Oh Captain, My Captain

After a little bit of email tag and a lot of anticipation, I still never managed to have a good sit down with the boys of Captain of Industry - but I did wring out a rousing game of fill in the blanks. Have you ever wondered what the members of one of Dayton’s most promising bands think about the upcoming election, how they feel about commercialism, or why they all have such great hair? Well, if you need answers to questions like these to make yourself feel whole and human again, get ready to cancel your next therapy session.

Interview conducted by e-mail by Brandy Voiles. Pictures and logo provided by Captain of Industry.

Band: Captain of Industry
Members: Kevin Oldfield (guitar), Nathan Peters (vocals and keyboards), Ian Sperry (bass), John Lakes (drums)

Bettawreckonize: I know you guys had your first show about a year ago - when did you start playing together, and how do you know one another?

Captain of Industry: Captain of Industry started in April of 2002. We’ve all known each other from other Dayton bands. As musicians, we’ve been in and out together. All ex-lovers, so to speak.

BW: Was the Team Evil family founded before or after all four of you got together?

COI: Team Evil is the brainchild of Eric Johnson and Noel Benford, which they founded to release their own records as Pig Eye Jackson. So, Team Evil dates back to around 2000. Three out of four members of Captain of Industry, actually, were in Pig Eye Jackson. The other member was assembled from various scrap metal and biological waste slurry.

BW: So what are Captain of Industry’s plans in the oh-four…anything your fans should keep an eye out for?

COI: We’re going to begin production on a music video soon. We don’t know which song to create a video for, so we want people to visit our website at teamevilrecords.com and vote for their song of choice. Various new Captain of Industry products will be released, along with perhaps a single or an EP. Of course, we’ll be touring. Also, we’re doing the soundtrack to the new Jim Belushi movie “Canine 3: Crunch Time."

BW: If your music could be used to endorse a product, what would you want that product to be?

COI: The New Ford Destroyer with the optional American Pride Package. Also, Scrodsicles, the new frozen scrod fish treat.

BW: I’ve talked to a few people who feel your record was “a little overproduced.” What do you have to say to those chumps?

COI: There was a conscious effort to raise the production level for an independent record on a low budget. Most of the “indie” records being put out today are incredibly rough and distorted as well as overcompressed and totally lack dynamics. We let our imagination run during the recording, never compromising what we wanted just because it cannot be completely recreated live. The live sound is one thing and the sound on the LP is another. We like to have a diverse soundscape, even if minimalist production is de rigueur. Every note on the album was played, not looped, and certainly no pitch correction on the vocals. We used vintage gear. Hell, we only used overheads and room mics on 90% of the drum tracks, i.e. no close micing. That’s a more simple technique than most bands do on their 8 track cassette multitrack.

BW: Favorite albums of 2003?

COI: Ween – Quebec; Enon – Hocus Pocus; The Beatles – Let It Be... Naked; Lemon Jelly – Lost Horizons.

BW: Let’s say you “blow up” as the kids call it, within the next year or so – and late night shows start calling you left and right. Who would be your first choice: Letterman, Leno, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Kilborn, that massive tool Carson Daly or other?

COI: We’d choose Letterman for sheer exposure and he’s way better than Leno, and Conan for sheer personal pleasure.

BW: If the title of your album (!) had to have a sound or a word assigned to it, what would it be? Or would you prefer to keep it unpronounceable to make people sound like jackasses?

COI: The album title is a thunderous assertion of our sexual magnitude, which can be heard, for the first time on record, http://www.teamevilrecords.com/captheme.mp3.

BW: Who will each of you be voting for in the upcoming presidential election?

COI: We know who we won’t be voting for. That’s all we’ll say. However, it’s important that everyone vote their conscience and not fall victim of political propaganda,

BW: If you weren't in a band, what would you be doing with your spare time? Perhaps a donkey show in Tijuana, professional midget tossing?

COI: Croquet, solitaire, reading books, making big-bottom sandwiches in own restaurant, flying planes, fabricating marble sinks, war games.

BW: The four of you always seem to have such shiny, manageable hair – how do you do it? It’s placenta, isn’t it?

COI: Dapper Dan’s Brill Crème and VO5 Hot Oil.

BW: If all the members of Captain of Industry were forced to have the same hair-do, what would it look like?

COI: Permed ear hair comb-overs.

BW: I have a bucket of chicken. Breast or thigh?

COI: We only consume macrobiotic meals.

BW: Put your psychotherapy hats on – it’s time for some word association. Llama?

COI: Fun.

BW: Vegetable?

COI: Superman

BW: Sin?

COI: Turkey neck.

BW: Pants?

COI: Sweat.

BW: Ferret?

COI: Governator.

BW: Power?

COI: Tower?