by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Capstan Shafts - Quiet Wars (MP3)

Capstan Shafts @ Kung Fu Saloon, Austin TX in March

Since his first live show in 2007, Vermont songwriter Dean Wells (now a West Virginia resident) has been slowly expanding the Capstan Shafts, his bedroom-pop project that's prolifically released lo-fi albums since 1999.

Live, Wells now sings with support from a four-piece band, and they perform fairly frequently between Washington DC and New York (where they played a June show at Crash Mansion). They currently have shows set for DC and Baltimore, with plans to hit NYC for CMJ in October.

The live transition is reflected on their forthcoming CD, Revelation Skirts, due August 24th on Rainbow Quartz. On it, Wells collaborates with writer/producer/musician Matt LeMay (of Get Him Eat Him and Pitchfork, where he was a vocal Capstan fan) to mint a fuller studio sound. The first track from that album, "Quiet Wars," is posted above. The song, which first showed up on 2007's Dreamilys Throttled Revolts, mirrors the project's bedroom-to-studio evolution with a brief sonically-compressed intro before the crisp full band enters. Wells's acoustic, tape-deck-recorded albums have always drawn comparisons to Guided By Voices or Mountain Goats; cleaned up, the hooks come to the forefront for a sound closer to New Pornographers' smartly composed pop.

More info on the record and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "new Capstan Shafts (MP3 from Revelation Skirts - out soon)"

The Capstan Shafts @ Stannard Church, Stannard VT, 10/6/07 (tasrepus)

"On October 6th, Dean Wells (aka the Capstan Shafts) played his first-ever live show at a tiny church in Stannard, Vermont." [Matt LeMay, PitchforkMedia.com]

I think The Capstan Shafts then visited NYC soon after to play a small CMJ-related show. I have no idea what the Jandek-like Dean Wells has been doing since. Probably writing music...

With over 17 releases since 1999 (self-released under his own Ladder The Xmas Monkey and through labels such as Asaurus and Yellow Mica), describing The Capstan Shafts as steadily prolific would be an understatement. However, until now, there has never been a properly distributed release, although word on Wells' deliriously prodigious recordings has been percolating in the indie pop underground and building momentum with each new release. The band has signed to Rainbow Quartz in 2007 to release a brand new 29-track LP, environ maiden. (Think early GBV meets Lou Barlow with a dash of the entire Elephant 6 collective.)
[from an October 2007 press release]

I do know what The Captain Shafts is doing tonight (Aug 28, 2008) though. He's playing a show at the Knitting Factory in NYC with the great Charles Bissell of the Wrens and Get Him Eat Him, WHO, is fronted by Captain Shafts fan and Pitchfork writer Matt LeMay.