Kevin Smith

Who is Cpt. Captain?

Cpt. Captain is a Chicago-based indie-country band, influenced as much by our roots in old-school country music --harmonies harkening back to Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris-- as by the sprawling branches on our family tree of Chicago contemporaries. A well-seasoned group, with backgrounds in classical, jazz, and theatrical performance, as well as rock-and-roll, members currently share our talents with the likes of Moon Men, Ami Saraiya & the Outcome, Le Tour, Davenport Ed, Gussied, Cameron McGill, and the Morningsides.

Following the release of our debut EP Everything Is Easy Without you in 2011, we were pleased to share the stage with great bands like the Lumineers, Judson Claibourn, Ode, Lawrence Peters, Golden Horse Ranch Band, Ed and the Red Reds, Balto, and Tractor Kings, playing locally, regionally, and beyond.

Call us old fashioned, but Cpt. Captain still believes in the basics that built country music: three chords and the truth. Now, we might get fanciful with either (or both) of those building blocks in the course of any given tune, but they still hold up strong as ever.

It was with those basics and all our fancy in mind that we returned to Populist Recordings. The result was a full-length album, packed to the gills with sad-bastard songs that make you feel good about the awful truth; songs that make you laugh at life, even if you're mad; songs that take you... somewhere.

Get your permission slips signed, folks. It's almost time for a FIELD TRIP! Captains Kevin Smith, Shirley Rogiers, James Scott, Colin Campbell, and Mike Racky will be your foolhardy yet trustworthy chaperones. Pack your sack lunch, make sure all your shots are in order, buckle up, and be prepared! From underwater sea-creatures, to the sirens that break hearts; from dirt roads and city streets, to dirty rotten scoundrels you meet along the way; from the bowels of an old apartment building, to the crap you hear on tv; from theme song to lullaby this is going to be quite a trip.