Captain’s Audio Project is the brainchild of veteran Portland, Oregon songwriter and
multi-instrumentalist James Cook. Here we have the release of his solo debut, finely crafted tunes steeped in traditional Folk, Blues and Jazz. Waiting For The Moon was recorded and produced by Mike Danner at Mike’s Garage in Portland. Waiting For The Moon will be available as a 12” LP vinyl, CD, digital download and from streaming services on February 28th.
The guiding principle for these sessions was to keep everything raw and bare bones. James recorded the basic tracks live on his 1931 National Tenor Resonator Guitar and soaring vocals and then rounded the performances out with strategic overdubs and contributions from other great musicians. James added warm and sultry anchor notes with his 100-year-old upright bass. Next, Mike Danner added piano, Hammond B-3, and Wurlitzer electric piano. Legendary Portland sideman Paul Brainard put down his trademark stellar pedal steel guitar on several cuts as well as bringing in the “Paul Brainard Horn Section” of Willy Mathis and Scott Van Schlick to put the icing on musical cake on a couple tracks.
Cook first picked up the guitar at the ripe old age of twelve and discovered that he had a knack for composing. By the time he was in high school James had written dozens songs and had developed a taste for loud, distorted electric guitar. Heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix, James began to play both cover songs and his own originals in local bands. Coming to the conclusion that leads singers were often fickle, flakey, and unreliable, he started taking vocal lessons so he could sing his own songs.
Today Glide is premiering the standout track “Freak,” a charming work of offbeat folk that carries the easygoing twang of Paul Brainard’s pedal steel guitar. There is a casual simplicity to this song that brings to mind fellow Northwestern troubadours like Michael Hurley, and the playful lyricism is accentuated by the dreamy steel guitar and acoustic picking to make for a warm listen.
Freak is about when you meet someone new, and it feels right but you can’t be sure it’s really happening. Those exciting moments before the first kiss. – James Cook/Captain’s Audio Project
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