Listening to Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers is like jambalaya for your eardrums

Grayson Capps. Photo courtesy of LiveMusicPhotography.info

GRAYSON Capps and The Stumpknockers create a bitchin’ bluesy blend of Southern folk rock. Capps is a bona fide blues-rock musician, but before anything else, he is foremost a storyteller -- and a masterful one at that. As soon as he spoke his first few introductory words at World Café Live this past Sunday evening, every single set of ears in the audience immediately zeroed in on his voice like a radar missile homing in on its target. If storytelling is an art form, then Grayson Capps is the Michelangelo of his craft.

Grayson’s distinctive and full-bodied voice is an instrument in and of itself. Reminiscent of Muddy Waters, he enunciates his sandpaper words with a strong yet comprehensible backwater drawl. But similar to James Earl Jones, his low voice resonates from a place deep within his chest and commands attention. We obliged to this command as we willfully handed over our undivided attention for the entirety of the two-hour set.

So aside from his melodious set of pipes and booming voice box, what else makes Grayson Capps an extraordinary storyteller?

It is nearly impossible to clearly define the greatness of great art. Because if something is exceptional enough to mesmerize us, then its magic works in a cunningly covert manner – all of a sudden we realize we’ve become spellbound, yet we can’t recall the process of actually falling under the spell. So whatever captivating combination it is that makes a great storyteller “great” – a uniquely appealing tonal quality of the voice, the ability to effortlessly seize an audience’s attention, a musical rhythm of speech -- Grayson has it.

But not only does Grayson have the vocal qualities of a storyteller, he also has the stories of a storyteller. He sings them in the lyrics of many of his songs, and if you’re lucky enough to see him live, you’ll be treated to spontaneous tales that you won’t find on his albums.

Album cover of Rott 'N' Roll.

One such example of an impromptu story occurred somewhere in the beginning of the set when Grayson introduced the song “Ike” from his fourth and most recent album Rott ‘N’ Roll, which was released in 2008 on the independent label Hyena Records. Leading up to the song, Grayson told us about a trip down the Mississippi River that involved (among other things) a bad mushroom trip, timber wolves, a rusty “gold” tooth, and two kids named Skooter and Bear. In retrospect these tidbits don’t seem to have any connection at all. But sure enough, during the show Grayson spun his storytelling magic and somehow arrived logically at “Ike,” a sad and sleepy song about a man who runs a brothel of five-dollar-women from his floorless shack.

A highlight of the night was the opener of the set, “Back to the Country,”** which is also the opener of Rott ‘N’ Roll. In this raucous romper Grayson emphatically extols the state where he was born and raised. By the end of the tune we know he loves debauchery, Alabama, and debauchery in Alabama. The rollicking nature of this country-lovin’ song set the tone for the entire evening, just as it sets the tone for the entire album.

On a side note, some naughty-minded people (including me) originally thought “stumpknockers” was a provocative innuendo. Grayson assured us that a “stumpknocker” is an innocent nickname for a type of fish that inhabits muddy-bottomed bodies of water. But frankly, I am still not completely convinced that the term “stumpknockers” isn’t Southern slang referring to the bulbous parts of a man’s southern regions.

A stumpknocker. Photo by bloffner.

And speaking of Southern regions, the Dirty South should feel honored to have its rich musical tradition carried on so superbly and authentically by Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers. Because for the entire night these guys were smokin,’ especially so on “Big Black Buzzard,” a guitar-riffin’ and percussion-poundin’ carnival of sounds that grooves like old-timey swing on speed.

But close to the end of the night, the band showed off their expert chops at length with a fifteen minute instrumental jam session containing a smorgasbord of solos and improvisation. Amanda Shires, the opening act, was called to stage and got down and dirty with her fiddle. It was striking to watch such a petite and dainty girl hold her own against the big boys,~~ proving that regardless of size, she is an equally impressive knocker of stumps. At this point, the complete performance was absolutely red hot. What was cooking all night was brought to a spellbinding boil.

And while under the spell, you get the feeling that Grayson has invited you into his country home and is serving you a hearty dish of swampy secrets that have been simmering in a spicy and steamy Southern stew.

Beacause listening to Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers is like jambalaya for your eardrums.

For more info: http://www.myspace.com/graysoncapps and http://www.graysoncapps.com/

~~Grayson Capps and The Stumpknockers jamming with Amanda Shires at World Café Live: