Hear a song from Ben Stiller’s high school punk band Capital Punishment called “Confusion”

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Capital Punishment, the bygone punk band that featured Ben Stiller on drums, has shared another track, “Confusion”, from Captured Tracks’ upcoming reissue of their lone album, 1982’s Roadkill. The band premiered the cut via Rolling Stone, with whom Stiller and founder Kriss Roebling also conducted an interview.

Shadowy and playful, the lo-fi “Confusion” features punchy guitar riffs, theatrical synth flourishes, and a grating quacking noise that punctuates the track’s ghoulish vocals. Hear it below.

The interview is also fun, with Stiller lamenting his poor drumming skills and the pair reflecting on their only live show, which they played under the name Rent a Gong. “It was a variety night for students. We just did sort of like an upbeat instrumental, a sort of jazz-like song,” Roebling said. “It almost sounded like the vibe of a Chuck Mangione song or something. … I think that was why we felt it was wise to change the name.”

They also discuss their inadvertent hand in the naming of a KISS album, a turn of events that came about after they had dinner with Gene Simmons. Read the full story below:

Roebling: He was into a movie that my mom was in with Robert Duvall called Tomorrow, and at the time he was trying to become an actor. He wound up knowing someone that knew my mom, and he wanted to talk to her about that project. And called up out of the blue. And since I was such a huge Kiss fan, she was like, “Oh, my God, you’re that Gene Simmons? You gotta come over to dinner.” And so I instantly called the band … and we all came over and had dinner with Gene Simmons. And he was very nice, very cordial. We played him part of the album.

Stiller: [Laughs]

Roebling: There was specifically one song that we kind of thought of as being sort of inspired by Kiss, called “Creatures of the Dark.” And he said, “Oh, I like that, I like the name.” And then he went on to say, “Well, that’s cool, you guys got cool ideas, but you just gotta get your technique together.”

Stiller: He wasn’t wrong [laughs].

Roebling: Later that year I come home and the guy at the front door is like, “Kriss, a Mr. Simmons came by and he said he thought you would like this.” And so it’s this package and I open it up and it’s an advance copy of their next album [1982’s Creatures of the Night]. And, so, needless to say, it was quite a powerful moment [laughs].

They also confirm that they’ve recorded some new songs that Roebling says are “hopefully going to be released pretty soon.”

The reissue of Roadkill is due out on September 14th. Pre-orders are ongoing for the reissue.

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