PLAYBACK:stl (archived at playbackstl.com December 2005)
Kevin Renick Brian Capps: Healin' and Rockin' (and Walking Through Walls)
Brian Capps, the affable singer/songwriter/guitarist best known as a founding member of Springfield’
s Domino Kings, does not have a license to practice medicine. Tell him about that weird pain you’ve
been having, and he could only hazard a guess as to the cause. Nevertheless, there’s a good
chance Capps can cure what ails you. His unique brand of vibrant, infectious Americana goes down
so smoothly and consists of such pure ingredients, it could almost qualify as alternative medicine. At
the very least, the music has proven anti-depressant abilities; this phenomenon was noted at
several memorable St. Louis gigs in 2004. When Capps and his band the Tru eLiars are on stage, you
can rest assured that no matter how rotten your day, you’re sure to feel better after the show.
The soothing balm of Capps’ music, which draws equally from traditional country and early rock &
roll, emanates primarily from two factors. One is an intrinsic duality in his original compositions
arising from his emotional directness and willingness to document episodes of extreme angst while
setting the themes in bracingly up tempo arrangements. The results are far more than just catchy
honky-tonk or rockabilly songs. Check out “Two Nights Without Sleep,” “Dark Side of Love” and “Don’
t Wait Up” from the Domino Kings’ debut album Lonesome Highway. And on Life & 20, there’s the
memorable “Borrow a Lie” and the kickass barroom rocker “Alice,” a bitter rant on a spirit-destroying
femme fatale of whom the narrator warns, “You couldn’t keep up with her if you had wings/Alice
grows tired of everything…” These songs rock madly and sincerely, and Capps sings the ever-lovin’
heck outa them. Yet his lyrics mostly deal with heartbreak, loss and the sort of recurring agitation
that anyone who’s been jilted or disappointed by love could relate to. It’s music you can swing your
partner to on the dance floor or tap your foot to while you down another brew, but the songs have
emotional resonance because you can tell the singer knows EXACTLY what you’ve been through.
You feel at times, in fact, that he’s singing the song just for you...
The full article can be read at http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/834/162/
Kevin Renick Brian Capps: Healin' and Rockin' (and Walking Through Walls)
Brian Capps, the affable singer/songwriter/guitarist best known as a founding member of Springfield’
s Domino Kings, does not have a license to practice medicine. Tell him about that weird pain you’ve
been having, and he could only hazard a guess as to the cause. Nevertheless, there’s a good
chance Capps can cure what ails you. His unique brand of vibrant, infectious Americana goes down
so smoothly and consists of such pure ingredients, it could almost qualify as alternative medicine. At
the very least, the music has proven anti-depressant abilities; this phenomenon was noted at
several memorable St. Louis gigs in 2004. When Capps and his band the Tru eLiars are on stage, you
can rest assured that no matter how rotten your day, you’re sure to feel better after the show.
The soothing balm of Capps’ music, which draws equally from traditional country and early rock &
roll, emanates primarily from two factors. One is an intrinsic duality in his original compositions
arising from his emotional directness and willingness to document episodes of extreme angst while
setting the themes in bracingly up tempo arrangements. The results are far more than just catchy
honky-tonk or rockabilly songs. Check out “Two Nights Without Sleep,” “Dark Side of Love” and “Don’
t Wait Up” from the Domino Kings’ debut album Lonesome Highway. And on Life & 20, there’s the
memorable “Borrow a Lie” and the kickass barroom rocker “Alice,” a bitter rant on a spirit-destroying
femme fatale of whom the narrator warns, “You couldn’t keep up with her if you had wings/Alice
grows tired of everything…” These songs rock madly and sincerely, and Capps sings the ever-lovin’
heck outa them. Yet his lyrics mostly deal with heartbreak, loss and the sort of recurring agitation
that anyone who’s been jilted or disappointed by love could relate to. It’s music you can swing your
partner to on the dance floor or tap your foot to while you down another brew, but the songs have
emotional resonance because you can tell the singer knows EXACTLY what you’ve been through.
You feel at times, in fact, that he’s singing the song just for you...
The full article can be read at http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/834/162/
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