The Smoking Flowers Announce New LP Inspired By Struggle With & Victory Over Cancer

Being huge Leonard Cohen fans, it was a no brainer for East Nashville duo The Smoking Flowers (Kim and Scott Collins) to want to record one of his meticulously written pieces. This, combined with the band's love for the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, made Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel" the perfect choice.

LISTEN: "CHELSEA HOTEL"

"Our favorite neighborhood in Manhattan has always been Chelsea. We even considered moving there to make that neighborhood our home," explains Scott. "And once, while on tour years ago, we had the good fortune of staying at the Chelsea Hotel before it's demise. During our intoxicating stay there, Kim roamed the ghostly halls one night, conjuring spirits from the past, and ran across the front desk clerk at 3 a.m. who offered to take her on a private tour. He told her of the history that filled that brick and mortar, including showing her the room of the Sid and Nancy 'incident' and the room where Janis Joplin would stay when she lived there. 'Chelsea Hotel' was famously written about Janis, but Leonard always regretted spilling the beans on that fact," he continues. "With our duet arrangement, Kim gets to sing the infamous line 'giving me head on the unmade bed,' which gives the song a different twist gender-wise. The cover art for this single is a photograph that Kim took with an old film camera... it's the actual bedspread at the Chelsea Hotel."

"Chelsea Hotel" appears on the band's forthcoming LP Snowball Out Of Hell, due out June 21st. The song follows the release of "Let's Get Happy" which features Deer Tick's John McCauley, and "(Still) Here For You Now." The acoustic album follows 2018's rock-oriented Let's Die Together; both albums will be released together as a deluxe double album digitally and on vinyl. Both albums were conceived during Kim's battle-and later triumph-over an aggressive form of breast cancer; the cancer is in remission today due to only using holistic and alternative methods and to adopting a raw food diet (no chemotherapy, no radiation, no hormones). In the wake of this journey, Kim and Scott took life by the reins and hit the road in their vintage Volvo 240 station wagon, touring across America and Canada for three years. With this life-altering experience to draw upon and years of intense touring under their belt, the couple then tapped even deeper into their raw rock, punk and folk roots in the composition of Let's Die Together and Snowball Out of Hell. The urgency present in these recordings is undeniable, a true story of love and triumph.

LISTEN TO "LET'S GET HAPPY (ft. JOHN McCAULEY)"

LISTEN TO "(STILL) HERE FOR YOU NOW"

WATCH "HERE 4 U NOW"

With influences that range from Led Zeppelin to Gillian Welch, and The Ramones to Neil Young, The Smoking Flowers' chemistry is palpable as Kim dances between strings and percussion while Scott plays electric and acoustic guitar, and harmonica--she delivers her own sensual, simmering vocals, while his is the voice of a feisty, gin-battered, heart-on-sleeve, hardscrabble troubadour. The Collinses, who founded charitable organization The Treasure Chest, continue to be activists and advocates for holistic and alternative medicine and healing. Their music and lives have been an influence on many East Nashville artists, being early pioneers of the now popular underground scene. "Chelsea Hotel" is available for download HERE.

The Smoking Flowers On Tour:

May 23 - Sly Grog Lounge - Asheville, NC

May 24 - Scruffy City Hall - Knoxville, TN

May 25 - Smith's Olde Bar - Atlanta, GA

May 30 - LIVE LIXX on Ocean98 (98.1 FM) - Ocean City, MD

May 31 - Stoltz Listening Room at The Avalon Theatre - Easton, MD

June 1 - Burley Oak Brewing Co. - Berlin, MD

June 5 - Coney Island Baby - New York, NY

June 7 - Annabell's - Akron, OH

June 22 - The Basement - Nashville, TN (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)

Photo credit: John Botkin

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