An Interview With The Southern Californian Band CAPTIONS. On Their Debut Album, Favorite Artists And More!

Southern California based four-piece, CAPTIONS., distinctively obscures Indie Rock inclinations through compositions reminiscent to the warm-weathered days of their home and emotions nostalgic to the cool-winded nights.

Produced by Jacob Summers (Avid Dancer) and Leif Davidsen of Los Angeles founded recording studio, Gypsy Sound Studios, CAPTIONS.’ debut full length album, ‘ITERATIONS’, lends itself to lustrous mid-tempo rock and resonant, merciful melodies.

‘Bearfights’, the first track off of ‘ITERATIONS’, takes a grounded approach to angst through focused melodies and wandering riffs. On the evolution of the LP, lead singer, John Figueroa, relays “there was a plethora of different events that inspired both the making of the music, and the words that are being sung. Mostly, channeling different experiences we’ve had and figuring out ways to condense those experiences into a few lines, then trying to entwine them together to form a whole new story altogether.”

Consisting of John Figueroa, Joshua Zacarias, Marcus Paquini, and Adam Gangi, the band looks forward to their many upcoming involvements.

Learn more about Captions. in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! Now that we are more then halfway through 2016, what are some words you would use to describe it? What were some of the highlights of 2015 for the band?

It’s been very exciting and momentous. We’ve been eagerly anticipating being able to finally release this album out into the wild, and the positive feedback we’ve been getting from the singles has been really thrilling.

Can you talk about how CAPTIONS was first formed? How did you all meet each other? Where did the band name come from? Why do you think you all work so well together?

Adam and I started writing songs together around 2009, but the band went through a few different variations before becoming what it is now. We met Marcus he played a few shows with us in another band that ended up breaking up. And Josh answered our craigslist ad in 2011 after our drummer had moved up north. We officially became CAPTIONS. at the beginning of 2012.

The name was a bit of a random occurrence. I was spitballing ideas with our then keyboardist and the term “closed captioning” came up somehow. Eventually we just kept going back and forth until we kept repeating “Captions” and it sounded the most fitting.

I think we all work together well because of how selfless everyone in the band is. We all just want to write good songs, and there’s no ego if the drummer comes up with a guitar riff, or if it turns out the song is better with only one guitar in it and not two. That lack of ego tends to free us up to explore and experiment.

How do you think the band’s sound has influenced by living in Southern California?

I think that we’re influenced by the laid back mindset that people in Ventura County tend to have, along with the perfect weather. Which might be why we’ve always tended to have sort of an upbeat, sunny vibe that’s not too aggressive.

How do you go about putting together a song?

Songs can come in any form. Sometimes a person in the band will have an almost completely composed idea, and once we learn the basic structure, little tweaks and alterations start to take place. Other times, it comes from just simply jamming on the same riff for half an hour straight until something starts to take shape.

What was the inspiration for your first single, “Bearfights” off your debut album?

Bearfights was written in a similar fashion as the rest of our songs. We start with a rough idea and play it through as a band until it snowballs into the version you hear today. I think the most inspiration we drew on this song was from the drink “bearfight”, which is an Irish car bomb followed by a Jagerbomb. It’s also the cause to one very blurry night.

Who are some of your favorite artists? Who would you love to work with in the future?

Some acts that are definitely collective influences of the band would be Radiohead, Tame Impala, Modest Mouse, Porter, James Blake, Death Cab for Cutie. There are a bunch of artists who are amazing nowadays, but I think right now, at the top of our collaboration bucket list would have to be either Kevin Parker or Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

I’d like to think that our music reveals itself as playfully moody and I hope that our listeners can just enjoy themselves when they hear our music. If someone were to hear our music and walk away feeling inspired or encouraged to create, we’d be over the moon.