Photo credit: Kalyn Oyer

Alt-rock group Smoking Popes and Local H’s Scott Lucas have teamed up for a new anti-Donald Trump protest single, “Allegiance,” set to release on Monday, Jan. 6. Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer shared with Brooklyn Vegan that the song was born out of his frustration and anger two days after the election. “So I picked up a guitar and poured some of those feelings into a song, which turned into this two-and-a-half-minute punk protest tune,” Caterer said. “It was written and recorded really quickly and we wanted to release it as soon as possible because it speaks to this moment we’re living in. And we’re excited that Scott was able to be part of it. He’s such a great singer…I think having his voice in there adds to the urgency of the message.”

Caterer also expressed concerns about potential threats to democracy in the coming years. “Based on what we’ve seen from Trump so far, there’s every reason to expect an all-out assault on democracy from him in the next few years, and it would be easy to feel hopeless about that, to just give up, but I’m confident that people will fight back. I don’t know what shape the resistance will take, but I think it starts with just lifting your voice and saying ‘No!’ to what’s happening. That’s a freedom we still have in this country and that’s what this song is trying to do.”

The band is also preparing to release a new album, Lovely Stuff, in March, though “Allegiance” won’t appear on it. Additionally, Smoking Popes will embark on a tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their album Born to Quit, with a stop at NYC’s TV Eye on May 20.