Captain Peacock

The members of Longview's Captain Peacock want you to stop, rock and roll

By KATHERINE SAYRE

Friday, May 05, 2006

Eighties hair metal. Indie rock. Led Zeppelin and the jazz greats. James Taylor paired with the oldies.

What happens when the four owners of these divergent tastes in music decide to form a band? Captain Peacock playing dance rock.
Listen to Captain Peacock:

* "Do the Sprinkler"
* "It's Friday Night"

The four East Texans in Captain Peacock — two public school teachers, a computer programmer and a college student — say they started the group with the simple goal of having fun.

"A lot of musicians take themselves too seriously," said drummer Chris Craddock.

They want people at their shows to dance, or, as their lyrics demand: "Let the rhythm take control. Stop, rock and roll."

The four musicians took themselves seriously enough, though, to front the $6,500 to self-produce an album at a studio in Humble, just north of Houston. "Everybody Say Hey...Hey!" was recorded during six weekend sessions from October through January. The album is available locally at Hastings, 405 W. Loop 281 or CD's and More, 2527 Judson Road, or it can be purchased online at Cdbaby.com.

They've also booked a summer tour with a kick-off CD release party on May 13 in Longview, followed by shows in Denton, Austin, Dallas and other Texas venues.

Captain Peacock wasn't something the four members say they predicted being a part of.

"We were all in bands in middle school and high school, and we all swore we'd never do it again," said Craddock, a 29-year-old fan of '80s rock bands and a journalism and yearbook teacher at Longview High School. He even sold his drums about four years ago.

Last spring, though, Craddock joined friends Jason Tenner, 25, and Ben Owens, 24, for a session of disc golf, and the idea of starting a band emerged between throws. Tenner plays bass; Owens sings and writes the lyrics.

Tenner said Captain Peacock offers a complete change from the indie music scene with which he'd grown a bit tired.

"(Indie rock) is almost 100 percent about artistic integrity, and whether the audience enjoys your music is kind of irrelevant," said Tenner, a 25-year-old computer programmer who also plays guitar. "I guess I just wanted to start having fun at shows instead of everybody sitting around pouting."

The three friends knew the group needed a fourth member, so they turned to Ben Fort, a guitarist and keyboardist who attends Texas A&M University.

Fort, a fan of Led Zeppelin and jazz, had played in metal-core band Fallback, but said he also was tired of "the exclusiveness of the scene," and hadn't played in a band for a year.

It was Captain Peacock's "broad and open and popular music" style that influenced him to try again, he said.

"They just said, 'Well, we want to start a rock 'n' roll band, just a rock pop band," Fort said.

Craddock and Owens describe their brand of dance rock as a mix of '80s rock and disco.

"But a littler edgier," Owens said.

Owens, a Foster Middle School math teacher and oldies music fan, said he writes the lyrics to songs such as "It's Friday Night" or "Dancing on the Floor" to encourage dancing and having a good time.

One song — "Do the Sprinkler" — is a tribute to an '80s dance move that involves imitating a lawn-watering device.

Owens rhythmically belts out on the album, "We're like a treasure. We're way too big to measure. So for your listening pleasure, we're Captain Peacock." - Longview News-Journal

These guys nailed it. In a highly anticipated show, Captain Peacock made a suprise show announcement for Canton's Hawaii Club prior to the release of their EP, "Everybody Say Hey... Hey!" The band, obviously well-routined in performance, stole the audience away with its first song, Dancing on the Floor. And it didn't stop there. The band grinded through several more original songs such as "Stop, Rock & Roll," "Gettin' Busy" and "Let's Get Together" and kept the audience in the palm of its hands. Lead singer, Ben Owens, who once toured world-wide with the three tenors, is a classically trained singer who is self-admittedly ready to give up his day job for rock and roll.
"I have sung all styles of music in my lifetime and have been in numerous bands over the years," Owens stated. "But this band is the most fun and energized group I've ever been a part of. We're out to thow a party. If people aren't beaming by the end of the night, there's something wrong.
And Owens is right. With is distinct stage presence and faithful energy, fans respond to every one of his suggestions. At one point during the show, Owens had the entire audience doing "The Sprikler" which just so happens to be the name of one of Captain Peacock's songs.
"The sprinkler is a tounge-in-cheek song about the ultimate white man's dance," Owens quipped.
Look for Captain Peacock back in the area in May when they are playing the Hawaii Club again on May 13, and bring your party hat. - Local Grind