Las Vegas Weekly

Black Camaro’s Radio Capricorn

Tom Miller and Brian Garth of Black Camaro. Not picture are Rick Miller, Scott Trujillo and Jimi Berg (who has nice maracas).

Photo: Corlene Byrd

KDIG, Vegas’ newest “radio station,” plays all Black Camaro tunes, all the time… with the exception of amusing DJ banter and commercials for your local illegal drug store. They can play all Black Camaro because they are Black Camaro, and the only place you can hear the fictitious radio station is on the band’s Radio Capricorn album, the newest freebie for the masses.

In the weeks before the band’s Gypsy Den show during First Friday last week there was hardly time to record a new album, but Black Camaro co-founder Brian Garth and his bandmates wanted to have something to give to people who stumbled into into the show.

“We put together this CD for people who had never heard of our stuff,” explained Garth.

Thus, Radio Capricorn was born. The album showcases 11 of the band’s songs, plus a new track, “The Trouble with Pain,” with fictitious radio segments, commercials and a repetitive phone number ad for who-knows-what spliced in between.

“It’s making fun of phone number jingles,” explains Garth of “3356797.” “We randomly made [the phone number] up, but it turns out to be someone named Brandi.” Garth predicts she’ll now receive many unwanted calls thanks to the CD, 200 of which they distributed at Gypsy Den last week. “I’ve called [Brandi] about twice a week for the past two weeks,” Garth says. “She doesn’t think it’s funny anymore.”

More than a joke, however, it’s a unique way to re-release material. Think: Flight of the Conchords meets songs by The Doors and The Shins’ love child. Everything from the commercial jingle music beds to many of the character voices were done by Black Camaro.

If you missed their hour-plus gig last week or forgot to snag a CD, it’s not too late. “More than likely, we’ll burn more and drop them off at the Gypsy Den, and bring more to each Zia [Records] for people to steal if they want,” says Garth. “You can have your friends burn it, but then you don’t get the cover that looks like candy—it makes you want to eat it. [Black Camaro’s] Tom Miller does all that artwork.”

Still, instructions to make duplicates were Sharpied on one of the copies the Weekly picked up. “There’s over 100 different messages,” Garth says of the hand-labeled CDs.

We’ve followed the directions on ours and you can listen to and download tracks and off takes from the disc right here. Send the link to your friends and they can burn and decorate their own mini Radio Capricorn CD.

So, what else is up for Black Camaro? “We just got a new bass player and he’s rad,” explains Garth. “But we’re cracking down. We’re cracking down and practicing four days a week and making a new record.”

Until then, Radio Capricorn will have to suffice, and even those familiar with the group should give it a listen. “We definitely have to do another radio show format in the future because of the response we’re getting from it,” he says. “People think it’s the funniest shit they’ve heard in three weeks.”