Bryan Cook- Drums (June-November 2008) Noah Hecht- Drums (Winter 2008 Tour) Johnny Butler- Saxophone (on So Embarrassing) Matthew Nelson- Saxophone (on So Embarrassing) Ryan Snow- Trombone (on So Embarrassing) Andy Hunter- Trombone (on So Embarrassing) Jeffrey Young- Violin (on So Embarrassing) Jessica Pavone- Viola (on So Embarrassing) Caleigh Drane- Cello (on So Embarrassing) Zachary Crystal- Percussion (on So Embarrassing) Stephan Alessi- Guitar (Sept. 2004-Jun. 2005) Curt Howard- Drums (Jan.-Jun. 2005) Matt Davis- Bass, Trombone (Winter 2007 Tour) Paul Laughrige- Keyboards (Summer 2005 Tour) Jeff Cristiani- Drums (on Fragments) Kevin Alexander- Drums, Keyboards, Percussion (on Fragments)
Influences
"So Embarrassing" - CD Painstaking detail and deeply personal subject matter collide on So Embarrassing, Capillary Action's most accomplished set of songs to date. Austere structures develop from seemingly chaotic forms, melodies burst out from each nook and cranny, morphing into dense walls of sound and back again. (2008, Natural Selection)
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$12 ppd (U.S.)
$14 ppd (International)
"Cannibal Impulses" - CD EP
Constructed entirely from samples and outsourced material, then stripped, reconfigured, and grafted onto completely new circuits, Cannibal Impulses is something that falls in the cracks between the sadistic soundscapes of Japanese noise artists, the satisfying crunch of chiptunes music, and modern classical composition. DVD coming soon! (2006, Natural Selection)
Order directly from us:
$10 ppd (U.S.)
$12 ppd (International)
"Veins Charcoal Shirt" (100% cotton shirt, available in S, M, and L)
COME OUT TO A SHOW AND BUY ONE!
Sounds Like
"A bastion of avant-rock futurism." - The Stranger
"This wasn’t Boingo spazz, but it was far too fun to be prog, and the line-up of accordion and trombone gave me the odd sensation that I was watching a post-ska Eighties band break it down in The Young Ones’ living room. Or maybe it was Elvis Costello meets the Minutemen. All I know is that one of their songs literally sounded like “Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny” without any of the tape manipulation." - LA Record
"[So Embarrassing's] disparate styles are inverted, reversed, and then collided together to make wholly new sounds...these styles [are then pushed] through the filters of experimental noise and traditional pop music. Pfeffer's melodic vocals, in contrast, are big and loud, not unlike a young Sinatra." - Skyscraper
"Noisy but whimsical, jittery and brassy but rooted in punk...there is forboding behind [Pfeffer's] cool delivery, and that is what makes for the best of Capillary Action." - Foxy Digitalis" - Foxy Digitalis
"So Embarrassing is so confusing, so chaotic, and so lovely. Different parts stick out with each repeat listen, so its definitely something worth hearing again and again. Either your head will explode or your heart will swell, but this album demands that something be destroyed. How about just “convention”?" - Absolutepunk
"Call it “experimental rock” if you must, but So Embarrassing is way past the experimentation stage. Capillary Action knows exactly what it’s doing." - Prefix Mag
"'So Embarrassing' is an album that will continue to reveal secrets long after the rest of your record collection has blown its load." - Sound As Language
"Thrilling maximalism that has me rubbing my hands with glee straight away. A whole album's worth of perversely complex, er, pop... that has chunks of different genres popping up unexpectedly like the good bits in a stew made of gourmet leftovers." - Organ Magazine UK Album of the Week
"The music is some of the oddest, yet somehow strangely accessible, tunes I’ve heard for some time. I’ve listened to this pretty solidly since I’ve got it and I’ll be fucked if I can explain it properly." - NoiseNoiseNoise (Australia)
"Imagine Prokofiev re-arranging Red Krayola...Capillary Action offered the spectacle of virtuosity, with technical mastery of their instruments and a sophisticated understanding of melody and harmony."- The Wire
"7.3 :: So Embarrassing is a bold change in direction for Capillary Action, but one that pays off."- Pitchfork Media
"Capillary Action harness the power of the best of Zappa’s more rocking efforts, combining excellent jazz chops with punk energy, making complicated arrangements sound natural...and then there are the [highly personal] lyrics, when intelligible, give greater gravitas to the flow." - Exclaim
"A kick upside the head is probably less jarring than So Embarrassing." - The Onion AV Club
"Walks the line between good songwriting and good noise" - Tiny Mix Tapes
"Both Elvises in a serious Burt Bachawreck with the Mothers of Invention. But even as this all-acoustic quintet pull their best white-rabbit impression, darting behind any available obstruction, it’s clear they want you to follow them — and Jonathan Pfeffer makes sure his soaring, seizing, stammering, polymath out-bursts are worth following. “Elevator Fck,” for instance, is as impossible to forget as it is to hum." - Boston Phoenix
"A gang of jazzbo time-sig wonks who sound like June of 44 and Artie Shaw records playing simultaneously." - Village Voice
SCHNAAK + MANY ARMS + DISCORPORATE GROUPIES US-TOUR 2010:
23.10.2009 Philadelphia, Shredfest 25.10.2009 New York, Zebulon 26.10.2009 New York, Cake Shop 27.10.2009 Boston, Midway Cafe 28.10.2009 Amherst, Red Barn 29.10.2009 Ithaca, Community School of Music 30.10.2009 Cleveland, Now That's Class 31.10.2009 Detroit, Trumbullplex 01.11.2009 Chicago, Ronny's 02.11.2009 Madison, Revolution Cycles 03.11.2009 St. Paul, Eclipse Records - Early Instore 03.11.2009 St. Paul, Big V's 04.11.2009 Somewhere in Iowa 05.11.2009 St. Louis, Lemp Arts 06.11.2009 Hot Springs, The Exchange 07.11.2009 Dallas, Bill's Records - Early Instore 07.11.2009 Dallas, Phoenix Project 08.11.2009 Austin, Salvage Vanguard Theatre 09.11.2009 New Orleans, Dragon's Den 10.11.2009 Somewhere in Louisiana 11.11.2009 Knoxville, The Pilot Light 12.11.2009 Blacksburg, Champs 13.11.2009 Philadelphia, Black Lodge
hey guys, i saw you open for claypool in buffalo. outstanding show. you're all great musicians, and i hope that i will have the pleasure to play some of that amazing music with you sometime in the near future. keep in touch, and good luck with whatever lies next on your life paths.
it's coming my friend! our first show is 9/2. i just wrote a song about riding my bike slowly, creepily staring at girls on a hot summer's day. at some point we are going to record everything i guess...
Hi, Capillary Action from New York, I've just decided that your song "Elevator Fuck" will be illustrating my profile for a while. Thank you so much, let's keep in touch.
I had the absolute pleasure of seeing you perform in Buffalo at Town Ballroom on July 18th. I travelled from Canada to see Les Claypool and was absolutely surprised and delighted by your performance. Fantastic!! It inspired me to start writing even before I even left the venue.. trying to jot things down.. lol
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