Discovery: Cave Days
IMAGE COURTESY OF YURO HUANG
Cave Days, a three-piece (and, currently, two-member) band, was born in a Bushwick loft. Though not reclusive by nature, co-writers Jon Murphy and Richard Thomas create their best work out of the spotlight. No stranger to change, Cave Days has been through more than one metamorphosis, and the band garners strength from its ability to adapt whether it’s playing a last-minute acoustic show or turning a guitarist into a bassist. With crowd-pleasing sonic jams like “Kodachrome Beach” and pop ballads like “Closer” on their self-titled EP, Cave Days has started performing pieces from their first full-length album, due for a fall release. Interview spoke with Cave Days creator and current lead singer, co-author, and guitarist, Jon Murphy, about makeshift caves, a slowly released EP, and hitting milestones.
AGE: 27
HOMETOWN: Born in Huntington, but grew up in Smithtown on Long Island
CURRENT LOCATION: Bushwick, Brooklyn
FLEXIBILITY: We’ve gone through some lineup changes over the past year. We’ve gone through two drummers, played shows as a two-piece (Richard and myself), and I’ve even played a few acoustic shows. We usually adjust the setlist to benefit our performances. After Rob left the band, this past summer, Richard stepped up to support me at acoustic shows. He would play a standup drum kit while I sang and played guitar.
THEIR SOUND: If you want me to simplify it, then I guess I’ll just say that we are loud and love to create ambience with what we call a “wall of sound.”
BROOKLYN BEGINNINGS: Cave Days began when I moved to Brooklyn in 2008. I was living alone in Park Slope. I spent time working on material I had and developing new songs. I didn’t get to record the album until I met Erik Leubs. We recorded the EP in about two weeks, but due to Erik’s hectic work schedule, it wasn’t produced for about two months.
TIMES TWO: Richard and I work well together as writers. We tend to compliment each other’s ideas. While Richard and I both love bands like My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus and Mary Chain, we still have tidbits of our own individual influences thrown in there. For instance, Richard prefers Neil Young, while I enjoy Echo and the Bunnymen.
DREAM COLLABORATION: Getting back together with my friend, Erik Leubs (aka Magical Mistakes). Last time we were together, we produced the 2011 EP. I’ve always loved his music and his style.
FAVORITE SHOW MEMORY: We played a show at Brooklyn Fireproof and we got this band called Cross to open for us. Cross is a two-piece band fronted by two of the cutest pixie girls ever. They played a slow set, but they had such captivating vocals that people were inching closer and closer to get a good look at them. They dedicated a song to us and draped the crowd in a large black blanket so that everyone would feel like they were in a cave.
THE FUTURE: Back in April, I was approached Jim Bentley, owner of the Bushwick recording studio, The Fort. I wanted to work with him since he does a lot of local bands and tends to play to their strengths. We’ve been in the studio with him since then and will be releasing a full-length album this fall. After we release the album, we’ll be booking a lot more shows.
DREAM VENUE: The Bowery Ballroom is one of my favorite venues to go see a band play live. I’ve seen a lot of great bands there, and the vibes are always good. I think it has a lot to do with the layout. If we ever book a show there, I’ll have hit a personal milestone as a musician.
FOR MORE ON CAVE DAYS, VISIT THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE.
