We are Captain Stu. We are something of a musical collective or “band”, based in Cape Town, South Africa, and we’ve been touring and performing around our beautiful country since 2003.
Our sound blends seamlessly; the great musical traditions of ska, funk, punk and soul and offers a fresh African flavour to this already eclectic, urban mix.
We are Captain Stu. We have several albums and music videos recorded and released and loved by those who were there to witness it. We have a good few years of experience on the road and on the stage, performing extensively in all of the major cities and towns, as well as all of the major music festivals in our country; and to fill in the gaps – we’ve raised the roof at several hundred live music venues of all shapes and sizes, drawing crowds of fans to the front of the stage, who dance with joy, laugh with hearts full of mirth, and rub up against each other as our Cape Town sound swims through the sweat filled air.
We’ve even just taken our music overseas – to Australia – where we played a relentless stream of gigs across Melbourne, Sydney, Gosford and Byron Bay… or was it the music that took us there? It’s difficult to tell at this point.
We are Captain Stu. We have a bright and busy future ahead of us. A future teeming with big crowds, bigger music, epic tours, savage parties, sponsorships, investments, retirements and inevitably, funerals. We would love it, though, if you’d be smart enough to hop onboard with us before the inevitable end, and be a part of – or at least a witness to – the emergent Captain Stu phenomenon. We would never dream of disappointing you. Of course not. We are Captain Stu.
Short, Sweet and Rough version of “The Band’s Timeline”:
March 2003 – 6 pimpled teenagers emerge from the garage to perform Captain Stu’s first show ever to a small crowd of drunken birthday party punters.
July 2005 – after two years of gigging hard at the grindstone we release our debut album The Untold Tales, along with our first music video The Curse – more a series of recording experiments than an album-with-video really, but, surprising as it still is, people seem to nod heads, tap feet and actually buy the damn thing. Good tidings, it seems.
June 2007 – We embark on our first official national tour, performing 7 shows in 8 days, spanning from Johannesburg to Durban. Hardly a long haul in retrospect, but we fall almost instantly in love with the road. “Let’s do this more often!” says some idiot.
November 2008 – After a few more tours, we enter Virgin Mobile’s national “Road To V” competition which we finish in second place early the next year. During the course of this competition however, we attend valuable workshops with some of the industry’s top professionals and perform several high profile shows around the country, culminating in a huge performance at Johannesburg’s Coca Cola dome where we share the stage with Maroon 5 and One Republic among others.
Februay 2009 – We release our 2nd album The Adventures Of, followed shortly by our 3rd music video More Than Friends. The album is brilliantly received, getting radio play on several national stations while the video reaches No. 4 on MK Channel 324’s local Top 10.
December 2009 – After an intense year involving several important member changes on top of unrelenting tour responsibilities, we embark on a short, riotous and profitable summer tour which cements the new line-up as a cohesive force to be reckoned with. Excitement abounds.
May 2010 – After several insanely busy months of rehearsals and preproduction as well as the usual regimen of gigs and tours, we enter Cape Town’s HeyPapaLegend studios with SAMA-award-winning producer Neal Snyman, to begin recording Free Music – a short 5 track EP and our third musical offering to date.
August 2010 – We spend a weekend rushing furiously all over the Cape Peninsula with an entourage of crew, extras and groupies to shoot our 4th official music video The Day in time for its release with the Free Music EP – donning stupid furry costumes and drinking volumes of beer to keep things running in traditional Captain Stu style.
November 2010 – With a national tour promoting the EP already under our belts, we officially release Free Music in Cape Town, followed by tours to Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria over the rest of the month. Our latest offering is eagerly snapped up by starving fans and reviewed by critics as brilliant, our best recorded music yet. To top it off however, we decide to give the EP away for free, much to the delight of our fans and the derision of our detractors. You’re welcome everybody. Much obliged.
December 2010 – While on tour in Johannesburg, we hear that our latest single The Day has been play listed on 5fm – one of South Africa’s top national radio stations – for the next 6 weeks. Oh tidings of comfort and joy!
December 2010 – After our busiest and most successful year yet, we cap 2010 off in true style and get on a plane for Australia on Christmas day, embarking on our first ever international tour. The tour goes brilliantly, our music is spread further than it’s ever been and our eyes are opened by the state of music down under. We return a few weeks later, ready to take on an even busier, more successful 2011. Go TEAM!!
February 2011 – We begin work on the Savannagrams, a Valentine’s Day promotion by Savanna (South Africa’s most popular cider) involving us dressed in giant lemon suits and flying around the country to serenade various love birds. See the videos (here).
March 2011 – We begin some hard rehearsal work on several new tracks which we intend releasing as soon as possible.
April 2011 – We embark on yet another National Tour entitled The Relatively Epic Captain Stu Easter National Tour, our biggest national tour to date, playing 8 shows over 10 days including the headlining slot at Splashy Fen (South Africa’s biggest and longest running music festival).
July 2011 – We spend a weekend or two shooting our 6th official Captain Stu music video for the track Siamese Twin. Soon after this we leave for a short tour to Durban to perform some of our new music.
Media:“Cunningly textured arrangements and compelling lyrical considerations collide under the banner of Captain Stu – a masterful, offbeat euphonic delight!” – Jason Curtis, Cape Times.
“Captain Stu’s EP Free Music is a truimph. Their mellow reggae/ska sound is very accesible to listeners & they even bring a bit of funk to the tracks. Easy listening at its best.” – Jody Nel, Beeld.
“Captain Stu has become a personal favourite since the first time I saw them performing live. Energetic and passionate, their catchy and electric ska tunes always manage to get my feet tapping. Highly recommended!” – Isabel Smith, People Magazine.
“Captain Stu strikes back with their usual brand of happy-go-lucky, dancing-bare-footed-in-a-sunny-field-of-daises reggae ska pop rock on their latest EP. Why not let the tension melt from your shoulders, take your shoes off and join them?” – Ruth Cooper, BizLounge.
“What a fun collection of utterly danceable summer songs… every bit as upbeat and quirky as the name “Captain Stu” suggests, and with the added bonus of being absolutely free. It doesn’t get much better than that.” – Anton Marshall, Music Editor – Channel 24
Newspapers and Magazines:
Reviews and articles appeared in Sawubona, Rock Out Radio, Virgin Music News, JIP – Die Burger, JIP – Volksblad, JHBlive, Ctlive, One Small Seed Magazine, Cosmopolitan Online, Overtone, BLUNT mag, FHM online, Seventeen, CLEO magazine, Kampus Burger, Die Matie, WAPAD, ACTIVATE, Entertainment Africa, Sunday Times, SA Tunes magazine, The Citizen, SL, MUSE, NUX, SAROCK, etc.Radio Airplay:
5FM, UCT, MFM, Heart FM, KFM, Bush Radio, OFM, UJFM, PUKfm, RMR, ECR, UKZN, KovsieFM, Bay FM, Radio Today and Tuks FM.TV Play: MK, MTV Bass and SABC3.Festivals and Tours:Obs Fest /Cape Town/ 2005Gif Appel /Stellenbosch/ 2005Knifefight /Cape Town/ 2006Insanity Festival /Cape Town/ 2006Long Street Festival /Cape Town/ 2006Uprisings /Durban/ 2007Rocking The Daisies /Darling/ 2007Obs Fest /Cape Town/ 2007The North / JHB & Durban/ 2007MK89 2nd Avontoer/2007
New Years Vortex /Cape Town/ 2007-2008Splashy Fen /Underberg/ 2008Uprisings /Durban/ 2008Obs Fest /Cape Town/ 2008The North/ JHB & PTA/ 2008MK89 3rd Avontoer/2008-2009
Oppikoppi Easter Festival /Northam/ 2009Grahamstown Festival /Grahamstown/ 2009The North/ Pretoria & Johannesburg/ 2009East Coast/ Durban/ September 2009Rocking The Daisies /Darling/ 2009The North /PTA, JHB, Bloem/ 2009Coastal Summer Tour /Mosselbay, Knysna, PE, Jeffreysbay, Plett, Hermanus/ 2009New Year’s Eve / Cape Town/ 2009-2010Splashy Fen / Durban / 2010
Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown/2010
JHB, PTA, Soweto, Bloemfontein/2010
Free Music Launch Tour Durban/2010
Free Music Launch Tour JHB, PTA/2010
Australian Tour: Melbourne, Sydney, Gosford, Byron Bay/2010-2011
CAPTAIN STU CONTACT:
Management:
For bookings please contact:Sophie Doherty Phone SA; +27 (0)790763602Email: sofemusic@gmail.com / captainstu_management@hotmail.comPress Contact:For more information, photos and interviews please contact:Rachelle CrousPhone: 082 084 6724Email: rachelle@rcpublicity.comWebsites:
• http://www.captainstu.co.za
• http://www.facebook.com/captainstuband
• http://www.myspace.com/captainstuandthellamas