Joey Cape-Stitch Puppy-out Sep. 4th, 2015

Joey Cape will be the first to tell you that the past few years haven’t exactly been the easiest on him. Of course, there’s the problems that affect many an aging punk—Joey is closing in on 50, and it’s not like there’s a pension plan for punk rock—but then there are the permanent departures that continue to mount as a scene that was built on the “live fast, die young” mantra is now losing some of its finest members. It’s a huge reason why Lagwagon’s most recent album, 2014’s incredible Hang, was, well, pretty fuckin’ dark, from the lyrical content to the noose on the cover art. So when you first fire up Joey’s new solo album, Stitch Puppy, you might think you’ll be in for a downer—and, yeah, you’ll get that, at times. But it’s really so much more. But you’ll need to wait until Stitch Puppy’s release—September 4th–to sink your teeth into it and discover the beauty and the darkness for yourself. Oh, and just what is a stitch puppy? Let’s let Joey explain:

I’m excited to be announcing the release of my new solo album Stitch Puppy. It’s been almost 5 years since the last solo full length was released so it feels long overdue. Stitch Puppy was inspired by a doll my daughter made me a few years back. It’s a sort of Victorian mourning doll. Stitch is my most prized possession. Put it this way, if my house were to burn down, after my family and the animals, Stitch would be top priority. My idea to wear his costume stems from years of thinking of him as some representation of purity, loss and the strength that follows. Stitch Puppy seems to be alone, which is the way it feels to mourn the loss someone you love or to be abandoned, stood up. We are all disappointed by life’s disloyalties and losses but somehow the wiser for them. We transform from victim to guide. We are witness to these things and the beauty in between. That’s it. That’s how I see Stitch Puppy. Not defeated. Simply the wise witness I aim to be.

Don’t miss Joey Cape on his upcoming One Week Records tour which kicks off this September!