Ryan Pfeiffer (vocals, guitar, cello, noise); James Edlund (guitar, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, piano); Adam Wirtzfeld (saw); Jaim "the Zube" Zuber (pedal steel); Derek Trost (drums and percussion); and appearances by Bobbi Miller (vocals), Josh Aerie (cello), and Brock Metzger (tenor). Former contributors include Pat Spurgeon (Rogue Wave), Tommy Larkins (Jonathan Richman), Esme Schwall (cello), Craig Johnson (drums), Rich Waryan (upright bass) and Bill Racine (production, bass, vision).
Influences
The dark horse I ride.
Sounds Like
"These courageous souls deliver spooky folk tales of ethereal, sepia-tinged beauty...Weirdly wonderful--or to put it another way, wonderfully weird." --PopMatters
"[H]allucinatory-country that's woozy and creepy." (4-Star Review of "Mad Country Love Songs") --MOJO Magazine
"Captain Yonder sounds like ghosts from some distant past, singing about the present...And the way they approach it, in this very refined but scary manner, I think is what sets them apart." --Minnesota Public Radio
"Multi-instrumentalist Ryan Pfeiffer provides a gothic, antiquated aura via quietly unsettling vocals and sounds, with touches of the world-weariness of Jay Farrar, the surreal humor of Robyn Hitchcock, and the prophet-lost-in-the-desert bellow of Skip Spence." --The Onion A.V. Club
"[Captain Yonder's] songs are dreamy and sepia-toned folk in the Harry Smith vein, getting their modern flavor from lyrics that are contemporary versions of the traditional ghost story, the marine tragedy tale, the nostalgic childhood song, and the apocalyptic hymn." --The Chicago Reader
Reconciled at last, Judas Iscariot and Bright Eyes hold hands by a stark northern lake. The season casts its pall over the ripples, and fresh snow muffles the whir of an old movie camera that the Coen Brothers have set up at the water's edge. The surrounding scene is pastoral, ominous, and beautifully eerie.
Picture a bearded gypsy, a dead-eyed Ice Queen reigning over bodies that blanket an endless field, and gunslingers armed with potatoes. All of them wander and list, ghostlike, in swirls of guitar, drums, cello, glockenspiel, whistle, and musical saw.
This is the world of the Minnesota band Captain Yonder, the reality of founding songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Pfeiffer, a former truck driver, philosophy major, maritime cadet, orchestral musician, and lawyer. Pfeiffer’s music emanates from a rich and often bizarre set of experiences, including a childhood near-drowning, a tragic collision, and a life-changing encounter with an old musician in Wyoming.
Captain Yonder recorded its fourth CD, "Good-Bye, Woland!", at Wavelab Studios in Tucson, with Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Neko Case, Robyn Hitchcock, Iron & Wine) producing. In its details, and in their assembly into reflections of mortality, absurdity, and love, "Good-Bye, Woland!" is shards of a dream—beautiful and dangerous.
Pfeiffer credits Dave Fridmann (of the Flaming Lips) and producer Bill Racine for his initial decision to take music into the public sphere. After hearing Pfeiffer's first album, Fridmann invited Pfeiffer to record "Mad Country Love Songs" at the infamous Tarbox Road Studios in New York. (MOJO Magazine subsequently awarded the album 4-stars.)
Pfeiffer cites additional multiple influences, including David Lynch, the songs of Bob Dylan and Cisco Houston, and the writings of Poe, Orwell, Nietsche, Bulgakov, and the Wild West outlaw Cole Younger.
The band’s touring lineup includes musical saw player Adam Wirtzfeld (Wirtzfeld professes that "the beauty of an instrument is directly proportional to its destructiveness"); drummer Derek Trost; guitarist James Edlund; pedal steel player Jaim Zuber; and cellist Josh Aerie.
A reconciliation of innocence, experience, betrayal, and love, the world of Captain Yonder will both perplex and entrance. Somewhere within, gypsies will wander and the sky may list. And when Bright Eyes and Judas finally consummate their love, the pig-bird will sing.
--Dawson Smith, Esq. (w/ Sheryl Northrup and Bob Doerschuk)
Mark O'Connor performs his string quartets No. 2 and No.3
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 8:00PM
New York, NY Mark O'Connor performs his string quartets No. 2 and No.3 with Ida Kavafian, Paul Neubauer and Matt Haimavitz, Celebrating his 35 years as a recording artist Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center
Hello friend! Did you remember to check out our debut album, Next Day Stare? It was released digitally on itunes, napster and amazon in December. Check out a few songs on our space, and buy the album if you find it pleasing to your ears. Wintermare
