When it came to selecting the band's name back in February, 2008, Dan Soule admits they didn't look much further than the Sunday funny pages.
"Andy Capp, of course," The Capps singer says of his moniker's origins. "I mean, what's not to love about a guy who lives for going to the pub for a pint, then going home to give the old lady a hard time?"
As evidenced by the lyrics in "Hockey Fighter," "See You Next Tuesday" and several other tracks on The Capps' recently released Broken Hands, Broken Hearts, Soule and his mates certainly didn't let the studio process dampen their spirits.
But still others, like the gritty title track and the runaway freight train disc closer "Emerger," elicit equally powerful images of anger, angst, fear and hope along the way. The disc offers a steady ebb and flow of all these emotions, coupled with The Capps' uncanny knack for crafting two-minute-30-second punk ditties that perfectly walk the line between melody and brazen brashness.
"The lyrical content pretty much all comes out of my everyday life experiences," Soule says. "Over the past years, I have been faced with divorce, personal and family relationship issues, the birth of my daughter and my battle with cancer."
Ghost Dog Records labelmates Creepin Cadavers have tapped The Capps to share the stage with them this Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Waterfront in Holyoke. The Creepy crew is similarly celebrating new studio product that evening, by the way… having just released an effort they call The Last Ride. For more info on the show, visit The Capps' Myspace at .com/holycrapitsthecapps.
Huh… surprised that URL wasn't taken?
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Meanwhile, here's a good news/bad news split concerning two Brits of considerable note.
On the positive tip, the most familiar face of The Fab Four, Sir Paul McCartney, has signed on to grace the Fenway faithful with two performances—Aug. 5 and 6—while the hometown team hits the road to tackle the Tampa Bay Rays and dreaded Yanks. Tix for both are on sale now at livenation.com.
On a decidedly more downbeat note, former Rolling Stoner Mick Taylor was forced to postpone his scheduled Aug. 4 Iron Horse play in Noho. According to reports, what was once diagnosed as mere dehydration has proven more severe, with Taylor reportedly hospitalized with a "blood clot in his chest and pleurisy."
Sounds bad, and would probably even be worse if we knew what pleurisy was, right? So let's Google it: "Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs."
Yeah, that's bad, all right. Here's wishing for a speedy recovery for Mr. Taylor.
Iron Horse Entertainment Group officials are feverishly working to reschedule the show for October or November. Obviously, all tickets already purchased will be honored for the make-up date. Those seeking refunds should contact the Northampton Box Office at (413) 586-8696.
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Last up, Brooklyn-based indie duo Kaiser Cartel appears to be on a major roll, garnering a steady stream of critical praise for its recently released March Forth and receiving word that two songs from said disc, "Favorite Song" and "Inside Out," will be featured in upcoming episodes of HBO's new series Bored to Death, coming up on the one-year anniversary of the jam-packed/non-stop tour they started nearly a year ago.
After a stop at Great Barrington's Club Helsinki this Friday, July 31, that tour continues clear through September, with the band finally stopping off in L.A. late that month for a studio session."
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
