Captiva is an alternative rock band hailing from Kansas City, Missouri. The band is comprised of JJ Ries (vocals, guitar), Pat McQuaid (guitar, vocals), Nick Riffle (bass), and Hank Wiedel (drums). Captiva formed in October 2013, during a high school detention sentence.
Captiva first started gaining attention on college campuses around the Midwest, while they were still students themselves. For the last two years, the band has been circuiting small clubs across the region and opening for other national touring acts. Captiva has played on numerous festival stages such as Backwoods Music Festival, Fashion Meets Music Festival, SXSW, Boulevardia, Audiofeed Festival and Middle of the Map Fest. In 2015, the began gaining strong momentum, securing college radio-play across the country, and opening for major acts such as Twenty One Pilots (Starlight Theatre) and The Lonely Biscuits (recordBar).
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Captiva about influences, being an indie musician in a digital age, the new release and more.
Q&A, links and streams can be found below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We are from Kansas City, MO. We create any music that gives off a positive vibe. We do this through mashing up many genres like Indie/Alt Rock, Funk, and Hip Hop.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course
Jackson: We all are passionate music lovers. When we found out we worked well together in creating it ourselves, we were motivated to make the best of artists and spreading our message to an audience. Also, the experiences we have on the road are unforgettable and we wouldn’t give them up for the world by stopping our musical endeavors.
Nick: Music was my shit from the beginning so I’ve always thought that this is what I’ve wanted to do. I stay on it because of the live experience the give-and-take between the audience and the band is the best.
Hank: Being an outlet of expression for other people inspires us to continue doing what we love. When this band started, we all agreed to only do this if we’re enjoying it. The party never fucking stops.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
Nick: The Grateful Dead, Phish, Umphreys McGee, My Morning Jacket, The Band.
Jackson: In terms of who, we would all agree on bands like Magic City Hippies, Tame Impala, Twenty One Pilots, and Rage Against the Machine. In terms of what, we would have to say our life experiences being currently enrolled as college students. The atmosphere, the crazy social events, and the personal motivation to mature all definitely play a role in our creative process.
Hank: Our influences are always changing/evolving, but currently I’d say Rage Against The Machine, The Killers, Cage The Elephant and Twenty One Pilots. The process of creating is fueled by so many things that go on in our lives, which is why each song takes on it’s own ‘story’ or identity.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Hank: ‘Check Your System’ is just one stop on the journey of our debut album Pay No Mind. There is so much diversity in the sound, appeal, and vision on the new record. Our last release was a blast to write/record, but creating this new album seemed effortless. We’ve been through a lot together in the past year…and this is our way telling fans that ‘the party has just begun’. It’s raw…in-your-face…genuine. It’s rock and roll.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
Jackson: Marketing and promotion of your music is key in order to succeed as an upcoming artist and is always challenging. Technology and applications like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have all helped immensely in this process of getting our music out to our audience quick and efficiently.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
Jackson: We absolutely love the streaming services we use (iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify etc.). Vinyl pressing is definitely a huge goal for us. We all love the concept of having a big ol’ record with our music and full artwork on it.
Hank: Spotify, iTunes, and Soundcloud are great for independent artists. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to achieve, and though there’s less money with streaming, our audience continues to grow every day because of how easy it is to access our music.
Nick: Streaming is great! It’s awesome that we have such an archive to pick from and such a wide array of different genres and sub-genres. But I love vinyl; there’s nothing better than putting on a great record and just straight chillin’.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
You can find our music on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, your girlfriend’s next break-up playlist, etc.
Social Media:
- www.captivamusic.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/experience.the.buzz
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/captivamusic
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ0yAdssGMWOt1Sn7F0YmA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captivamusic
- Snapchat: Snap.tiva
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6yKG2IQiDrd3KM79Gcuzug
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/captiva-music
Anything else before we sign off?
Stay buzzed. We’ve got a new single coming late October. Follow us on Spotify to hear it first!
