band photos courtesy of Tony Bonacci
[Editor's note: This feature is a preview for Capgun Coup's CD release show at the Zoo Bar in Lincoln tonight alongside Entendre Entendre and Professor Plum. The show is $5 and starts at 9 p.m.]
The cataclysmic shift in style for Omaha’s Capgun Coup is by no means a calamity-fueled transition. They've passed on their days of booze-soaked, late-night, floor-pummeling sing-alongs to another generation of youthful talent.
The gap between real life and carnivals of carnage is more apparent these days.
Contextual Doom, the band’s third album, released on L.A.-based ORG Music, is a subversive attempt to strip away coated presumptions. The content is honest. The attitude is straightforward. The mentality is humble yet fearless of taking new directions.
Huddled around the kitchen table of my second-floor Benson roost, Capgun Coup talks about the approach behind the new album and their expectations for the future.
“It’s like a time capsule,” says guitarist Jesse McKelvey, pacing the wooden floors of my apartment as he references the recording process. “A lot of the songs were recorded at different times, and then all put together in the end.”
For the first time, the band had complete control over their sound and schedule while recording Contextual Doom, which gave them a sense of comfort.
“We’ve always wanted to record at home instead of a studio,” says keyboardist and vocalist Greg Elsasser. “So the tracks are demos because we didn’t record in a studio, but at the same time they’re not demos because it was how we wanted to record.”
The only drawback to not having access to a studio was a lack of recording equipment.
“It would have been nice to have more gear, and in the future we might need that to attain different sonic qualities,” says guitarist and vocalist Sam Martin, sitting at the head of the table. “But it just kind worked out serendipitously that the aesthetic fit well with what we had.”
After the release of Contextual Doom, Capgun Coup will map out a route to L.A. and focus strictly on that outlet to deliver their material. In turn, the band hopes this will be much more valuable than spending just one night in each town on a tour.
“This is a chance to meet people who won’t necessarily be exposed to you as a person,” Martin says. “If we’re playing multiple shows in one city, it gives people the chance to see you more than once. It makes a more accurate opinion of you and allows people to get more intimate with your music and the live show.”
The official album release party is tonight at The Zoo Bar in Lincoln. Instead of their hometown, Lincoln was chosen to host the release partially because Capgun doesn't come to the capitl city enough, Martin says.
“Every time we go there, I’m surprised to see the amount of people that know our band because I feel like we’ve neglected Lincoln,” he says. “We need to start playing it more. I mean, its close enough, and I think they have a really great scene.”
Steven is a Hear Nebraska contributor. If you hang out with the band at their release show tonight, make sure Sam doesn't pull the fire alarm. Reach him at stevena@hearnebraska.org.