Captain of Compliments

Sometimes young musicians know too much about the music industry for their own good. They can toss around terms like "recoupable advance" and "licensing royalties," but yet couldn't write a decent hook if their lives depended on it. They can calculate every step of their supposed careers with precision, from the vintage rock shirts to the perfect application of guy-liner, but they've overlooked one important fact: You just can't fake the music.

Then you've got bands like pop-punkers CAPTAIN OF COMPLIMENTS, who in one short year have earned the kind of exposure and experience that money can't buy – an accomplishment made even sweeter by the fact that they didn't plan any of it. Just ask singer Brandon Gepfer, whose doe-eyed enthusiasm is almost as infectious as his band's music.

"This past year has been unreal," Gepfer says with a hint of bewilderment. "We started playing shows with regularity, and the reaction has been amazing! Kids give us positive feedback, buy our CDs, and even ask us to sign their shirts."

The recent frenzy is due in large part to CAPTAIN OF COMPLIMENTS' honest-sounding music, a bizarro mish-mash of influences like AT THE DRIVE-IN, SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE, and MODEST MOUSE that ends up sounding – as taste-making webzine Absolute Punk phrased it in a recent glowing review – "unlike most [music] you've heard."

To say that the band's sound meanders is, at best, an understatement. And yet, where that would normally be considered a detriment, CAPTAIN OF COMPLIMENTS somehow use the schizophrenia to their advantage, deftly blurring the lines between their influences. The end result of this musical trickery is a driving, semi-dark rock and roll riot, perfectly displayed on the band's self-released eponymous debut EP.

"Musically, I definitely feel it is across the board," Gepfer explains of their freshman effort. "There are some punk roots, and a little bit of pop. I suppose I have trouble defining our music, but on the other hand, that was actually one of our goals – to make music that just wasn't for the scene kids, or the punk rockers. We wanted to write something for everyone."

Thus far, it seems that they've succeeded. In addition to winning over music fans of every stripe and wowing critics, the EP helped CAPTAIN OF COMPLIMENTS get the attention of promoters around their home state of Pennsylvania, resulting in sold-out shows alongside underground-turned-mainstream powerhouses like the GYM CLASS HEROES, THE PINK SPIDERS and ANBERLIN.

While the band's history spans barely over 12 months, it's already enough of an uplifting story to rebuild one's confidence in the music business. For once – maybe just this once – everything is going according to plan. 1) A band makes compelling music and 2) fans take notice and start flocking to shows until 3) the press has no choice but to acknowledge the bubbling phenomenon.

"Most of all, we just want to get heard by everyone," Gepfer says with that endearing honesty.

"I really feel that if people heard us, they would love us. That's a little arrogant, I suppose, but I just have that feeling," he laughs with the disarming sincerity that shows that he doesn't possess an arrogant bone in his body. "For us, now is the time to do something. We are young, moderately attractive and we have no family ties. So, it's something we want to try. If we don't succeed, no big deal, we had fun."

If the past year is any indication, failure isn't anywhere on the menu. CAPTAIN OF COMPLIMENTS are like a snowball rolling downhill, getting ever larger as it continues to pick up speed, and it's debatable whether the members could stop it even if they wanted to.

And to think – it all happened without a hint of guy-liner.