Becky Kapell released her first CD in 2012, but that was in Portland so I’m not going to count it because I think Minnesota has had a strong musical impact on her, and she on it! And she’s really just in her first chapter of Minnesota music – can’t wait to see what happens next.
Kapell spent her formative years (20’s) in Portland but moved back to Minnesota in 1996 to raise a family and work with her brother’s Magnetic Poetry company. As she says, she led the soccer mom life. In 2007, she was divorced. With kids getting older, more time on her hands and nursing the heartbreak of unrequited love, Becky picked up her son’s guitar and started playing. She knew a few chords and just went with it.
The melody came first, then the lyrics. The music is all about the melody for Kapell.
The first CD just came pouring out – such is the power of a hurting heart. She lived in Minnesota but recorded it in Portland, where she stayed in contact with old friends. But once the album came out, Kapell started to make inroads with the Minnesota Music scene. She played at Open Mic nights and eventually found her community.
A strong member of that community is singer/guitar player Paul Bergen. Bergen produced her latest CD That Certain Ache. Kapell saw him play at Morrissey’s where he was a regular and then started running into him other places around town. Because, as it turns out, the Twin Cities isn’t really that big. She asked him to play with her, he did and recognized her talent – said he’d play with her anytime.
Kapell became a mainstay in the music community, especially the country leaning corner of the community. She has played with Paul and his band the Astronauts of Rhythm, she had a residency at the Dubliner with her band the Fat 6 and other places around town.
Fast forward, and Becky has a pocket full of new songs – they didn’t just emerge as with the first album – but they came. She started playing with Bergen in his basement. It was very organic. They started with a looping guitar and just played. That gave rise to the new CD. (On the CD that looping has been replaced on most songs with Erik Koskinen on the drums.)
Becky allowed that her super power is not knowing about music and how things are supposed to be – which allows for interesting melodies. It sounds like Paul gives room for the creativity and then does his magic to make it work on the CD. They’re a good team.
Kapell’s music has the familiarity of a country song. You feel like you know it the first time you hear it. Becky has a very pretty voice – pretty and strong. The high notes are sweet but her voice doesn’t stay up there, it comes down to a range that’s easy to listen to as well. The songs are simple, the stories are universal yet specific as all good country songs are.
Becky Kapell will be celebrating the release on the new CD That Certain Ache on Friday May 18 at the Hook and Ladder in Minneapolis. The video for That Certain Ache (my favorite song on the CD) was just listed in The Current’s Friday Five video list. Watch it below for a sneak preview of show:
http://thehookmpls.com/event/that-certain-ache/
Tickets: http://thehookmpls.com/event/that-certain-ache/
By Ann Treacy, Photo Credit Mary Gibney
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