The Garrett T. Capps Interview
Are you originally from San Antonio, TX? What was your childhood like growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music, more specifically the guitar? Was this something that was relevant growing up in your household?
Yes. Originally from San Antone. I grew up in the suburbs on the North side. An only child with my two parents and dog. We listened to a lot of music and I started playing drums in 5th grade! Then I started going to concerts as soon as I could! When I was a teenager I started playing guitar and got in to songwriting in my early twenties. Alot of the famed Texas songwriters were my big influences there. Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle, Todd Snider and also the Drive-By Truckers were a big gateway band for me in to the world of lyric-based rock n roll.
What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? Who were some of your earliest influences in your more formative years? When and where did you see your very first concert? When did you realize you wanted to spend your time pursuing music?
The first CD's I bought myself were the Wallflower's "Bringing Down the Horse" and Foo Fighters "Colour and the Shape". I loved all the weird alt-country that was on the radio in the 90s and whatever else. My parents had a cool 70s record collection. I remember listening to the Stones and the Beatles a lot. I think the first real concert I remember going to was Rammstein and Staind around 2000-2001. Things progressed after that. As a teenager in the mid 00's I loved nu-metal haha, but there were some good bands in that movement. I still like System of a Down, Rammstein and the Deftones. I eventually got in to all sorts of rock n roll and formed a band with my suburban friends called The Boy Scout Cookies. our heroes were Andrew WK, Turbonegro, the White Stripes and Valient Thorr. I saw Valient Thorr many times. I saw the White Stripes once in Austin in 2003. life changing. I started going up to Austin for shows as soon as I could when I was younger. Music has always been my biggest interest. I've never loved anything as much, or been very good at anything else! haha.
When and where did you make your live performance debut and what was that experience like for you? Tell me about writing and recording your 2016 debut LP “Y Los Lonely Hipsters”. What was the overall vision and approach to this album and how did the deal and longtime friendship with Shotgun House Records come about?
I had been living in Austin for a while and couldn't hold down a job there. So I moved back to SA and started getting involved with the music scene and playing solo gigs. It was very welcoming and loose. My friend John and I started throwing an annual Christmas concert down here and one year I decided I wanted to get a band together for it. So I somehow formed "The Only Hipsters" around 2013. Here is some hilarious footage from that show. I think this is the first time I ever played "Born in SA" and you can see me reading the lyrics. They were my first band and were SA rock scene veterans. We started playing around town and eventually got around to recording a record. That was "Y Los Lonely Hipsters". I hadn't really played "Born in San Antone" outside of town until that song started getting attention on the internet. Then I realized that people would dig it. Hometown pride my foos. Eventually, My friend Daniel and I formed Shotgun House Records to start releasing my music and our friend's stuff. We haven't done many releases lately, but we both book bands at The Lonesome Rose, the honky tonk I'm a part owner of down here. That started in 2018 Around the time we formed Shotgun House.
2018 saw the release of your follow up “In The Shadows (Again)”. How did you want to approach this record that differs from the previous work? You would go on to release another album on the label that following year, but I’d like to jump ahead to your most recent album “People Are Beautiful” last year.
I remember telling the sound engineer/producer that I wanted "In the Shadows (again)" to sound like aliens abducted a Burrito Brothers recording session that Jerry Jeff Walker was sitting in on haha. I'm not sure if it sounds like that, but the album sure was a step up for me and it was the first time NASA Country played together. I wrangled that group for the album. We are better than ever these days. We started writing alot during the pandemic shutdown and that's how “People Are Beautiful” came together. I'm really proud of how unique of a band we are. Love those guys. The only space country band from San Antone in the whole universe!
How did this record come about as well as the deal with Vinyl Ranch Records? As summer draws to an end, what is your fall/winter looking like? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
“People Are Beautiful” came out on a non profit label out of Austin called, Spaceflight records. "I Love San Antone" (another pandemic - born album) came out on Vinyl Ranch. I've known Disko Dave for years and he was cool enough to put that one out. This year I'm just writing a bunch and playing random gigs, including a short EU tour with NASA Country in late October. I love it out there! Future readers. I'm working on a ton of new music including surprise releases and the next NASA Country album. Whoever you are, I hope you are doing well.
