TMT INDIE ARTIST OF THE MONTH
The Captain Legendary Band by Keith Howerton
There is no doubt that the Captain Legendary Band is making waves with the true hard-core fans of down home, toe tapping country rock music. The group was nominated in the 2007 Texas Music Awards Live band of the year category and continues to be one of the most requested bands at radiofreetexas.org. There really is something about these guys that crawls into the soul and brings any listener deep into the bayou.
Hailing from Louisiana the band has a deep Cajun and delta blues undertones in their songs that is accented by a touch of hillbilly. They tastefully use dobro and harp sounds in the tunes that give them a backwoods feel. The band’s current CD (2006 release), titled My Saving Grace, is a fun collection of tunes that groove like slow moving waters. Anyone listening to this CD could almost with certainty make a good guess on where these guys call home.
The guys sum up their style and attitude best in one of the best songs on the record.
The country sounds like pop rock
And the rock just sounds like crap.
Sit here dreaming, hopelessly thinking,
Wonder where the hell I’m at.
The left they gone crazy and the right is just as bad,
The cowboys are line dancing and the hippies are so mad.
Sometimes I feel like this whole world has gone insane.
Like to say I am crazy too, but don’t matter it’s all the same.
I see the way things going, oh lord, I don’t belong.
Take me back home, put me all alone,
Help me get lost in a song,
Oh lord, help me sing along.
The first verse of “Lost in a Song” is a metaphor for the band’s style and their attitude. A listener can get a strong sense that the guys were born about 30 years to late and are trapped in a world where the music out of Nashville and LA has nothing behind it. It is obvious that the Captain Legendary Band has several old vinyl records in their collection of classic country and southern rock. They have the vibe and from the sound and songs on My Saving Grace, the theme comes out clear and strong via the strong beats, lyrics, and melodies.
The Captain Legendary Band is what great rock and country used to be. Their style is from a time when music was about songs and lifestyle and not about music just as a business. Their bayou and musical roots obviously run deep with tunes that grove like a 60s peace pipe. They are a delightful combination of the old classic country and rock sound that comes out in their own way. They have a unique sound that is not contrived. It is original and fresh with reflections of the past great days of music.
In addition to being a very popular band in their native Louisiana, the band is making waves in Texas and touring more and more in the lonestar state. The Captain Legendary Band is Charlie Hager on lead vocals and guitar, Jeff Hager on the bass guitar, Erick T on drums, and Jason Spencer on harp, guitars, mandolin, and slide dobro. The 13 songs on My Saving Grace would be a great addition to any true music lovers iPod.
