Smoking Popes at The Venue Aurora

Spitalfield was an alternative rock band based in Glen Ellyn, Chicago and signed to the Victory Records label. Formed in 1998, Spitalfield caught the attention of Victory Records with the 2002 release of The Cloak And Dagger Club EP and a year later released fan-favorite Remember Right Now. Spitalfield also released an album titled Stop Doing Bad Things in 2005 which featured songs like "Gold Dust V. The State Of Illinois" and "So I heard You Joined a Convent". The band's name comes from what members describe as a village where Jack the Ripper came from. The name for this location is actually Spitalfields, and it is not a village but a section of London's East End. In the summer of 2005 Bassist T.J. Minich departed from the band and TJ Milici came on board to take his place. In August of 2006, guitarist Dan Lowder left the band under "Personal Reasons" and was replaced with Jeff Meilander (formerly of Seven Days of Samsara and Bosio). However Lowder is the gutarist on the October 2006 release Better Than Knowing Where You Are. On September 10th 2007 the band announced on their Myspace that following a 25-date tour in November/December they will be 'calling it quits'. No official reason was given although they stated that 'this was absolutely nothing to do with a lack of passion for making music together or love for each other'. During the tour they will be selling a limited-edition album consisting of all their out-of print pre- Victory records back catalogue as well as selected demos from 1998-2002 through Sinister Label/Walk In Cold Records. This will only be made available at their final shows and through selected online stores. Mark Rose currently plays music as a solo artist. TJ & JD can be found playing locally around chicago & the surroding suburbs in their new band Thrillage