Captain Tractor
Encyclopedia
Captain Tractor is a Canadian
folk rock
band, based in Edmonton, Alberta
. They play a punk
-influenced variant of Celtic folk music, similar to such bands as Great Big Sea
, The Pogues
or Spirit of the West
. Their songs are often rich in local, cultural, and geographical references.
The band's most famous songs have been renditions of the folk music
classics "The Log Driver's Waltz
" and "Drunken Sailor
", as well as a cover of the Arrogant Worms' "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate". They have also developed a following for their brand of Canadian rock, with singles such as "Up the Hill", "Frozen Puck to the Head", "This Is Not a Sad Song", "Another Drinking Song", and "The Bastard of Strathcona County".
In celebration of the band's 10th anniversary, Alley Kat Brewing Company released "Captain Tractor Yellowhead Wheat Ale".
Their seventh studio album, Famous Last Words, was released on May 3, 2011.
named Bucky. The band members are:
Former members include:
They have also released a video entitled Inconsequential Things in 1998, and an interactive CD-ROM, Bus Madness, in 1995.
Members' solo albums:
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
band, based in Edmonton, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. They play a punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
-influenced variant of Celtic folk music, similar to such bands as Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...
, The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
or Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...
. Their songs are often rich in local, cultural, and geographical references.
The band's most famous songs have been renditions of the folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
classics "The Log Driver's Waltz
The Log Driver's Waltz
"The Log Driver's Waltz" is a Canadian folk song, written by Wade Hemsworth.The Log Driver's Waltz is also a Canadian animated film from the National Film Board, released in 1979 as part of its Canada Vignettes series.-Song information:...
" and "Drunken Sailor
Drunken Sailor
Drunken Sailor is a traditional sea shanty also known as What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?It begins with the question, "What shall we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?" Each verse thereafter suggests a method of sobering—or castigating, or simply abusing—the sailor.The song...
", as well as a cover of the Arrogant Worms' "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate". They have also developed a following for their brand of Canadian rock, with singles such as "Up the Hill", "Frozen Puck to the Head", "This Is Not a Sad Song", "Another Drinking Song", and "The Bastard of Strathcona County".
In celebration of the band's 10th anniversary, Alley Kat Brewing Company released "Captain Tractor Yellowhead Wheat Ale".
Their seventh studio album, Famous Last Words, was released on May 3, 2011.
Band members
The band consists of five men and their mascot, a deerDeer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
named Bucky. The band members are:
- Chris Wynters - vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, songwriter - Scott Peters - vocals, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, guitar, bodhranBodhránThe bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
, songwriter, driver - Jules MounteerMounteerMounteer is a surname that most likely originated in England.-First Mounteer:The origins of the name can be traced back to:EnglandUSABarbadosPossible Connections...
- drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussion, driver - Jon Nordstrom - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, trumpet, guitar, vocals, songwriter. Joined before "Hat Trick". - Jason Kodie - keyboards, vocals, musical restraint. Joined before "North of the Yellowhead".
- Shannon Johnson - Fiddle, Vocals
Former members include:
- Aimee Hill - fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, vocals. Left after "East of Edson". - Jeff Smook - bass, vocals, songwriter. Left after "Bought the Farm".
- Brock SkywalkerBrock SkywalkerBrock Jason Armstrong Skywalker is a founding member of the Alberta band Captain Tractor and since Tractor's inception, back in 1993, Brock has become a permanent fixture in the Alberta music scene...
- accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, guitar, bodhranBodhránThe bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
, penny whistle, harmonica, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, keyboards, vocals, songwriter. Left just before "North of the Yellowhead".
Discography
Captain Tractor has released seven albums:- Land (1994)
- East of EdsonEdson, AlbertaEdson is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Yellowhead County, west of Edmonton along the Yellowhead Highway and east of the intersection with Highway 47.- History :left|thumb|200px|Welcome Sign...
(1995) - Bought the Farm (1997)
- Hat Trick (1998)
- Celebrity Traffic Jam (1999)
- Hoserista (2000)
- North of the YellowheadYellowhead HighwayThe Yellowhead Highway is a major east-west highway connecting the four western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Although part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, the highway should not be confused with the more southerly, originally-designated...
(2005) - Famous Last Words (2011)
They have also released a video entitled Inconsequential Things in 1998, and an interactive CD-ROM, Bus Madness, in 1995.
Members' solo albums:
- Chris Wynters' Skywriting (Six Shooter Records, 2005).
- Jon Nordstrom's Brick and Stone (Independent, 2003) and Waiting for Summer (Independent 2005).
- Former member Brock SkywalkerBrock SkywalkerBrock Jason Armstrong Skywalker is a founding member of the Alberta band Captain Tractor and since Tractor's inception, back in 1993, Brock has become a permanent fixture in the Alberta music scene...
Cerebral Reruns (FrozenPuck, 2004).