Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrett T. Capps.
Garrett, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in San Antone. This is where I live today. Both of my parents grew up in the Houston area. I coulda been born there, but I wasn’t. I grew up listening to the Stones, Jethro Tull, and lots of 90’s pop radio. Music has always been my “thing.” I formed my first rock n’ roll band in middle school; we were called “The Boy Scout Cookies.” I played drums.
In the mid-2000s I went to college in San Marcos and started getting in to “Texas music.” Robert Earl Keen, Townes, Guy, Steve Earle. I picked up the guitar and started writing songs in that vein because it felt good.
I’ve self-released two full-length records since then; “Y Los Lonely Hipsters” in 2015 and “In the Shadows (Again)” in 2018. Last year, a song from my first album, “Born in San Antone,” was featured in the Season 3 premiere of Showtime’s “Billions.” People from all over the world got hip with a tune where I call myself “a pinche gringo” and talk about barbacoa. “In the Shadows (Again)” somehow became a hit in the Netherlands and I started my international touring career there in October of 2018. I’m going back in September to promote my next release, “Alright All Night,” which I’m releasing in August.
Partial side note: last November I opened a honky tonk with some friends in San Antone called “The Lonesome Rose.” It is a good ‘ol Texas hang for dancers and drinkers. We host regional and touring country, western bands. We love Tex Mex music too. Downtown San Antonio hasn’t had a bar like this for quite some time.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I write songs. I used to spend a lot of time composing and arranging specific parts for my songs, but these days I just keep it simple with a guitar and lyrics. The arrangements can come later at band practice or in the studio. But they won’t come at all if the core elements aren’t quality.
To start a tune, I usually just pick up my guitar and hit record, blurt out/strum some off-the-cuff stuff for a few minutes, then transcribe and try and pull a hook or theme out of there. Most of the content comes from a first-person perspective and is based off my life experiences in one way or another. As I widdle away, the song takes on a life of its own. Some days I wake up from a dream with a tune or lyrical hook in my head, and I’ll record it on my phone and return to it when I can. It is always good when the songwriting Gods grant you a gift.
The only reason I make music and write songs is because I love to do it. I have found that as long as I am making music that I believe in, good things will happen.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
Make art you believe in and don’t stop! Life is a wild thing.
I think cities should give artists more opportunities to express themselves in righteous ways. The citizens will dig it. And money! We need money!!!!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
garretttcapps.com. Spotify, etc.
Buy a record or come to a gig if you like what you hear! or don’t! viva
Contact Info:
- Website: garretttcapps.com
- Phone: 2103170006
- Email: gtc@garretttcapps.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garrett_t_capps/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GarrettTCapps
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/garrett_t_capps
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3UfahkMdvHMVKfRJAxA4Tv?si=4LTuVacDS1O1KKxFcHiGIw
Image Credit:
Josh Huskin, Ryan Vestil
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