Brothers Tim Kinsella and Mike Kinsella formed the band Toe Jam with Victor Villarreal, and Sam Zurick, in 1989, before eventually changing the band's name to Cap'n Jazz.[4] Drawing influence from such bands as Gauge and Fugazi,[5][4] Cap'n Jazz recorded several singles for independent labels in the early 90s as well as contributing to several compilations.
The band broke up in July 1995, shortly after Shmap'n Shmazz's release, on the night of a show at Little Rock's Das Yutes a Go-Go. In 1998, Jade Tree assembled a double-disc Cap'n Jazz retrospective titled Analphabetapolothology which compiles the band's complete recorded works (save for Naive, their song on Achtung Chicago! Zwei): Shmap'n Shmazz, early singles, material from split releases, compilation tracks, unreleased demos and outtakes and several tracks from their farewell performance in Chicago.
Post-breakup and reunion
Cap'n Jazz reunited at the Empty Bottle on Friday, January 22, 2010, as part of Joan of Arc's Don't Mind Control Variety Show.[7] After playing a short, impromptu set in Chicago, the band played its first official reunited show at the annual Forecastle Festival in Louisville on July 10, 2010,[8] and a hometown reunion show a week later at the Bottom Lounge, supporting the vinyl re-release of Analphabetapolothology on Jade Tree Records, where they gained success.[9][10][11] Due to the show selling out in about 48 hours, a second show was added the next night. Later, it was announced that they would also be playing reunion shows across the United States [12] during the summer and fall of 2010.
Most recently, Cap'n Jazz was included in the lineup for the 2017 FYF Fest in Los Angeles' Exposition Park.[13] This marks the band's first show since 2010. The FYF appearance was followed by shows in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and London, including an appearance at Riot Fest 2017 in Chicago.
The band played their first show since 2017 at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on Sunday, October 6, 2024.[14] The band also reunited for Best Friends Forever Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 11, 2024.[15]
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” (Underdog Records, 1993)
Boys 16 to 18 Years... Age of Action – (Further Beyond Records, 1993)
^Golin, Matt (2010). "Gauge: 153". YouTube. Retrieved April 9, 2024. 22:07 'Unquantifiably, I think Gauge was the biggest inspiration on Cap'n Jazz. Like, we were just trying to sound like Gauge'