Josh Caterer

Josh Caterer of the Smoking Popes, is a Singer, Songwriter, and Guitarist.

While with Smoking Popes, Josh appeared on the movie soundtracks "Clueless", Tommy Boy", and "Angus" , opened for Green Day, toured with Jimmy Eat World, and Morrisey, who said this about them: "extraordinary, the most lovable thing I'd heard in years.". 
Their 2005 reunion show sold out in 36 minutes. 
Josh has also opened for Weezer.

The SPACE Sessions

Josh Caterer

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The SPACE Sessions follows in the footsteps of his critically-acclaimed early 2021 release The Hideout Sessions, which was recorded at the beloved small Chicago venue that album took its title from. Caterer reunites with bassist John San Juan (Hushdrops) and drummer John Perrin (NRBQ) for another electrifying performance, this time recorded at

The SPACE Sessions follows in the footsteps of his critically-acclaimed early 2021 release The Hideout Sessions, which was recorded at the beloved small Chicago venue that album took its title from. Caterer reunites with bassist John San Juan (Hushdrops) and drummer John Perrin (NRBQ) for another electrifying performance, this time recorded at SPACE, an intimate concert hall on the city’s north side.

In keeping with the format of The Hideout Sessions, this powerful, poppy trio performed to empty house, live-streaming as a virtual concert event. Josh and his cohorts played with all the inspired intensity of the performance at the Hideout, but with an even more tangible sense of self-assurance. The band tears through an ambitious setlist including visionary arrangements of standards like the Etta James’ classic “At Last”, Frank & Nancy Sinatra’s “Somethin’ Stupid” (delivered here as a stirring duet between Josh and his daughter Phoebe) and a handful of original compositions, spanning the breadth of Caterer’s impressive songwriting catalog. Caterer first burst onto the Chicago punk scene in 1991 with Smoking Popes who he formed with his brothers Eli and Matt. From their early indie releases to their critically acclaimed major label albums, Smoking Popes developed a unique blend of buzzsaw guitars, caffeinated rhythms and heartfelt crooning vocals.

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Latest Music

The Hideout Sessions

Josh Caterer

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The Hideout Sessions stands as a powerful and highly listenable document of Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer stretching out with a new band of accomplished players for a one-night-only, live-to-tape recording. The album is being released by Pravda Records on 12” vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve, CD, as digital download and via streaming platforms on

The Hideout Sessions stands as a powerful and highly listenable document of Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer stretching out with a new band of accomplished players for a one-night-only, live-to-tape recording. The album is being released by Pravda Records on 12” vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve, CD, as digital download and via streaming platforms on March 26.

On October 28th, 2020, Caterer joined forces with John San Juan (Hushdrops) and John Perrin (NRBQ) to rock out 21st century versions of songs your grandparents used to dance to “back in the day.” They covered a few Popes songs, too. It was an inspired evening of music.

The recording took place on stage at the Hideout, one of Chicago’s most beloved intimate music venues. Due to the pandemic, the Hideout’s doors had been closed to the public for several months, and the room had to be empty for this performance, save for the skeleton crew of sound engineers who captured the event. As Josh and his band recorded the album, the entire thing was live-streamed as a ticketed virtual concert.

The result was a high-quality rock show – raw, sweet, honest and cathartic. Harnessing the unique blend of punk energy and Sinatra-style sophistication that has made Caterer’s work with the Smoking Popes so enduring, The Hideout Sessions throws a surprising mix of musical ingredients into the power-pop blender, and what comes out is a truly satisfying and savory sonic experience.

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