In the heart of Oshkosh’s underground punk scene, a genre-defying group called Smoke Free Home has been rocking the community with their electrifying rhythms and honest, abrasive lyricism — without the help of a lead guitar. 

For the trio consisting of 29-year-old vocalist and primary songwriter Jesse Tubeszewski, 28-year-old Kevin Sonnleitner on bass, and 26-year-old Alex Lautenschlager on drums, the type of punk they produce puts them in a league of their own, blending raw punk intensity with infectious dance music. 

“We like to consider ourselves ‘dance-punk,’” Tubeszewski said. “We want it fast, we want it loud, and we want people to be able to move to it.” 

Inspired by Canadian rock duo Death from Above 1979, the absence of a guitarist might seem like a limitation, but Lautenschlager sees it otherwise, noting that Smoke Free Home’s dance-punk sound is an advantage to fit the energy of various showcases.

“I think the weird thing is that we fit in a lot of bills, punk, metal, whatever,” Lautenschlager said. “The genre of punk that we’re producing is a lot different, but it still has that edge to it. Sometimes we’ll play with some softer bands, and it still works.”

Formed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Smoke Free Home has garnered a loyal fanbase in their short run, drawing in large crowds and releasing their music digitally and physically, with their latest single “Fire Bug” being released on July 19.

Their previous EPs, “Nervous Wreck” and “Bad News,” were both made available on the unlucky day of Friday the Thirteenth, and the latter, with its simple, but daring, cover art of a burglar equipped with a crowbar, made way for humorous marketing strategies. 

“When we looked at the group of songs that we wanted to put on there, they’re all about bad things,” Tubeszewski said. “It’s bad things emotionally and socially, none of it’s real happy stuff. Collectively, it’s bad news. So, we thought it would be really cool that when we were promoting it, we could say ‘we’ve got bad news.’ And it worked.” 

The production of “Bad News” was done with the help of Gage Brunes, drummer of Madison garage rock band Lunar Moth, at his recording studio, Fuzz Tapes Studios. The recording process for “Bad News” was fun but did not come without its share of downfalls, with the hardest part being distance, Lautenschlager said.

“It was hard with how far away Gage was,” he said. “So, anything that we wanted to tweak, we would have to do it via phone, texting him or something. And there was nothing we could really do to be there to point out ourselves and be hands-on. Lunar Moth is touring all the time, so they’re busy people too, but he was very responsive.” 

In terms of “Bad News”’ track list, one song that stands out is a crowd favorite among Smoke Free Home’s ever-growing fanbase, a cacophonic thrash number about the horrors of dental insurance entitled “Pressure.” 

“It’s about being frustrated with dental bills,” Tubeszewski said. “And that’s something that I’ve dealt with most of my life. I think it’s a genetic thing, but I do have good insurance now. Don’t tell anyone. But I thought it’d be a funny song people could relate to.” 

Their live shows are as brash as they are encapsulating, with Tubeszewski rolling on the floor wrapped like a mummy in his microphone wire while Lautenschlager and Sonnleitner pound out rhythms with sticks and strings, rattling the bones of those in the mosh pit. 

“Our shows are nothing but high energy,” Tubeszewski said. “We’re going to go hard, and we’re not going to let up until our 30 minutes is up. Live shows are important for the youths. That’s what it always was for me. It was an opportunity to let go of some aggression and just physically express yourself and get that shit out. I take a lot of pride in my lyrics. I’m hoping that some of it is relatable. And God forbid it inspires somebody.”

Rather than a specific venue, the band gets the most enjoyment out of playing shows at houses owned by friends and fellow punk bands, where the energy is a lot more hectic and unexpected. 

“I feel like we’ve had a lot of intimate experiences at certain house shows where no bar or club holds a candle to a house show,” Sonnleitner said. “Everybody that comes there is there for music, not just the atmosphere. It’s more intimate, it’s wilder and crazier, especially being in a punk band.” 

“I’m never going to stop being surprised when I see people crowd surfing through a living room and kitchen,” Lautenschlager added. “People have lit off fireworks indoors. There are always all sorts of things happening. Once there were cans of beans and frozen turkeys getting thrown around.” 

Smoke Free Home follows the traditional DIY punk strategies of creating their own album art and tee shirts, as well as self-promotion through physical media rather than solely the convenience of social media in the modern digital age. 

“We still print off a lot of physical flyers and go hang them up,” Lautenschlager said. “We go to other shows that we’re not playing, hand out flyers to let people know. They crumple them up, we pick them back up.” 

Lautenschlager said that the small punk music scene of Winnebago County has potential to grow if given media coverage, but prefers the chaos to stay quiet. 

“It really takes knowing some of the people and going to the shows, otherwise it could totally slip you by,” Lautenschlager said. “We’ve got some decent coverage from outlets like Discover Oshkosh. But the underground punk scene could have a light shined on it. People could know more about what’s going on, but those kinds of media don’t touch on it. It’s kind of nice that way though.” 

The trio considers punk less a genre or clothing style, but rather a lifestyle and craft that is very different than the cliche of anarchy masking punk music. 

“Everyone thinks it’s just Doc Marten boots, hair gel, patches on your jackets, face piercings,” Tubeszewski said. “Punk means DIY, everything is done yourself. When you’ve got less people involved in telling you what to do, then you’re going to get a pure product. And I take pride in that.” 

“With Smoke Free Home specifically, it’s about the rawness of expressing those emotions through music,” Sonnleitner added. “Honestly, I’m very grateful to kind of like to be a part of it. There’s something about the raw emotions of everybody getting together and sharing that energy in that sweaty room together. It’s magical, it really is.” 

Smoke Free Home will be playing their final show of 2024 on Oct. 5 at the Strange LaGrange Music & Arts Festival in Whitewater.