Features

Man at Work: Grayson Capps

For someone from New Orleans, La. the purpose of a song may be to get folks dancing until they break a sweat. For somebody from Nashville, Tenn. a song might be a vehicle for a down-to-earth story. Grayson Capps, a songwriter who’s lived in both cities, tries to accomplish it all with his material.

Capps’ body of songs includes plenty of memorable narratives about characters—real people, usually—whose exploits are hard to believe. He tells their stories, he says, because they’re riveting, because they’re often revelatory and because somebody ought to.

The subject of one tune, Bobby Long, was deeply appreciative. “You have immortalized me in a song,” he told Capps before he died, “and I thank you for it.” (In 2004, Capps’ songs were used in a major motion picture about Long which was adapted from a biography that Capps’ father had written.) “It’s almost like some kind of ghost is out there saying, ‘You did this for me, I’ll do this for you,’” says Capps.

Prior to his recent move back to his native Alabama, Capps and his partner—accomplished co-producer Trina Shoemaker—cut their new record The Lost Cause Minstrels in their converted Tennessee barn which served as their home and studio. The album’s title doubles as the name of Capps’ new band, which is compromised of members from the defunct jam outfit Kung Fu Mama.

Two highlights from the record include “Coconut Moonshine,” a snaking, jazzy number that pairs hot grooves with a story about a bar regular, and the energetic second line “Ol’ Slac,” a “little bitty history lesson” which features bright, brassy horns.

“I wanted to put the horns on it ‘cause I wanted to give Mobile, Ala. a Mardi Gras song,” Capps says of his musical gift to his home state. “Every [Mardi Gras] parade in Mobile played that song in rotation over and over.”

Alabama is already proving to be a great source of material for Capps’ future songwriting. “Being back down here, I’m around some of the most colorful people you’ll ever want to be around,” he laughs before offering a quick example. “If there’s something difficult, [they say] it’s like ‘trying to put socks on a rooster.’”