The Central Standards' Folly
Released December 2007

Sample/Buy CD
Download








Can't Remember the Last Time
Released September 2005

Sample/Buy CD
Download







Refrain
Released December 2003

Sample/Buy CD
Download

"One more time, baby, one more time..."

I always hear music in my head when I write the titles to these blog posts, hence the rather obscure reference to a rather obscure song on a rather obscure Lemonheads record. (Editor's Note: I'm not sure what it says about my pop culture acumen that it took several reads to recall the strikingly similar-themed Britney Spears' lyric.) Well, as I ponder the imminent relegation of The Central Standards to relatively obscure footnote-status in the long, fabled history of Memphis-based rock bands, it's hard to know exactly what to say. Except that it's been more fun than four 30/40-something-year-old guys should be allowed to have. I take that back. It's been the kind of incredibly rewarding collaborative human experience that I wish for everyone to have at some point in his/her life. For seven years, Ted and I had the privilege of working as friends and partners in an artistic endeavor that we shared an equal passion for. For the last five years, we were even more privileged to expand that out to include two of Memphis' finest musicians, and downright righteous dudes, in Marty and Casey. And, naturally, we were helped along at every step of the way by some really incredible people. So, as you might expect, the finality of our last show together as a band on Saturday night felt pretty special...and emotional...and overwhelming.

As mentioned previously, Ted and I opened with a 45-minute or so acoustic set featuring songs that span that entire seven-year period. It was great fun to play many of these songs just as we did sitting on the couch in Ted's apartment back in 2001. Here's what we played:

T-HO'S BROKEN RADIO
SIMON SAYS
MY FRIENDS TOO
STRIKE
PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
WHAT THEY MEAN
BUNCH OF SCREWBALLS
BOB NELSON
STILL STAY

I'M ON FIRE
OTIS REDDING SONG
SINGING YOU A SONG

After a break that was intended to be short, but lengthened greatly due to the huge crowd that was present (thank you SO much to all of you...we even had a fan who traveled from St. Louis to be there!), we took the stage one more time as a band. Here's how it went:

SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE

KEEPING STILL

GUMBALL MACHINE DIAMOND RING

THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ

HEAVYWEIGHT

HARD TO FALL

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK

GREAT BIG COSMIC

CHANGED

HOLLOW MOON

REAL LIVE SUBURBAN ROCK 'N ROLL DAD

BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK

YEAR 55

SO MUCH CLEARER

PEARL OF A GIRL

JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO (1st encore)

DON'T YOU STARE (2nd encore)

Yes, I believe those are the first (and last) encores that we've ever played. I have to admit--it felt pretty darn good to be wanted that much! The show ended relatively early, so we were able to hang out for quite awhile and just enjoy being with the friends and family who were there. It was a great evening. We were thrilled to see some folks who have been with us since the very beginning, including some of our former students who saw us play our very first shows together! Of course, major props go to our wives for putting up with all of this nonsense for years. I probably shouldn't start singling people out, but special thanks must go to Amber, who did the graphic design for all three of our records, created countless fliers and postcards, designed our first Web site, lugged sound gear out of smoky bars at 3 a.m., hosted numerous pre- and post-practice dinners, etc, etc. In all honesty, she has believed in this as much as all of us. THANK YOU.

So, that's it. For now. No regrets. No tears (post-Saturday night). Just sweet memories to play alongside (what we hope to be) an enduring bunch of songs. And, of course, an incredible amount of gratitude to all of you who made it so much fun.

Tons of love,

Jeff, Ted, Marty and Casey

(if we break up like a) Broken Radio

So our good friends at Rock 103, Bad Dog, Ric and Luca (The Wake-Up Crew), had us out today to tape Sunday's "Great Unsigned" program. It was great fun, as always, and a special way to kick off the week leading up to our final show as a band. We'll be chatting with the guys throughout the show and playing two songs from our first record (see blog title for a not-so-subtle hint!). In case you haven't tuned in to this great local music program, here are the details on the upcoming show featuring...us!!

Rock 103's Great Unsigned
Sunday, April 6 - 9-11 p.m.
102.7 FM

Hard to believe it's already been two years since we played the Beale Street Music Festival, thanks to all of those at Rock 103. Special thanks to the lovely Luca for putting all of this together and making us feel far cooler than we really are.


Consider Sunday a warm-up for our FINAL SHOW next Saturday, April 12 at Neil's in Midtown Memphis. As previously announced, this is a FREE event. Here are the rest of the details:

Saturday, April 12
8 p.m. - Acoustic Set
9:15 p.m. - Full Band
Neil's (1835 Madison)
Ages 21+

Copies of The Central Standards' Folly will be available in bulk for the low, low price of $5 each! See ya there, kids!!

Last Call

After seven years, three records and innumerable great times sharing our music with all of you, The Central Standards are hanging it up. It was a difficult decision to make, but all of us are excited about what lies ahead musically, outside the context of the band. For those of you who know us personally, you know that we're friends first. I can assure you that we remain good friends, making this transition a whole lot easier. Our final show will be Saturday, April 12 at Neil's in Memphis, and we look forward to a great celebration! It will be an 8 p.m. early show (acoustic Jeff and Ted set first, followed by the full band), and there won't be any supporting acts.

To show our appreciation to all who have come to shows, bought the records, forced your friends to listen to our music, etc., we've decided to make this a FREE event. Please go ahead and mark your calendar. Stay tuned here for more show details and other cool stuff in the coming weeks. And, as always, thanks for your continued support of our little band!

If you haven't yet picked up your copy of The Central Standards' Folly, you're about three months late! But, it's OK, we've saved a copy just for you. Memphis-area residents will find 'em at Borders; everyone can get one here.

Now Available On-Line!

Our brand new CD The Central Standards' Folly is now available on-line! Go here to pick up some new tunes to start off 2008, while supporting our favorite on-line independent record store, CDBaby. You can listen to mp3's there, too.

Also, many thanks to our pal David Twombly who posted a great review of the album on the Vexar Entertainment Web site. Check it out!

Just in time for your holiday shopping!

Thanks to all who made it out to our Memphis release party for The Central Standards' Folly last weekend. We're thrilled to finally be finished with the CD and have it out there! Hope everyone's enjoying it!

If you haven't picked up a copy (or copies) of the new CD yet, you're in luck...if you live in the Memphis metropolitan area, that is! Borders Books & Music in Germantown (at Poplar and Kirby) has the CD in stock. We should have it at our favorite independent stores, Shangri-la and Goner, by the end of this week.

As for those who are out of town, we expect the CD to be on-sale very shortly at cdbaby.com, as well. Digital downloads may not be available at iTunes, etc. right away, but that should be on the way soon. If you want to get your hands on a copy in time for the gift-giving season (and can't wait on CDBaby), please e-mail us directly at centralstandards@hotmail.com. We'll even ship 'em directly to your friends and fam, if you wish.

Thanks for your support, and Happy Holidays!

Love,
The Standards

Introducing...

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS' FOLLY (2007) is the third full-length release from Memphis-based folk-rock quartet The Central Standards. Produced by Ted Horrell and engineered primarily by Kenny Jones, the album was recorded between November 2006 and September 2007 at Sun Studio, Cotton Ridge Recording and Memphis Independent. All songs were written by Jeff Capps and Ted Horrell and performed by The Central Standards with special guests Kenny Jones, Lannie McMillan and James Stewart. THE CENTRAL STANDARDS' FOLLY will be released, in Memphis-area independent record stores and at cdbaby.com, in December 2007. This is the album's official track listing:

1) Damaged Dollar

2) Great Big Cosmic

3) My Friends Too

4) Hollow Moon

5) Annie

6) Thank You, Herman Mankiewicz

7) Skyliner

8) It Takes So Few

9) Heavyweight

10) Back from Little Rock

11) Strike

12) Lemon

13) Molly Mosaic

14) Endless Green and Blue

The Central Standards' first two CDs are available for purchase on-line, via CD Baby and various digital download outlets.

REFRAIN (2003)

CAN'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME (2005)

THE CENTRAL STANDARDS' FOLLY will first be available at a special CD release party on Saturday, December 1 in Memphis. For more information, please e-mail centralstandards@hotmail.com. This will be the band's only public performance of the new material in 2007.