Ben Stiller’s Teenage Punk Band, Capital Punishment, Reissued by Captured Tracks

Before Ben Stiller was a huge movie star, he was a teenager—a teenager with a punk band. They were called Capital Punishment, and Stiller was their drummer. In 1982, while still in high school, they self-released an album called Roadkill. Now, that album is getting a reissue courtesy of Captured Tracks. Below, listen to “Confusion” from the album.

In addition to Stiller, the band also featured Kriss Roebling, whose ancestors built the Brooklyn Bridge back in the 19th century, Peter Zusi, professor of Slavic studies at University College London, and Peter Swann, who would go on to become a Supreme Court Justice for the state of Arizona.

Class photo, pre-Roadkill: Front row, from left: Peter Zusi and Ben Stiller. Back row in black cap: Kriss Roebling

Stiller talked a little bit about the re-release in a recent interview with Howard Stern. “What happened was some outsider music label, which I didn’t know those existed, but people who are just into weird music; I guess it’s been found and they asked us if they could re-release it,” he said.

He added: “They’re called Captured Tracks. They’re a real company.”

Stiller’s comments about Capital Punishment can be found around the 26 minute mark:

Comments are closed.