Grayson Capps

Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers create a bitchin’ bluesy blend of Southern folk rock. Capps is a bona fide blues-rock musician, but before anything else, he is foremost a storyteller -- and a masterful one at that. As soon as he spoke his first few introductory words at World Café Live this past Sunday evening, every single set of ears in the audience immediately zeroed in on his voice like a radar missile homing in on its target. If storytelling is an art form, then Grayson Capps is the Michelangelo of his craft.

Grayson’s distinctive and full-bodied voice is an instrument in and of itself. Reminiscent of Muddy Waters, he enunciates his sandpaper words with a strong yet comprehensible backwater drawl. But similar to James Earl Jones, his low voice resonates from a place deep within his chest and commands attention. We obliged to this command as we willfully handed over our undivided attention for the entirety of the two-hour set.

So aside from his melodious set of pipes and booming voice box, what else makes Grayson Capps an extraordinary storyteller?

It is nearly impossible to clearly define the greatness of great art. Because if something is exceptional enough to mesmerize us, then its magic works in a cunningly covert manner – all of a sudden we realize we’ve become spellbound, yet we can’t recall the process of actually falling under the spell. So whatever captivating combination it is that makes a great storyteller “great” – a uniquely appealing tonal quality of the voice, the ability to effortlessly seize an audience’s attention, a musical rhythm of speech -- Grayson has it.

But not only does Grayson have the vocal qualities of a storyteller, he also has the stories of a storyteller. He sings them in the lyrics of many of his songs, and if you’re lucky enough to see him live, you’ll be treated to spontaneous tales that you won’t find on his albums.

One such example of an impromptu story occurred somewhere in the beginning of the set when Grayson introduced the song “Ike” from his fourth and most recent album Rott ‘N’ Roll, which was released in 2008 on the independent label Hyena Records. Leading up to the song, Grayson told us about a trip down the Mississippi River that involved (among other things) a bad mushroom trip, timber wolves, a rusty “gold” tooth, and two kids named Skooter and Bear. In retrospect these tidbits don’t seem to have any connection at all. But sure enough, during the show Grayson spun his storytelling magic and somehow arrived logically at “Ike,” a sad and sleepy song about a man who runs a brothel of five-dollar-women from his floorless shack.

A highlight of the night was the opener of the set, “Back to the Country,”** which is also the opener of Rott ‘N’ Roll. In this raucous romper Grayson emphatically extols the state where he was born and raised. By the end of the tune we know he loves debauchery, Alabama, and debauchery in Alabama. The rollicking nature of this country-lovin’ song set the tone for the entire evening, just as it sets the tone for the entire album.

On a side note, some naughty-minded people (including me) originally thought “stumpknockers” was a provocative innuendo. Grayson assured us that a “stumpknocker” is an innocent nickname for a type of fish that inhabits muddy-bottomed bodies of water. But frankly, I am still not completely convinced that the term “stumpknockers” isn’t Southern slang referring to the bulbous parts of a man’s nether regions.

And speaking of Southern regions, the Dirty South should feel honored to have its rich musical tradition carried on so superbly and authentically by Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers. Because for the entire night these guys were smokin,’ especially so on “Big Black Buzzard,” a guitar-riffin’ and percussion-poundin’ carnival of sounds that grooves like old-timey swing on speed.

But close to the end of the night, the band showed off their expert chops at length with a fifteen minute instrumental jam session containing a smorgasbord of solos and improvisation. Amanda Shires, the opening act, was called to stage and got down and dirty with her fiddle. It was striking to watch such a petite and dainty girl hold her own against the big boys, proving that regardless of size, she is an equally impressive knocker of stumps. At this point, the complete performance was absolutely red hot. What was cooking all night was brought to a spellbinding boil.

And while under the spell, you get the feeling that Grayson has invited you into his country home and is serving you a hearty dish of swampy secrets that have been simmering in a spicy and steamy Southern stew.

Beacause listening to Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers is like jambalaya for your eardrums. - PHILADELPHIA EXAMINER

Grayson Capps is not just a seriously good songwriter – if one who has relied quite heavily at times on the exaggerated color of deep-south character sketches – he's also an entertainer of the rarest sort: a master of variety, humor and engaging storytelling who manages to seem warm and familiar and larger-than-life at the same time. (In point of fact, he majored in theater at Tulane, which explains a lot.)

Anyone who has seen Capps live already knows his theatrical strengths. Rott 'N' Roll, his fourth album for Hyena Records, helps drives those strengths home. It lacks the epic stories he tells onstage to introduce songs and let the audience in on his characters' eccentricities; including those would have made this a two-disc set. But it's by far his most varied offering to date, with country (of shuffle, ballad and rockabilly varieties), boozy sing-alongs, slow-burning R&B, hill country blues, ferocious rock, and even spoken-word poetry. The Stumpknockers, his backing crew, are in fine, ragged-edged, bar-band form.

Capps' sense of humor shows. He can be joyfully coarse (as in "Big Ole Woman", a new take on an old blues theme) or grin at the thought of behaving badly (as he does during "Psychic Channel Blues"). The poem here – "Fear Fruit Bearing Tree" – comes off as a dramatic, philosophical moment, but it's immediately followed by "Sock Monkey", a rock 'n' roll number centered on the lyrics, "Sock monkey, X's for eyes." That's clearly the work of someone who takes himself just seriously enough. - No Depression

When I reviewed Grayson Capps last album, Songbones (Hyena Records), I said, ".....great stuff with great feel." His new release, Rott "N" Roll (Hyena Records) is a more in-your-face all things Southern fusion of Townes Van Zant and Drive By Truckers. Rott "N" Roll is a mix of roadhouse rock, sanctified Southern soul and country blues, the hollerin' kind. He and his band, the Stumpknockers, are hugely successful in Europe. I asked if the Europeans understood his unique writings about the South. He replied, "They couldn't possibly get a lot of it, but for the most part they get what I'm putting out. I had a professor that once said, 'People might not get your truths but they will get a truth'." He goes on, "All I can do is write about what I know, I can't pretend to be anything that I am not, like in any art, if you are truthful, it will translate." Tuscaloosa, we get our translation when Grayson Capps & The Stumpknockers bring "Rott 'N' Roll" to Little Willie's Saturday, October 25th.

Grayson Capps tells us he was conceived in the back seat of a Pontiac Tempest in Brewton, Alabama but was born in Opelika on April 17, 1967. That was the beginning of the "summer of love." His daddy had just gotten out of the Army and was preaching at a Baptist church in Augusta, Georgia and his mama was a student at Auburn University. His daddy gave up preaching, joined his mama at Auburn and moved back to Brewton after they both graduated. He lived there until he was in the 7th grade when they moved to Fairhope.
Being a product of the 60's, he remembers growing up to the music of the 70's. He says, "The 60's caught up with South Alabama in the 70's." Grayson has memories of a man named Fred Stokes coming by with his beat up Martin guitar, along with Bobby Long making music with his daddy. They would sit in front of a Realistic tape recorder, drinking, smoking and singing.

Grayson only had one guitar lesson when he was 15 years old. He said, "I realized right then, it was all about repetition and practice which for the most part is just a hell of a lot of work." His first gig was when he was 18 years old at a Japanese Restaurant in Fairhope. He laughs and says, "It was terrible."
He also got involved with theater and earned a partial scholarship to Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He majored in theater, primarily acting, and graduated in 1989 with a BFA. I asked if he had aspirations of becoming an actor. He replied, "I pretty much am, if you get called acting, when you are acting, then you are doing something wrong. The only thing I learned was how to tell the truth, that's pretty much what people pay attention to. In this day and age, I think you got to be psychic, because you can't trust a damn thing anybody says, so your psychic abilities have to get a lot stronger so you can tell the truth from a lie. Acting is what I do all the time. It's a question of living I guess." There are 2 main forces that drove Grayson Capps to become a singer-songwriter. One was his interest in acting, the other his fascination with prophet figures. He was influenced by a professor who believed that (in Grayson's words) "the real live theater of today, outside the big cities, is rock and roll." He fully embraced that notion.

While at Tulane, he started playing guitar with bass player-grad student Pete Ficht and drummer-fellow acting student Sterling Roig. They started a band called the House Levellers. He explains, "....actually a bunch of actors acting like musicians. We didn't know how to play a damn thing, but we knew how to put on a show. It became a question of, do I want to do soap operas, or go to New York and go through the rigmarole of being on Broadway, or do I want to do theater now? I wanted to do theater now, and most immediate access to that was playing music in bars." As for his fascination with religious figures, that came from Grayson's daddy, a renegade high school teacher who instilled in his son a love of literature and philosophy. "My daddy had all kinds of religions he threw at me," he says, "I was captivated by the idea of prophets, and by Jesus Christ. One day while I was home visiting from school, I went to my great-grandmother's church. The preacher said, 'If Jesus were here today, where would he be? Would he be here, inside this church? No, he would be in the bars, and in the brothels, where people need him.' I thought, 'Damn, I want to figure something out, and offer something, but that's my world.' That's what started me in this direction."

The House Levellers called their music 'thrash-folk' which got them signed by Tipitina's record label. They bought a 1977 Plymouth Voyager van and toured America for 3 years non-stop. They opened for Crowded House, were on the cover of USA Today, and in Sassy Magazine. They were becoming famous. Most of the time they slept on people's floors or in the van, barely able to afford gas to get to the next gig. Tensions arose from too much junk food, too much time on the road and climaxed in a huge blowout in Charleston, West Virginia. He was 22 going on 50.

He and some friends returned to New Orleans where they lived in a shotgun house owned by a one-legged man, who went bankrupt and died soon after they moved in. After his death, no one claimed the building, so they stayed there rent free for a couple of years. They played on the streets for food. He was writing songs and they started a band, Stavin' Chain. Grayson was the singer-rhythm guitar player, and John Lawrence was the lead guitar player. They hired rhythm sections. They played slide driven roots rock with lyrics centered around characters full of desperation, nicotine, loneliness and alcohol. One night after a gig they were approached by 2 women that were filming a documentary called Anthem. They wanted them to provide the music for Anthem because they embodied an honest form of Americana they wanted portrayed in their film. 5 songs were used. They got to go to L.A. and New York to promote the movie's debut. This led to opening for bands like the Wallflowers, Koko Taylor and Jeff Buckley. One evening at Tipitina's, Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones sat in with a 20 minute version of "Hideaway," while Mick Jagger sat at the bar drinking water. Stavin' Chain got signed to Ruf Records out of Germany, put out a CD distributed by Polygram Records. Their rhythm section had played on the Stones' record Bridges of Babylon and in Keith Richards band the Ex-pensive Winos. They were touring the U.S. and Europe, they had international distribution and a full page ad in the Village Voice. Then Polygram merged with Universal and dropped their record, their record label went bankrupt, the band broke up.

After Anthem, the producers wanted to do a film about New Orleans. Grayson told them about a book his daddy had written (based on Bobby Long and Fred Stokes) that had never been published. They fell in love with the book and wanted Grayson to do the music for the film. In due time, they called saying they wanted Grayson to be in the movie with John Travolta playing Bobby Long and Scarlett Johanson as the female lead. He taught John Travolta songs he remembered from his youth sang by Fred Stokes, Bobby Long and his daddy. He had 6 songs in the movie, A Love Song For Bobby Long.

Grayson now lives in Franklin, Tennessee on a farm that once raised thoroughbreds. The Thoroughbred barn has burned down but his place has a creek that runs through it and it's own cave. His band is now the Stumpknockers, which is the name of the little bream he and his granddaddy caught when they fished together. The Stumpknockers are Tommy MacLuckie (lead guitar), Josh Kerin (bass) and Mobile native, John Milham (drums). The unique photo for Rott "N" Roll was taken in his back yard. The message is that he is running away (riding a tricycle) from the cigarettes & alcohol and is going toward a candle which is representative of steering his life toward the the light. That wagon is still sitting in his back yard. Rott "N" Roll was recorded there at his farm. His farm grows music much more than livestock and vegetables these days.

His desire is to be able to fly out and perform anyplace in the world on the weekend and have the rest of the week to spend with his family. He's very pleased with his deal with Hyena Records. He says, "It's mostly like a small family. They are on my side to help book and help me promote stuff. They do what they can. I still own everything like publishing, and licenses these records out for distribution. They are on my side, they don't have the money like the big guys, but them being on my side helps sometimes more than money. It works perfect for me because being an only child, pig headed, arrogant dude that thinks he can ram his way into anything, means that sometimes I shoot myself in the foot, and they are there to kind of pick me up, and push me forward." - Tuscaloosa Planet Weekly

Beer stained floorboards, trailer parks, prostitutes, and hard luck are the world of Grayson Capps. His hard driving blend of Southern soul, country blues, and back country stomp was dubbed “Rott ‘N’ Roll” by his fans in New Orleans and is the title of his fourth album.

Grayson Capps is an articulate and insightful writer. A poet-laureate of the underclass. Born and raised in south Alabama, Capps was first introduced to music while his father and friends sat around drinking, telling stories, and playing and singing the classic songs of Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, Tom T. Hall, and others.

Grayson Capps took up music and writing songs and poetry while on scholarship at Tulane University. During his years in New Orleans he formed two bands that saw moderate success. The devastation of Katrina forced Capps to leave his home in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. Since August 2005 he has been living in Franklin, Tennessee when not on the road.

Rott 'N' Roll is a superb follow-up to his 2006 post-Katrina album Wail & Ride (reviewed on the Bus here.) Grayson Capps’ ability to paint a picture with words invokes comparison with such great poet songwriters as Townes Van Zandt and Tom Waits. Frets magazine called him the “Bard of the Bayou.” The poignant tales are put to music by Capps’ band, the Stumpknockers (Tommy MacLuckie on lead guitar, Josh Kerin on bass, and John Milham on drums.) The liner notes state that Rott 'N' Roll was recorded over a few days at Capps’ farmhouse studio. The relaxed sound of good friends enjoying a good time comes through in the recordings.

Grayson Capps & the Stumpknockers are currently touring the South before heading to Europe in November. Check tour dates here for a memorable evening of “Rott 'N' Roll.” - Old Blue Bus

Early in this rural travelogue of an album, Grayson Capps finds an arrowhead in the dirt and makes you care about that for three and a half minutes. Finding meaning in such piddly events is what a good songwriter does. Doing so in a lively, roots-rock setting is what Capps does here.

The mood here is largely a throwback to the late ’60s and early ’70s, when rock songwriters went back to the country to get their proverbial heads together (It even opens with a song called “Back to the Country”). Of course, Capps went back there for different reasons—there are flood and storm references in more than one song—but a sense of quiet rejuvenation runs through the album, even when it rocks. And it’s not all sweetness and light, as the narrative “Ike” finds the singer having a chance meeting with the prostitute next door. Here again, Capps applies his storytelling mettle to suggest a lot more than actually winds up happening.

The sound here is suitably warm and vintage; Capps’ having the gifted producer/engineer Trina Shoemaker as a partner surely doesn’t hurt. As a roots album with a somber edge, this slots comfortably next to the latest efforts from Anders Osborne and the Drive-By Truckers. But Capps still has a foot in the bar-band world, which isn’t a bad thing: The blues-rocker “Big Black Buzzard” and the crass but funny “Big Ole Woman” are the kind of piledrivers that his former band Stavin’ Chain used to specialize in. The loose concept does fall apart on the end—the doomsaying spoken track “Fear Fruit Bearing Tree” seems a little out of place—but there are worse ways to end an album than with five minutes’ worth of slide guitar slinging. - offBeat.com: Louisiana and New Orleans' Music Resource