Shmap'n Shmazz

Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On, and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over,[2] more commonly known as Shmap'n Shmazz,[a] is the only full-length studio album by the American emo band Cap'n Jazz.

The band formed in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, where the members had met as teenagers at Wheeling High School.

Influenced by the Midwestern punk scene, the band developed an idiosyncratic sound characterized by enigmatic wordplay, chaotic guitar melodies, and vocals presented in a naïve art style, with Tim alternating between spoken word, singing, and shouting.

Cap'n Jazz broke up shortly after the album's release due to Villarreal suffering a non-lethal drug overdose during a tour.

In 1989, Tim Kinsella met Sam Zurick on the first day of high school and became friends due to their mutual taste in music.

Toe Jam contained two other members at the time: Jim, a neighbor of Villarreal, and Jeff, the high school's football star running back.

[3] Despite these initial collaborations, the songs produced by the original lineup of Toe Jam failed to captivate Tim and Mike, who found the music "mundane".

[7] Theo Katsaounis, a future drummer for the band Joan of Arc where Tim was the frontman, also noted that he would "freak out" with a French horn on live sessions.

Tim wrote most of the album's lyrics and recorded his vocals with a naïve art style and amateur singing, becoming the band's focal point.

[5] Pitchfork's Ian Cohen has said that, despite the enigmatic lyrics and "incomprehensible guitar interplay", it still expressed the same ideas as other influential emo bands like Rites of Spring or Sunny Day Real Estate.

[12][2] Band members described the moment as terrifying due to his eyes being "rolled back", how his body being "jitterily", and Villarreal being uncommunicative.

Ultimately, Cap'n Jazz disbanded, leading to the end of the tour as the band members returned home.

[8] Due to the band breaking up shortly after the release, the album received minimal attention from publications.

[20] Vulture described the song as a "teenager's bedroom" where "a seemingly incoherent mess that, upon closer inspection, reveals the most intimate secrets".

[20] Several bands and artists have cited Shmap'n Shmazz and Cap'n Jazz as influences on their music, including Algernon Cadwallader,[21] Ryley Walker,[22] and The Get Up Kids.

Tim Kinsella (pictured, 2006) was the frontman for Cap'n Jazz and formed the band during his high school years.
Band member Davey von Bohlen (pictured) initially said that he had "regret and contempt for the entire Cap'n Jazz experience". [ 14 ] Despite this statement, he joined back on a reunion tour in 2010.