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March 14, 2006
"I'm dying to tell you I'm dying"
I thought that lyric was so cool my freshman year in highschool. For those of you who have no idea who said that, it is my favorite emo band, Cap'n Jazz.
Better Propaganda had this to say:
Short-lived but highly influential, Cap'n Jazz helped transform emo from a deeply underground punk subgenre into a more widely accepted subset of indie rock. Not terribly popular or well-known outside of the Midwest, Cap'n Jazz's main contribution was stylistic - along with Pinkerton-era Weezer, they helped shift emo's always elusive musical focus from post-hardcore prog-punk to an arty but more accessible punk-pop. Their discography was as scant as it was rare, but that very obscurity helped build their underground legend through word of mouth, until a double-CD retrospective was finally issued several years after their breakup. By that time, most of the members had moved on to other, better-known emo bands, most notably Joan of Arc and the highly successful Promise Ring, which helped spread Cap'n Jazz's influence far beyond their original audience.
All I know is, they were way weirder than any other emo band I listened to. The guitarists were amazing (Victor Villareal, the "lead" guitarist actually still boggles my mind), but at the same time so sloppy. The vocals were off, and the lyrics even more so. It sounds like the soundtrack for drunk, suburban teenagers running around in their basement and eventually just falling down.
I had forgotten about them until spring break. I listened to them again, and I still love the music so much. Here are a few examples:
Puddle Splashers
Forget Who We Are
Little League
I understand if you don't like them. It's probably more of a nostalgia thing, give them a chance though!
Anyone else into/was into emo?
Posted by cory at March 14, 2006 11:00 PM
Comments
i love that band, and was strongly considering an emo post too! as regrettable as some of their offshoots seem now, i still really like capn jazz, and pull out the cd from time to time. i always fondly jet back to the simpler multi-band buttoned days of '99-00.
did you catch that owls show at the pop cafe in '02?
Posted by: todd at March 15, 2006 12:14 AM
nope, never seen them or any offshoot live.
Posted by: Cory Weaver at March 15, 2006 12:51 AM
when i was in highschool i loved cap'n jazz too, and braid, and promise ring and jazz june and christie front drive.
i started booking shows in grand rapids when this is all i listened to - having the oppurtunity to have the owls play in grand rapids was crazy to me.
but i pulled it off. i remember how crazy it was, so exciting - though now I know longer have that star struck feeling when i meet people who were so influential to my loving music and then promoting it.
in 1996 it was like, "dude - my friend saw Tim Kinsella's mom at the grocery store!," now its weird to have Tim Kinsella be a person I call up when I am in chicago or go have a beer with him while he is working at the Rainbow Club.
Posted by: benner at March 19, 2006 5:12 PM