we have 15 years of experience to pull from, which we reference in the song.”
“It’s been quite a ride,” adds Mynatt matter-of-factly.
The duo recorded the album at their home studio in Cleveland Heights, and Mynatt says the two will set up a home recording studio in Los Angeles, too.
“It’ll be improved,” he says. “It’ll be better and just way amplified.”
The upcoming Grog Shop show will feature the first time that the band’s solo projects will share the same bill. Sheridan’s Broken Keys and Mynatt’s Mooke Da God will open the concert. Broken Keys dropped a string of singles and collaborations since its 2019 full-length album, Distant Mood, was released. A follow-up to that album is slated for release this summer. Mooke Da God closed 2020 out with the release of the album Twenty Thirty and has the follow-up to that album currently in the works with a release date set for this year as well.
“It’s kind of sick,” says Sheridan. “We’re opening for ourselves. I’ll do a solo set, and Mooke will do a solo set, and then, we’ll do a Smoke Screen set. We’re up for a challenge. We chose the Grog Shop since they have helped us out so much over the years.”
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