Dave Smalley has more than earned his stripes (as well as his credibility) in the realm of punk rock. Fronting legendary punk acts like DYS, Dag Nasty, and All (stylized all-caps), The 62-year-old’s name has long been a fixture in the rise of punk music in America. In the late 1980s, Smalley formed and led Down By Law, a pop-punk band that scored several notable album releases on Epitaph Records, which, at the time, had gained quite a reputation for signing fresh, new punk bands to its roster.
But for all the sweat time he’s put into the genre and the lifestyle, Smalley is now most excited about his newest project: Light a Fire in the Rain, a two-LP solo album which defies genres, sounds, and moods, and is the product of a long-realized wish he’s been wanting to fulfill for years. Enlisting a vast array of musicians from around the world to lend their talents to this project (to include Down By Law bandmate and local guitar wiz, Sam Williams III), Smalley has assembled a release that definitely sounds like it’s the record he’s been waiting to create for a long time. He’s even gotten his two adult sons on board, Griffin and Colter (who each front their own punk bands in their respective hometowns), to share co-lead vocals on a track called “Sound of Fire” which Smalley himself is ecstatic about.
Despite battling some health issues throughout the recording of this album, Smalley was determined to get it done and to pay his respects to all the musicians who pitched in and helped make this such a vast and varied collection of songs.
In total disclosure, I was elated that Smalley asked me to pen the liner notes for his upcoming release, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. In speaking to Smalley about this album and picking up on the enthusiasm he’s expressed about it, especially when it comes to his elation for all the musicians he got the chance to work with on it,, I got the impression that this is more of a community effort for which he got the chance to share his musical vision with some of his contemporaries, friends, and family members.
I recently had the chance to ask Smalley about the project in anticipation of its forthcoming release date. Here’s what he had to say about his forthcoming solo release:
On which formats will the new album be available? Will it be released on vinyl only? Or on other formats too?
The initial vision is for vinyl. This is going to be super unique, and I want to support vinyl and a small, cool indie label. It will be a double vinyl release, with all kinds of cool bonuses, a full trifold lyric sheet, and cool limited edition colored vinyl. Some will have hidden fun stuff like guitar pics or whatever. Hopefully, this will be a real joy to have and something people will love. Down the road, we may do a digital release but, at first, just vinyl. Only a very limited pressing, too! Hoping this will be a really intimate, special thing. Most importantly, the songs are gorgeous — the players are so talented on this — it’s incredible how great the musicians are on this album.
“The process was beautiful chaos.”
Dave Smalley
How do you feel your long career as a fixture on the punk rock scene has prepared you for the writing, recording, and release of this new album?
You know, a very good writer I know who happened to write liner notes for this album, said (I’m paraphrasing here) that this is the album that all my prior experiences and bands have been leading up to. I think that is a great way of viewing it. If you are a fan of mine, or of Dag Nasty, Down By Law, ALL, or DYS, I know you will love this – but be excited that this is super unique, too. One thing I’ve always done, unconsciously, but people have mentioned it to me often, has been to never be a repeat of myself in different bands. So, for instance, DYS sounds very different from ALL. It always should be honest, and musically reflect who you are at a given point in life, both spiritually and age-wise, and even geographically. And this album reflects who I am at an “Obi-Wan from A New Hope” age, as I like to put it. Like, there is definitely plenty of electric guitar, but there is also some acoustic guitar, and even harmonica and a couple of strings, for instance. Griffin Smalley, one of my brilliant and talented sons who sang one song on this album (both sons did, woot!), said that the songs on this album are equal parts gritty city and remote mountain.
What do you think your longtime fans will find most surprising about this new solo release?
I think longtime fans will be surprised, and hopefully love, the diversity of songwriting (hopefully) and the wide array of instrumentation. For instance, Matt Morris, who played drums and percussion on multiple songs, told me he was going to use a djembe on one of the tracks. I had no idea what that was; and then, when I heard it, I was like ‘oh man, that was brilliant.’ I have found myself playing harmonica a lot more in recent years, so a few songs have harmonica. I played bass on one song as well, which I think is a first in my career, at least first time recording — I wrote [DYS track] “Wolf Pack” at age 18, on Jonathan Anastas’ (he plays a killer bass track on this album) leftie bass in our chaos central, punk rocker filled dive apartment in Boston—but I had never since written a song on bass until now, and never recorded a bass track. That was super fun, and I was really happy how it came out.
I also think fans will be surprised by the diverse playing of the players—because the songs touch different vibes and genres, the musicians, who are all incredible players but most importantly to me, dear friends, reflected the songs brilliantly. So, for instance, Sam Williams III (a Brandon/Tampa legend, by the way!) of Down By Law and Black Valley Moon fame, does some absolutely beautiful harmonies here — most people think of him as a legendary guitarist (which he is), but here was another side of him. And Bill Stevenson (ALL/Descendents, Black Flag, many more) played drums in such an amazing way on one song — since the song vibe was so different, he, as a master musician, felt the vibe and enhanced it beautifully. I wanted this album to be positive karma and everyone stretching their wings—and from the album design to the label to the songwriting to the players, it really ended up being beautiful.
How did the decisions to experiment with different sounds and styles on this record come about? And how did you decide which songs to cover for this release?
I think songwriting needs to be heart first, then head… like, I would hate to be a songwriter for others, being told “OK, now go write a rock hit for a rock band, or a pop hit for artist XYZ,” you know? Or to be in one genre forever. I love to grow, to stretch musical wings, to soar. When I got out of the hospital in 2023 from my second near-death, month-long stay, I started writing — and the songs were just coming out a bit differently. And that increased when I realized this was going to be a solo record. There were no rules, no expectations, just me and a guitar and lots of time: a dangerous combination! So it is real and honest and pure.
There is only one cover song on the album that had an interesting story: I mentioned to Sam Williams III and Matt Morris wanting to do a cover. I offered four ideas: Jimmy Cliff’s “You Can Get It If You Really Want”; The Police’s “Tea in the Sahara”; The Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider”; and Big Star’s “When My Baby’s Beside Me.” Matt was good with any of them, but Sam instantly replied which one he wanted to do: The Police track. And I think part of that was that he knows my voice really well, and could hear in his mind how it would sound on that song. And he was spot on — it came out great with his very unique playing.
How did the process and preparation for this new album differ from the other records you’ve recorded in the past?
The process was beautiful chaos—so many players, so many locations, me tracking when I could, adding new songs at the last minute. Crazy cool, but also crazy. It wasn’t a case at all where I went into the studio and recorded all 20 songs as rough mixes, and then sent them out to 16 other musicians/friends in any kind of order. Rather, it was me sending a bunch of talented friends song roughs recorded to my phone, sometimes with a click track, sometimes just raw, and then them writing their parts and then recording when they had time, then me going in and tracking the vocals. Everyone put their heart and soul into this—and it really shows. I am so grateful to them all.
What are you proudest of, in regard to this new album?
I think the diversity, and the karma. It is pure and honest and beautiful. It is friendship and hope in a joyful ride that you can enjoy again and again.
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This article appears in Apr. 23 – 29, 2026.