Cap'n Jazz: Gone, But Not Dead

There were changes going on in the music scene in the 80s and 90s. Bands such as Jawbox, Jawbreaker, and Sunny Day Real Estate were morphing the fast, hard-hitting pace of punk rock with emotional, introspective lyrics, creating the foundation of the genre that came to be known as “emo.”

And in 1989, brothers Tim and Mike Kinsella formed a band that would end up as a huge influence. Cap’n Jazz, consisting of the Kinsella brothers, Sam Zurick, Davey von Bohlen, and Victor Villarreal, had a rather short life span of six years and only released one official album entitled Shmap’n Shmazz. Besides contributing to many compilations, this was their only official full-length album, released on a tiny record label, Man With Gun records.

Jade Tree Records released Analphabetapolothology posthumously in 1998. This anthology of sorts documents all of Cap’n Jazz’s songs, excluding “Naïve,” from various compilations, outtakes, their farewell show, and Shmap’n Shmazz.

The first 12 tracks are Shmap’n Shmazz in its entirety. The anthology opens with “Little League,” an upbeat ditty about young love making one do regrettable things. Almost immediately, one can hear the distinctive traits of Cap’n Jazz – Tim’s screechy and, at times, unbearable teenage vocals, Mike’s hard-hitting drum playing, and Victor Villarreal’s noodly guitar works. The lyrics, which remain pretty incomprehensible until actually looking them up somewhere, seem to make no sense. They are not the kind of lyrics that can be interpreted from the first time. However helter-skelter they may seem, Tim’s lyrics fit right along with the instrumentals, and the first half of Analphabetapolothology remains a classic milestone in emo music.

Standout tracks on the first half of the anthology include “Oh Messy Life,” “Precious,” “Que Suerte!,” and “Olerud,” along with a cover of the classic A-ha tune “Take On Me.” The latter is a song that the listener will either love or hate – the vocals, as always, can be gut-wrenchingly rough, and the instrumentals are incredibly loose. “Olerud,” taken from the band’s last show, has a ringing melody and a haunting last line as spoken by Tim: “It’s like you finally realize how lucky you really are to have had a few good heartbreaks.”

However, the second half of Analphabetapolothology, tracks 19 to 34, is not as instantly catchy as the first half. Some of them blur together from sounding alike, although notable hooks include “Scary Kids Scaring Kids,” “AOK,” and the acoustic low-tempo version of “Ooh Do I Love You.” The lattermost song is definitely the highlight of the second half. The band pulls off an acoustic rendition a lot better than one might expect; Tim’s vocals are not loud or offending, and the guitar is rather soothing. The title of it makes it sound like a love song, but the lyrics say otherwise; speculations have been made that the song speaks of not appreciating nature.

Overall, Analphabetapolothology portrays teenage angst and youthful love in its purest form; at the time of the band’s forming, Tim Kinsella was 15 and his brother Mike was only 12. Though the band grew apart and eventually split up in 1995, their legacy lives on: some obvious evidence remains clear through bands taking their names from Cap’n Jazz songs. Among these are an Australian solo artist who performs under the name Oh Messy Life, a band called Little League who was asked to change their name by the Little League Association (they are now called Pretend), and the California indie-rock band We Are Scientists; it has been disputed, however, whether or not WAS got their name from the Cap’n Jazz song.

Cap’n Jazz broke up in 1995, but each member went on to do other things that were more notable. Tim Kinsella formed the indie-experimental groups Joan of Arc and Make Believe, and has released solo albums under two names – Tim Kinsella, and Tim Kinsellas. His little brother Mike formed the band The One Up Downstairs in 1997, which eventually turned into American Football, a dreamier-sounding emo band. Currently, Mike plays acoustic indie under the moniker Owen. Sam Zurick and Victor Villarreal were an instrumental band known as Ghosts and Vodka and released 3 records. After this, Victor Villarreal went solo and just released his first solo album in July 2009.

However, perhaps the most notable of all side-projects was Davey von Bohlen’s The Promise Ring. Along with The Get Up Kids and Jimmy Eat World, TPR has been credited with morphing the slow, depressing essence of emo with catchy pop melodies. Although having some similarities with Cap’n Jazz, The Promise Ring was a class all on its own – it was never as harsh or rough-sounding as Cap’n Jazz, nor were the lyrics as hard to understand.

Analphabetapolothology, although it takes some time to get used to, is a goldmine of raw emotion. If Cap’n Jazz had never played music, emo music would not be the same.

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