Album Description:

After a three year hiatus, Seattle band Captain Gravel has returned to the recording studio to produce their second album, the EP entitled “Dead and Gone”. Upon hiring producer Matt Brown, the band traveled to a cabin on the Olympic Peninsula known as “the Moose House”, and spent three days and nights playing music. The result is a primarily acoustic collection of songs capturing the energy of a band in transition from their acoustic roots to the electric sounds they are beginning to develop. The sounds are eclectic, from the hard rock of the opening track “Cora is Dead” to the traditional bluegrass gospel of “Have You Heard”.  This sample of tunes represents the diversity with which the new Captain Gravel is capable of.  Jazz standards, folk rock and psychedelia are all welcome genres for a group which will inevitably be difficult to categorize. “Dead and Gone” is a new beginning for a group expanding into territory they’re just discovering.

“Dead and Gone” Musicians: 

Miller McNay: acoustic mandolin, lead vocals. Chad Gibson, acoustic and electric guitars, lead vocals on “Golden Room”.  Ben Wieczorek, drums.

Featuring: Keith Judelman on acoustic and electric bass.  Michael Connolly, Hammond Organ on “The Grey Man”. Matt Herron, fiddle on “Have You Heard” and “Cora is Gone”.  Jason Stewart, banjo on “Have You Heard”. Issak Mills, bass clarinet on “Caravan”.

Additional Song Info:

1. Cora is Dead.

This song was a spontaneous arrangement during the recording process. Never had we played with this type of ferocity prior to meeting Matt. He encouraged us to try a completely different approach to an acoustic arrangement we had been performing. The words belong to a country waltz from the mid-twentieth century. Chad created the riff and this was the second and final take.

2. Caravan.

Our version of the Duke Ellington classic featuring the bass clarinet of multi-instrumentalist Isaak Mills.  

3. The Grey Man.

Written by Miller, this song describes the story of a famous southern ghost often seen on the beach of Pawley’s Island S.C. during hurricane season. We feature our former fiddle player Michael Connolly and his searing Hammond B3 solo.

4. Golden Room.

A song written for his first child, this is Chad’s original contribution to “Dead and Gone” and the one song that doesn’t refer to someone either dead or gone.

5. Have You Heard.

A bluegrass gospel tune written by Miller to create material for the occasional festival gospel set we’re asked to do. Featuring the talents of Jason Stewart on banjo and Matt Herron on fiddle.

6. Cora is Gone.

Written by Ordell Mcleod aka Mac Odell in the 1950’s, this song was made popular by Flatt and Scruggs. We completely rearranged the music to take on a more aggressive and dark tone. Matt Herron adds his fiddling talents here as well.