Cap'n Jazz

Cap'n Jazz was a band from Buffalo Grove, formed in the beginning of the 1990's. The original quartet included high school friends Tim Kinsella, Victor Villarreal, Sam Zurick, and Tim's younger brother, Mike. The band grew out of Tim and Victor's previous band, Toe Jam. Cap'n Jazz made a name for themselves in the growing suburban punk and emo scene based on intense live performances, Tim's word-play and Victor's unique guitar playing. In 1994, they added Milwaukee resident Davey vonBohlen as second guitarist. This line up would record the band's lone LP, Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards In The Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On, And Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over, which was released in early 1995. Cap'n Jazz broke up in July of that year after Victor overdosed on prescription medication while the band was on tour. After their demise, the band's reputation exploded, owing, at least in part, to vonBohlen's next band, indie-rockers The Promise Ring (begun as a side-project while he was still in Cap'n Jazz). The band's releases, which had originally been issued in small numbers on tiny, mostly short-lived labels, proved nearly impossible to find until the situation was remedied by Jade Tree Records (then the home of The Promise Ring and Tim Kinsella's next band, Joan of Arc) who issued a double CD discography in 1998.

The original foursome of Tim, Mike, Sam, and Victor reunited as Owls in 2001. The group released an album but proved to be short-lived. All five members reunited in 2010 for a series of live shows. This reunion proved to be the impetus for the Owls to regroup and release a new record in 2014. The band reunited again in 2017 (with Nate Kinsella standing in for Davey vonBohlen, who declined to participate) for a series of live shows, including Riot Fest.

Members

 * Tim Kinsella - Vocals/French Horn
 * Victor Villarreal - Guitar/Backing Vocals
 * Davey vonBohlen - Guitar/Backing Vocals (1994-1995)
 * Sam Zurick - Bass
 * Mike Kinsella - Drums/Backing Vocals

Releases

 * Boys 16 To 18 Years...Age Of Action 7" EP (Further Beyond Records, 1993)
 * Sometimes If You Stand Further Away From Something, It Does Not Seem As Big. Sometimes You Can Stand So Close To Something You Can Not Tell What You Are Looking At. 7" EP (Underdog Records, 1993)
 * Nothing Dies With Blue Skies split 7" with Friction (Shakefork Records, 1995)
 * Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards In The Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On, And Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over CD/LP (Man With Gun, 1995)
 * Analphabetapolothology double CD (Jade Tree Records, 1998)
 * Discography of virtually everything the band released
 * A truncated version was released on double vinyl in 2010

Appearances

 * "Naive" on Atchung Chicago! Zwei LP/CD compilation (Underdog Records, 1993) - This song was excluded from the Analaphbetapolothology collection
 * "Soria" on the Picking More Daisies double 7" compilation (Further Beyond Records, 1993)
 * "No Need for a Piano Player When You've Got a Player Piano" and "In The Clear" on the How The Midwest Was Won double 7" EP (Subfusc/Kiss of Winter, 1993)
 * "Scary Kids Scaring Kids" on It's A Punk Thing, You Wouldn't Understand LP compilation (Shakefork Records, 1993)
 * "Winter Wonderland" on A Very Punk Christmas double 7" compilation (Rocco Records/Further Beyond Records, 1993)
 * "Blue Grass" on Ghost Dance double 7" compilation (Slave Cut, 1994)
 * "Beverly Hills 90210" on Punk TV LP compilation (Red Dawg Records, 1995)
 * "Vision Giving Light" on the We've Lost Beauty LP compilation (File 13 Records, 1995) - This song was re-titled "Hey Ma, Do I Hafta Choke On These?" on the Analaphbetapolothology collection

Other Musical Activities
All the members of Cap'n Jazz have continued to make music in variety of different projects. With the exception of Davey, all have released solo projects (Tim and Victor under their own name, Mike as Owen and Sam as People Dick) and the members have also worked together in various projects. Below is a (probably incomplete) list of the various projects and bands which Cap'n Jazz members were a part of it (this list does not include guest appearances that the members may have made on other artists' work).
 * Sky Corvair (Tim)
 * Owls (Tim, Victor, Sam, & Mike)
 * Joan of Arc (primarily Tim, with varying contributions Mike, Sam, and Victor)
 * Ghosts And Vodka (Victor & Sam)
 * Make Believe (Tim & Sam)
 * American Football (Mike)
 * The Promise Ring (Davey)
 * The Knick'd Rakes (Tim & Mike)
 * Everyoned (Tim)
 * Vermont (Davey)
 * Maritime (Davey)
 * The One Up Downstairs (Mike)
 * Friend/Enemy (Tim & Sam)
 * Flashlight (Victor)
 * Their/They're/There (Mike)
 * Noyes (Victor)