We’ve all wondered what happened to the one that got away. Do they think of us, do they share the same fondness for memories past? Cavern Company puts their heart on their sleeve with their latest release ‘God Willing’. The cascading guitars are accompanied by a building beat; like feet pounding the pavement, running from your fears, the world drowned out by the sound of the thumping against the pavement, that’s how the drums reverberate on ‘God Willing.’ The track is brilliantly composed with its soft melodic piano, tender, nostalgic vocals, folk influenced guitar and chugging drums. It’s the tender lyrics that really captivate the listener: “How to handle carefully, Something so fragile is lost on me, All that I know is I loved you then, When we were dancing…When we were dancing.” The song, even with its sense of loss is dreamy and romantic. Whoever this pair is that shared those dance lessons, they left a lot of love behind on that dance floor- and for a listener to pick that up from the music, that’s excellent song writing, and an overall exceptional performance from Cavern Company.
Longtime friends and now bandmates Kole McLaren and Joshua Warren met fellow band mate Zach Shomaker at college in the spring of 2015. The trio began experimenting with sounds and honing their craft. After a year of meticulously sharpening their sound it wasn’t just their music that had a firm foundation; the trio had transformed into the group we now know as Cavern Company. The group’s vision “is to have a sound that is not just heard but felt;” and might we say, mission accomplished gentlemen. If you’re craving catchy melodies, timeless and emotionally resonating music, stream ‘God Willing’ today by the Cavern Company.
Listen to "God Willing" here and get to know more about Cavern Company below!
Hi Guys. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us at BuzzMusic. Can you start off by telling our readers a bit about yourself as a band?
Hey! We are happy to be here. Cavern Company is a 3 piece Indie Rock band based in Oklahoma City, OK. Coffee and Mexican food is the foundation the band was built on when we formed back in 2015, it’s what has kept us going up to this point. In all seriousness we love making art together and writing songs that hold both musical originality and lyrical candor. Most of our songs were written about our own personal stories that we felt someone else needed to hear and we are grateful to be able to perform these songs live for our fans as often as possible.
We loved your latest release ‘God Willing.’ This song really does paint a picture for the listener, can you tell us the meaning behind the song?
“God Willing” is arguably the most difficult song we’ve written to date for a multitude of reasons. Not only was it a challenging song to write from a purely musical standpoint, but it was also a difficult story to tell, or rather retell. The lyrics of “God Willing” detail a very difficult time in our drummer’s life where he fell in love at the most inopportune time, losing that love as soon as he found it. He asked that the band help him tell this story as a way to process everything that had happened, and so that he might have a sense of closure. So for anyone who hears this song, we hope it creates space to remember and process both happy and hurtful memories. We hope it helps people peacefully move forward with their lives in the midst of heartache and loss.
What does the creative process look like for you guys?
Creativity tends to be a collaborative process for us. Often times one of us will bring a piece to the band that the rest of us then write around to compose a song. It may start with a single guitar riff or drum groove and every now and then one of us brings a full song to table that we put through the "Cavern Company filter" to see where it goes. Through the years we have naturally learned our strengths and weaknesses in the creative process so we each know where we can best fill in blank on an unfinished song to make it what it needs to be. Overall, we have learned that creativity and songwriting is ultimately hard work and is much less romantic than some artists would have it seen. Usually our best songs are the ones that we've spent the most time with to ensure we are making the best creative choices for the song. When we spend hardworking hours in the studio things begin to click and that is typically when the magic happens and turns into something beautiful.
What artists have really shaped your creative process? Who made you want to create your own sound and reach the masses as your role models have?
A) This is one of our favorite questions because part of what caused us to pursue music in the first place is having been inspired by the artists we admire. One of the biggest influences for us in the writing room is Death Cab For Cutie. Their lyrics are both familiar and personal and they don't stick to the confines of writing just "radio friendly" music. Whether its composition, lyrics, or a chord voicing, their creative choices have always stuck us in a way that most other artists don't and we strive to write songs in the same way for our listeners. Another is the band Phoenix as their use of synths and linear guitar lines have always pushed us into new territories within the indie rock/pop genre. Once again, we are drawn to their out of the box thinking and that has really shaped how we write. (B) I think this answer is probably a bit different for each of us in the band. But, aside from Death Cab and Phoenix we've been collectively influenced by bands such as The Killers, Henry Jamison, Young The Giant, Colony House, and The 1975... I'm sure there's many more but these bands have been instrumental (pun intended) for us in working to develop the sound that you hear as Cavern Company today.
What’s next for you guy?
Now that the EP has been released, we are spending our time writing new music for our first full length record. We don't have a release date for that yet, but we are excited to be in the studio again where the work, creativity, and occasionally magic happens. We are also prepping for our "So This Is Happiness Tour" that we leave for in about a month. We can't wait to hit the road as we will be covering much of the Midwest and playing quite a few new places. We are grateful for the opportunity to get this music out to new fans and friends and hope to be able to say that for many years to come.
Connect with Cavern Company on social media