Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly

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Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Birth name Samuel Lloyd Duckworth[1]
Born January 30, 1986 (1986-01-30) (age 22)
Origin Southend, Essex, England
Genre(s) Alternative rock, folktronica, indie
Occupation(s) Singer/songwriter
guitarist
Instrument(s) Vocals, acoustic guitar, laptop
Years active 2004–present
Label(s) Atlantic
Website Official website

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is the stage name of English artist Sam Duckworth aka "Charlie Khoo"[2] and his band. He is often referred to as Get Cape, Cape, GCWCF and Slam Dunkworth. According to Duckworth, his stage name comes from a ZX Spectrum magazine which featured a solution for the Batman video game and one of the sections of the solution contained the header "Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly".[3]

Contents

[edit] Music career

[edit] Early career

Duckworth grew up in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and has supported bands such as The Flaming Lips, The Magic Numbers, OK Go, Funeral for a Friend,The Kooks and Feeder. Duckworth was signed to Atlantic Records in March 2006, after playing many gigs—both with punk rock band Silverskin and as GCWCF.

As of September 2005, Duckworth has been managed by Paul Bonham of Truck Records.

[edit] The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager

Get Cape's debut album, The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager, has been described as an indie/emo fusion, suggesting that it blends the line between emo rock and indie music. The album was very well received by critics and even made the top 100 albums of 2006 lists of Q and NME.

In October 2006, he performed as part of the BBC Electric Proms.[4] He played at a number of major festivals in 2007, including Oxegen, Glastonbury,[5] and SXSW. He was scheduled to also appear at Wakestock however his set was called off due to poor weather conditions. In March 2007, Duckworth played for the NME's SXSW tour in Texas, USA, which, for four days, had over 1400 bands playing in clubs in Texas. He played his slot on 15 March 2007 at Stubbs Barbecue, despite having been in hospital just hours before with bronchitis.

In January 2007, Duckworth was nominated for best solo artist at the annual NME Awards, up against Lily Allen, Jamie T, Jarvis Cocker and Thom Yorke, although he did not win.

[edit] Searching for the Hows and Whys

Get Cape's second album, Searching for the Hows and Whys was released on 10 March 2008.[6] It features guest vocals from Kate Nash on the track, "Better Things".[7] The album also features Billy Bragg on "Interlude".[8] "Waiting for the Monster to Drown" was released as a free download via Get Cape's official website and MySpace on 7 December 2007. The first single released from the album was "Find The Time" which was released on 3 March 2008, and reached number 33 on the UK Top 40 Chart.

On 24 March 2008, he performed on Hollyoaks as part of a gig staged in the village.

[edit] Personal life

Duckworth is well known for his debating. He has had run-ins with the British National Party after a racist attack in a nightclub two years ago, and has since become an avid supporter of Love Music Hate Racism.[9] Duckworth is part Burmese, which might explain the racist insults he has suffered. He has been to many speakings and concerts involving this. He is also a Fairtrade supporter.[10] He does not like the Charlatans.

[edit] Musical style and influences

Duckworth's main influences are drawn from folk, emo, and indie,[11] with Billy Bragg cited as a major influence.[12] His musical tastes take in a range of music, with artists such as Nitin Sawhney (who produced his second album), Rival Schools, Blur, Lemon Jelly and At The Drive-In among his favourites.[13][9]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

  • "I-Spy"/"Call Me Ishmael" (Atlantic Records, 2006)
  • "Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (Part One)" (Atlantic Records, 2006) #38 UK
  • "War of the Worlds" (Atlantic Records, 2006) #39 UK
  • "I-Spy" (Atlantic Records, March 2007) #37 UK
  • "Find the Time" (Atlantic Records, March 2008) #33 UK
  • "Keep Singing Out" (Atlantic Records, 19th May 2008)

[edit] Demos

  • Demo 1 (2-track demo, self-released, 2004)

[edit] Music videos

As of August 2006, four Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly songs have music videos featured on MTV2, VH1 and E4 music.

"I Spy" is somewhat a spoof of a British Saturday morning kids show. Where Duckworth is introduced by a creature that looks like one of the Fimbles and so continues to play on a seat surrounded by kids and various other characters like a stereotypical popstar.

"Call Me Ishmael" depicts an "escape" from everyday work, showing different people from different careers entering an underground tunnel network, along with Duckworth. At the end of the video, Duckworth emerges in a Job Centre, and is promptly asked by an employee to "Take a Number and a seat, please"; an anti-climax to the up-beat feeling of the rest of the song.

"Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager, Part One" (Chronicles for short) depicts Sam Duckworth with other band members playing in a casual environment, inside of a house — wherein it is later revealed that a number of red strings lead into. The bulk of the video consists of various people from different walks of life following one of these strings into the house. At this point, the crescendo of the song kicks in, and a more gig/party like atmosphere is assumed. The video ends by depicting the "morning after" with many people asleep, and Sam Duckworth still playing into a phone, quietly, next to a huge ball of red string.

"War of the Worlds" shows Duckworth in a warehouse sitting singing the song whilst workers busy themselves setting up poles in which their function are not known until the climax of the song, at which point they explode around Duckworth and spew out various colours of paint.

[edit] Other contributors

Although not a band in the conventional sense, other musicians who record on GCWCF's tracks are:

[edit] Live musicians

A number of musicians tour with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. These include;

  • Jamie Allen – bass guitar (various 2008 tour dates)

[edit] References

  1. ^ ASCAP: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
  2. ^ ITC: Last year's success stories - In the city - Music - Entertainment - Manchester Evening News
  3. ^ Guardian Unlimited: Arts blog - music: Get Cape Wear Cape Fly Profile
  4. ^ BBC - Electric Proms - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
  5. ^ BBC - Glastonbury 2007 - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
  6. ^ 101CD.com: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly / Searching For The Hows And Whys - Indie & Punk CDs - Free Delivery
  7. ^ GIGWISE, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - 'Searching For The Hows And Whys' (Atlantic) Released 03/03/07
  8. ^ Get Cape,Wear Cape. Fly - Searching For the Hows and Whys - Music-News.com
  9. ^ a b Guttridge-Hewitt, Martin (2008) "Interview: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly", Click Music
  10. ^ "Oxfam campaign with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly", Oxfam, April 2007
  11. ^ Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly at Zaavi
  12. ^ Official biography
  13. ^ Cummings, Bill (2006) "Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly", God Is In The TV

[edit] See also

[edit] External links