LAURA JOHNSON
A&E Assistant
Some garage bands are destined to be just that — bands that never actually leave the confined rooms that deafens their sound to the outside world. But then there are those special bands, the ones that break free of their car-storing original practice space to really make it in the music industry.
Junior Ryan Hahn said his band, Cavil at Rest, has what it takes to move beyond the garage. Hahn and a few of his friends started the band back in high school. But Hahn, the lead singer of the band, said the group did not get serious about making music until his senior year of high school. Although only two of the original members, Hahn and guitar player Taylor Rice, and are still part of the group, the five guys who make up the band today are in it for the long haul.
The band also includes Andy Hamm on bass, Kelcey Ayer on guitar and vocals and Matthew Frazier on drums.
Through the power of MySpace, Cavil at Rest has been able to expand its fan base. Tracks from the newest demo, “Hijacked at Sea,” can be played on the page, and band t-shirts can be bought, but for the most part MySpace is just a good way to get their name out there. Though a full-length album has yet to be produced, Hahn said it is the next project for the group.
“Our sound has evolved over time,” Hahn said. “But now we’re at a place where we finally want to be, and I think we’re ready.”
The goal of the band is to simply make music that moves, music that taps the mind while making one tap his or her feet at the same time, Hahn said.
“Our music is honest and intelligent,” Hahn said of his band’s sound. “It stirs the soul and is full of genuine artistic expression. It’s not just the sound of the month that will play in hip hop clubs for a month or so only to disappear.”
Striving for a clearly different quality in their tone, Cavil at Rest has a distinctive zesty California sound that many times channels the likes of Led Zepplin and other 1960s music geniuses. Hahn attributes the writing process to everyone in the band.
“It’s a very collaborative effort,” he said. “I do a lot of the writing but there isn’t one song done that doesn’t have at least one thing added by everyone in the group.” Implementing driving acoustic lines and florid harmonies with smashing piano and drums, the band has got its very own flavor, which is one of the reasons their manager of two months, Scott Barrett, liked them so well in the first place.
Having gone to a show to see another band playing with Cavil, Barrett said he was so impressed with the boys’ show that he introduced himself immediately.
“They stole the show that night,” Barrett said. “Even the next day, I couldn’t get their songs out of my head. They just have this different sound. It’s not what everyone is freaking out about right now, it is not being played on the radio and I love that.”
Cavil is the only band that Barrett represents and this shows how much he believes in them. The band has not been signed by a label because they have not found anyone with their same vision. Instead, the band members are focusing on building a fan base.
Cavil has played for many events including opening for Jimmy Eat World at Pepperdine, various gigs at the Malibu Inn and winning 2006’s Pepperdine Battle of the Bands. Although they do not have any concert dates coming up, they are planning on hopefully taking a tour this summer of the West Coast.
According to Hahn, the band’s name Cavil at Rest, means to put aside anything that keeps one from being themselves, to focus on the ultimate goal of always be positive.
Being a college student and a member of a band can be hard to balance, but the members of Cavil feel it is something they must do. Hahn, an advertising major, is involved in the university choir, Psi Upsilon fraternity and is also part of the Great Books class, which he said is an activity in and of itself.
Andy Hamm, bass player for the group, graduated from Chapman University and has his own opinion on going to college.
“It comes up every day,” Hamm said. “Us quitting what we’re doing right now and pursuing music full time. One day hopefully this will really happen for us, but luckily we have school and jobs to fall back on right now.”
The band’s manager also agrees with the band members doing school as well.
“With the music industry changing so rapidly these days I think it is very important to pursue this as a business,” Barrett said. “The bands that are smart about the business side are the one’s who make it.”
Although Hahn said the word “rock star” is a terrible term, he nonetheless wants to make music that will somehow influence the world. With an introspective sound that still manages to be fun, something he describes as “non-shoe gazing music,” Hahn and his Cavil at Rest band mates are ready to get out of their garage.
09-28-2006
