The story of Belleville begins with 19 year old guitarist/vocalist; Mark Caputo. In 1980 he joins Robert Seidler & Mr. Clean playing a variety of renowned local venues including the once ubiquitous Keystone circuit of Berkeley, Palo Alto and The Stone (SF). Other notable shows were The Old Waldorf, San Jose Civic and a one-time appearance on The Jerry Lewis Telethon in 1981. The band opened for such notables as Billy Idol, A Flock of Seagulls, The Undertones, The English Beat, The Plimsouls, Oingo Boingo & John Hiatt.

After departing Mr. Clean in October, 1982, Mark along with Steve Raschke & a little later; Nick Gardner form the group; A Private View (1983-1987). Within a couple months, Andy Scott (KUSF PD) begins managing the group and after another short period, hands the reins off to Queenie Taylor of Bill Graham Presents. Since the band’s inception only seven months earlier, the group receives their big break opening arena shows for Roxy Music in support of their seminal 1982 record; Avalon. 

During the late summer/autumn of 1983, the group starts selling out local venues and supporting other notables such as Brian Setzer, Bill Nelson, Nona Hendrix, Wire Train, Translator & Lena Lovich. The band was also given an opportunity to perform a set of original instrumental pieces (light show included) at a sold-out Morrison Planetarium in Golden Gate Park; Summer of 1984. During this time the band receives a significant amount of radio airplay, including station ID's on the modern rock station (KQAK/The Quake) later becoming KITS/Live 105. In April, 1986 they write & record with engineer extraordinaire, George Massenberg & producer Tony Berg and yield the track "Freedom" for the Terry Carr directed, "Welcome to Eighteen". They continue to record with Tony Berg and release a two-song single, Memory Lane/Our Town in late 1987,  but by January, 1988 the group decided to call it a day. (In 2011 Del-Tona Records released the retrospective The Golden Age 1983-1987)

In 1993 Mark joins the Anthony Bonet led group, that over the course of three years became Portashrine. The band  released two singles and in 1996 they recorded & released their only proper LP; Portashrine. They also performed at the CMJ Festival in NYC with the song In The Worst Way being a finalist for college radio song of the year.

In 1998, Mark along with George Railton (Portashrine), Robert Zapata (RIP) & Bruce Drake form Belleville and by mid-1999 begin recording the eponymous debut, and the follow-up; My Friends Are My Estate in 2002. During this period they receive a lot of favorable press as well as performing at Great American Music Hall, Cafe DuNord & Bottom of The Hill.

In 2011, Grammy award winning producer/engineer; John Cuniberti, teams up with Mark & Al Chan of The Rubinoos and a great cast of players and under the name Yep, records the excellent; Once. Well-known music writer; John Borack who’s written books on The Beatles and the acclaimed 'Shake Some Action', gave the record an enthusiastic review (A-) in late 2011. 

In late 2016, and nearly 20 years after they first formed in Oakland, CA, Belleville's well-honed musical craftsmanship yields their fourth and most fully-realized record, yet; Turn The Medicine Down.

October, 2020 see Bay Area stalwarts, Belleville quietly release a 6-song Single EP, Beyond The Pale Blue. Produced by the duo of Mark Caputo & Marc Burnstein, the band has frankly; hit one out of the park. Cowbell included!

The sixth LP from Belleville Before I Go is released on Del-tona Records in May, 2023.

                      Reviews

 

BELLEVILLE  |   Before I Go (2023 Del-Tona)   

Smart, literate, lush Americana  with exquisite pop melodies that sink in deeper with each play- and it's inevitable you'll play it a lot. - Roy Pearl / The Unherd Music

Introducing the opening track, “Where the North Winds Blow" by Belleville, an eagerly anticipated release that adds another chapter to the band's rich musical history. With their roots dating back to the 1980s, Belleville has been captivating audiences with their exceptional songwriting and remarkable performances. Led by guitarist/vocalist Mark Caputo, the band has shared the stage with renowned acts such as Roxy Music, Billy Idol, The English Beat, and Oingo Boingo.  "Where the North Winds Blow", is a new milestone for Belleville, showcasing their evolution as musicians. The song; meticulously crafted with the band's signature attention to detail, seamlessly blends indie folk and alternative rock influences. Mark's emotive vocals & production, Marc Burnstein’s songwriting and other-worldly cigar-box guitar and a great band featuring Jim Bogios/drums, Danny Eisenberg/piano & organ and David McCullough on bass guitar help create the band's dynamic instrumentation: a sonic landscape that is both introspective and exhilarating. Belleville's dedication to their craft and their ability to create timeless music is evident here, as the band embark on this new chapter. -Natasha Tigre

 

BELLEVILLE  |   Turn The Medicine Down (2016 Del-Tona)   

Nearly 20 years after they first formed in Oakland, CA, Belleville's well-honed musical craftsmanship has finally yielded their fourth and most fully-realized official album; "Turn The Medicine Down." Fronted by guitarist Mark Caputo, whose vocal stylings have never sounded better, Belleville is bolstered by the seasoned talents of such music veterans as Tommy Dunbar & Al Chan of the legendary Rubinoos, Jim Bogios of Counting Crows & Sheryl Crow and Suzie Davis, who not only was in Mick Jagger's solo touring band, but also played Keyboards on Prince's "I Would Die 4U" (from Purple Rain) and played acoustic guitar for Sinead O'Connor's during her notorious pope-shredding Saturday Night Live appearance. Long time members, David Zirbel (Pedal Steel), Marc Burnstein (guitar) & David McCullough (Bass) are also back. At the helm for this session as Producer is Grammy-award winning John Cuniberti, whose impressive list of credits includes Joe Satriani, The Neville Brothers, Dead Kennedys, and Kevin Gilbert, among others.– Bob Bland / Bend & Scoop 

   
BELLEVILLE  |  Collection Box  (2013 Del-Tona)  

Recorded in 2004 and on the heels of their first two fantastic full-lengths, Belleville scrapped what would have been their third album, due to concerns that their change in sound might be too jarring for their devoted No Depression fan base. Thankfully, they didn't erase the master tapes, because Collection Box is an absolutely magnificent pop gem. Truth be told, their change in sound is really more subtle than jarring. Belleville are once again led by the immensely-talented Mark Caputo & his superb band.  -  Hip Displeasure  
   


YEP  |  Once   (2011 Yep Records)

The game plan for the debut album by Yep seems straightforward enough. Al Chan (of the Rubinoos) and Mark Caputo (of Belleville) teamed up and cherry-picked some of their favorite songs from all over the pop continuum. They demonstrated great taste and impressive record collections in the process, creating a songwriters' universe in which Don Everly, Ray Davies, Woody Guthrie, and Elton John stand shoulder to shoulder with Joe Pernice, Justin Currie, Teitur Lassen, Richard Buckner and Alan Wauters. The songs (ten covers and one Caputo original) are presented in rich, uncluttered arrangements. Around them guitars twang and jangle, occasionally kick up some distortion but never enough to kill the mellow buzz. Producer John Cuniberti finds the exact right balance between technologically pristine and organically natural. And then those voices enter the picture, and suddenly nothing seems straightforward anymore. The vocals of Chan and Caputo wind around each other in such stunning harmony that they invoke a sense of utter timelessness. It's like the Everly Brothers smashcut into a new millennium. And that's not to suggest an old-fashioned approach. There's no rose-tinted grasp at the past here, just as there's no auto-tuned plasticity begging for mainstream approval; this is a simple, unadorned flexing of talent that should intimidate other singers and delight everyone else. Some music just seems to stand outside of time, completely impervious to passing trends and fleeting style. It makes its own rules, defines its own sense of cool. A pantheon of greats already inhabits such rarefied air. Is it possible that Chan and Caputo have joined them? Yep. Yep. A thousand times Yep.  -  Andrew McEvoy  
   
Not sure if it's an ongoing affair or simply a one-off, but the pairing of Al Chan (of the Rubinoos) and Mark Caputo (of Belleville) pays big-time dividends on the duo's first full-length effort, recorded under the moniker Yep. The 11-song disc, titled Once, is mainly a collection of nicely chosen covers both well-known ("Rocket Man," "Waterloo Sunset") and obscure (unless artists such as Teitur or The Alan Wauters Alliance ring any bells for ya). Chan and Caputo sing real purty together and the vibe is low-key, yet not too mellow. The lesser-known tracks fare the best: Yep's take of Teitur's "Sleeping With the Lights On" is simultaneously sweet and heartbreaking, while Alan Wauters' "Noise and Confusion" is another winner in a similar mid-tempo vein, with some gently psychedelic lead guitar adding flavor. Some subtle country influences permeate the proceedings as well: the Pernice Brothers and Wilco receive the Yep treatment and a gorgeous steel guitar-flecked reading of the Everly Brothers' "So Sad" slots in perfectly. -Grade: (A-)  John Borack is the author of Shake Some Action : The Ultimate Power Pop Guide as well as John Lennon: Life Is What Happens  
   

Though Jon Rubin and Tommy Dunbar, the two remaining founders of the Rubinoos, often refer to Al Chan as "the new guy," he's entering his fourth decade of playing and singing with the band. His partner in Yep is the singer, songwriter and guitarist Mark Caputo of the pop-meets-Americana band Belleville. Together they've lovingly recorded an eclectic collection of ten cover songs (and one Caputo original), ranging from hit singles by Elton John ("Rocket Man"), the Kinks ("Waterloo Sunset"), and the Everly Brothers "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)," to lesser-known titles by deeply respected songwriters that include Richard Buckner, Alan Wauters and Justin Currie. Ironically, the indie nature of this album makes the better-known songs the more daring picks, challenging Chan and Caputo to find original approaches to chestnuts. Happily, the duo is quite up to the task. "Rocket Man" retains the dramatic build from a quiet intro to a rock `n' roll finish, but John's bluesy piano is replaced here with the singer-songwriter strum of acoustic guitars, and Yep's bass-drums-guitar and duet vocals are heavier, embellished by spacey flourishes of Dave Zirbel's steel. "Waterloo Sunset" is sung in close harmony to acoustic guitars, giving the song a more melancholy end-of-the-day vibe than the signature single, and "So Sad," though sticking closely to the Everly's harmony style, replaces the original's tremolo guitar with steel, creating a deeper country feel. It's particularly great to hear Don Everly's songwriting highlighted in the company of both commercial legends and underground heroes (and a bit of both with Jeff Tweedy's melody applied to Woody Guthrie's "Hesitating Beauty"). The uncertainty and yearning of the hits also flows through the insular world of Justin Currie's "Make it Always Too Late," the uneasily accepted inevitability of Teiture's "Sleeping with the Lights On," and the tearstained power-pop heartbreak of Joe Pernice's "Crestfallen" (note to self: check out the Pernice Brothers' 1998 debut, Overcome by Happiness). Producer John Cuniberti balances the clarity of modern recording with the warmth of DIY; on "Noise and Confusion," for example, the track retains the thick center of Alan Wauters' original, but the voices and instruments are given more definition than Wauters' muddier production. Singing together, Chan and Caputo give these covers a fresh voice while drawing lines back to the originals' legacies; they're respectful but not slavish, just as fine covers should be.  -  Hyperbolium  
   
  

BELLEVILLE  | My Friends Are My Estate (2002 Del-Tona) 

 “Opening this CD off with an almost perfect slice of late-60's Byrdsian folk-pop (Light) bodes well for Belleville (at least for me, your humble and country-rock loving reviewer). If all bands would open their discs with powerful, grabbing songs such as this my job would be so much easier. In Belleville's case, thank God, my job IS easy because that wonderful first song is just the tip of the iceberg as this CD is chock full of perfect rock/country amalgamations that will make fans of Byrds/Gram Parsons and other artists of that ilk just swoon. Great harmonies, wonderful arrangements and songwriting to die for are the lynchpins to this magnificent CD.  Fans of The Pernice Brothers, Gram, The Band, Byrds, and even late ‘60's psyche-rock need to check this out. Immediately! - Scott Homewood, Harp Magazine 

"This easygoing sophomore set is an occasionally surprising disc that is now showing more imagination than most" - No Depression Magazine  
   
"My Friends Are My Estate' includes ten original songs that combine jangle 'n' twang in a very appealing fashion" - The Big Takeover  

"My Friends Are My Estate' contains a dramatic mix of stilted vocal rhythms, classic Depression Era twangs and a sultry alt-country swagger" - Pop Matters  

"Belleville successfully weave their way through a variety of Americana checkpoints thread throughout by terrific songwriting" -- Miles of Music  

"Inviting from the first spin, this thoughtful gem manages to evoke The Byrds and Belle & Sebastian, sometimes in the course of a single song" - Pause Record  

"This Northern California group has created an exquisite piece of music with songs of style and class" - Glitterhouse Records  

"For all the alt.country bands trying to hop on the classic pop bandwagon, along comes Belleville out of relative nowhere to show the rest how to do it properly. I say that in all seriousness and pure awe. The best record of the year so far" - Freight Train Boogie  

"my friends are my estate" is a record that captures distinctive emotional observations through sharp,country rock stylings, then stirs it up into a haunting sound mix that's anything but lower case” - San Gabriel Tribune  

"My Friends Are My Estate" is one of those albums you know the least about, but can catch you off guard and hit you when you least expect it. This is a simple and instantly memorable record worthy of much wider recognition and if they maintain this quality, they will surely get it" - Americana UK  

“My Friends Are My Estate' is loaded with tight, clever tunes that show Belleville to be smarter and more skilled than many of the bands they are likely to be classified with" - Rockzilla  

"Belleville has managed to create a gem of an album that continues to grow more and more appealing with each listen" -- The Alt-Country Review  

“My Friends Are My Estate' is an album that covers a fair amount of territory, all of it sonically scenic" - Santa Monica Mirror  
   
   
BELLEVILLE – Belleville  (1999 Del-Tona)  
    
“Belleville is a place in the musical land of Americana"  - Miles of Music 

"Crafty inspired pop without a hint of manufactured country in sight" - The Big Takeover 

"All alliteration aside, a hoedown of hope against heartbreak. Oops, there I go again" - Dan Aloi 

"Nothing but sparse guitar and lonely-on-the-inside lyrics" - The Alt-Country Pages 

“Belleville are one of those bands that doesn't exactly catch you right away, but look out when they do"  - Country Standard Time 

"It might be too quick to say if they have what it takes to emerge from the pack of pretenders, but they do seem to have a knack for writing little alt-country gems"  -Digilander 

"A gem of a roots-rock statement" – Scott Hylbert  / Pittsburgh City Search