Twenty minutes before his show on TakeRoot festival, we had the chance talk to Garrett T. Capps. This cowboy from San Antonio, Texas, has been spicing up classic country music lately; with songs about hipsters, doom metal and ‘San Antone’.
Hey Garrett! Thanks for taking some time to speak with us.
No problem, right on!
You have to play in twenty minutes. Do you still get the shivers before going on stage?
Oh yeah man, I do. But these are good. I’m not worried, just excited. The shivers make the experience real.
How’s your tour going so far?
Great, I love it! We’ve been touring the Netherlands primarily for the last two weeks and this whole thing has been really fun. I’ve like fourteen hours left here and I’m planning on enjoying every last one of them.
And then, what is the next stop?
Home. We’re going back to San Antonio.
Ah, the great San Antone! You sing about it so vividly that I have the feeling I need to visit this place.
Yeah, you should man! San Antonio is great. It’s cool and really relaxed. The city is very cultural and has an eccentric South-Texan flair. It’s really vibrant and has a lot of Hispanic influences. We also have The Alamo and a lot of cool music.
Wow, that sounds great. So, tell us a little bit about the first instrument you picked up?
I started off with drums.
And do you still have your first drum kit?
Yes, I do! An old Tama kit my dad got me. That’s actually not my first, but the first really good drum kit on which I learned my hard-rock beats. Nowadays I don’t play drums very often, but when I do it feels really natural. I don’t have to think about it.
Do you remember the feeling when you hit those drums for the first time?
Yeah, that felt very good. Drums are fun. They’re very primal.
Now you’re all guitar. Would you say drums were the gateway instrument?
If you know how to play drums, you can learn to play any instrument very easily. Well, maybe not pedal steel guitar, but almost any. Because of the rhythm and the way you listen to music.
If you had to choose three chords, which three would you choose?
Three chords, uh, let me see … G, A, and D.
Why those three?
They’re easy to play and those are my favorite keys to play in. So, when I sit down and start writing a song on my guitar I write mostly within these chords. All of them have different sounds and a different mood. That’s another reason for using them.
Do you have a musical guilty pleasure, something corny you sing under the shower?
Well, nothing really embarrassing actually; I love Fleetwood Mac. This band is amazing. I can’t think of anything else at the moment. You know, corny music came out in a time where all good music used to sound corny. I tend to listen to the good corny stuff. Even the good-corny Tom Patty.
Since you’re from Texas and one of my favorite bands has its roots there I have to ask what your favorite Pantera track is.
Pantera, those guys were great! One of my favorites is that song on the album Cowboys from Hell. What’s it called again, the one with that slow and hard breakdown … “Domination”!
Thanks for your time Garrett and break a leg.
Will do.
Photos by Knelis made at TakeRoot in De Oosterpoort. Check here for more info about Garrett T. Capps and tour updates.