Cavedogs
Encyclopedia
The Cavedogs were a rock music
band that formed in Boston
in the late 1980s. The band featured Brian Stevens (bass/vocals), Todd Spahr (guitar/vocals), and Mark Rivers (drums/vocals). The trio broke up in the early 1990s, but reunited for several shows in 2002.
The Cavedogs were known for energetic live shows featuring finely crafted power pop songs, skillful playing, and three-part harmonies. The band also displayed a collective sense of humor while on stage and sometimes featured the comedy troupe Cross Comedy
before and during shows. Performances usually ended with stirring cover songs, such as the Beatles
' "Tomorrow Never Knows
" and the Who
's "A Quick One While He's Away".
The Cavedogs released the album Joy Rides for Shut-Ins
in 1990, the EP Six Tender Moments in 1991, and the album Soul Martini
in 1992. The band members went on to record in bands and as solo artists after the breakup.
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The Cavedogs were originally formed by Brian Stevens and Todd Spahr at the Miami University of Ohio in the early 1980's. During this time Stevens and Spahr played with a number of local musicians. Soon both Stevens and Spahr moved to Boston as The Blame with drummer Fred Entenman. Soon Entenman parted ways with Stevens and Spahr. Entenman's replacement was Mark Rivers, a Rush influenced drummer from Georgia. Soon The Cavedogs were becoming an important band on the Boston scene. Their first 2 singles, "Tayter Country" and "Leave Me Alone" were moderately successful but their third single "Baba Ganooj" (all released independently) exploded on local Boston Radio. After relentless gigging since 1985 The Cavedogs signed to Enigma Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records. Their first release on Enigma was an EP, "Six Tender Moments" after that the Cavedogs released the Ed Stasium produced "Joy Rides For Shut Ins" which was hailed as a pop masterpiece, but unfortunately "Joy Rides" did not chart though it was helpful in putting The Cavedogs on the map to the record buying public. After that The Cavedogs toured with The Dead Milkmen and Mojo Nixon an unlikely grouping that was actually quite successful. Other tours with bands The Connells and Charlatans UK were also undertaken. The Cavedogs soon embarked on the recording of the Michael Beinhorn produced "Soul Martini." The recording of this album was plagued by friction between Stevens, Beinhorn, Rivers, and Sphahr. Most of the friction was caused by the pop influenced direction of Stevens and the harder direction of Spahr and Rivers. These differences may have hurt the album that was not as universally praised as "Joy Rides." The first single released was the Rivers-penned "Boy In A Plastic Bubble" which fared well with some MTV rotation. During this time the Cavedogs toured with Dramarama and The Replacements. As the Cavedogs were about to release "Love Grenade" as the second single off of "Soul Martini" Capitol dropped The Cavedogs. Soon The Cavedogs were no more. After The Cavedogs broke up, Brian Stevens toured with Aimee Mann and recorded "Prettier Than You" with producer Jon Lupfer, Jon Brion, Dave Gregory of XTC, Merrie Amsterburg and Pete Linton of The Natives, Milt Sutton, Roberto Toledo, Clayton Scoble of The Aimee Mann Band, and Clarinetist Mark Lowenstein. After performing locally for a couple of years Brian Stevens left the music business but still is compiling demos. Todd Spahr formed "Meringue" with Mark Rivers which released the single "Drunk and Quartered". Then Spahr formed the Gravy with Glenn Brown of Evol Twin, Steve Jordan and a revolving cast of drummers. The Gravy released an LP, "Hangman's Pop" and an EP, "The Hollywood EP". Recently Spahr has been involved Swedish Pop Band/Web Show "Spahrhusen". Rivers formed Poundcake with Clayton Scoble and Josh Lattanzi after the dissolution of Meringue. Poundcake released one album, "Aloha Via Satellite" But soon Rivers would also soon leave the music business. But The Cavedogs have done reunions in 2001, 2002, and 2010
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="4"|Chart positions
!rowspan="2"|Album
|-
!US Hot 100
!US Modern Rock
!US Mainstream Rock
!UK
|-
| 1990
| "Leave Me Alone"
|align="center"| –
|align="center"|17
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
| Joyrides for Shut-Ins
|}
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band that formed in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in the late 1980s. The band featured Brian Stevens (bass/vocals), Todd Spahr (guitar/vocals), and Mark Rivers (drums/vocals). The trio broke up in the early 1990s, but reunited for several shows in 2002.
The Cavedogs were known for energetic live shows featuring finely crafted power pop songs, skillful playing, and three-part harmonies. The band also displayed a collective sense of humor while on stage and sometimes featured the comedy troupe Cross Comedy
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
before and during shows. Performances usually ended with stirring cover songs, such as the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Tomorrow Never Knows
Tomorrow Never Knows
"Tomorrow Never Knows" is the final track of The Beatles' 1966 studio album Revolver but the first to be recorded. Credited as a Lennon–McCartney song, it was written primarily by John Lennon...
" and the Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's "A Quick One While He's Away".
The Cavedogs released the album Joy Rides for Shut-Ins
Joy Rides for Shut-Ins
Joy Rides for Shut-Ins is the first studio album recorded by The Cavedogs.-Track listing:All songs written by The Cavedogs#"Tayter Country" – 2:16#"Leave Me Alone" – 3:37#"Bed of Nails" – 3:22#"Proud Land" – 3:44#"What In The World?" – 3:06...
in 1990, the EP Six Tender Moments in 1991, and the album Soul Martini
Soul Martini
Soul Martini is the second and last album recorded by The Cavedogs in 1992. The one single released from this album was "Boy in a Plastic Bubble."-Track listing:NOTE All songs were credited to Rivers, Spahr, and Stevens in that order....
in 1992. The band members went on to record in bands and as solo artists after the breakup.
History
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The Cavedogs were originally formed by Brian Stevens and Todd Spahr at the Miami University of Ohio in the early 1980's. During this time Stevens and Spahr played with a number of local musicians. Soon both Stevens and Spahr moved to Boston as The Blame with drummer Fred Entenman. Soon Entenman parted ways with Stevens and Spahr. Entenman's replacement was Mark Rivers, a Rush influenced drummer from Georgia. Soon The Cavedogs were becoming an important band on the Boston scene. Their first 2 singles, "Tayter Country" and "Leave Me Alone" were moderately successful but their third single "Baba Ganooj" (all released independently) exploded on local Boston Radio. After relentless gigging since 1985 The Cavedogs signed to Enigma Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records. Their first release on Enigma was an EP, "Six Tender Moments" after that the Cavedogs released the Ed Stasium produced "Joy Rides For Shut Ins" which was hailed as a pop masterpiece, but unfortunately "Joy Rides" did not chart though it was helpful in putting The Cavedogs on the map to the record buying public. After that The Cavedogs toured with The Dead Milkmen and Mojo Nixon an unlikely grouping that was actually quite successful. Other tours with bands The Connells and Charlatans UK were also undertaken. The Cavedogs soon embarked on the recording of the Michael Beinhorn produced "Soul Martini." The recording of this album was plagued by friction between Stevens, Beinhorn, Rivers, and Sphahr. Most of the friction was caused by the pop influenced direction of Stevens and the harder direction of Spahr and Rivers. These differences may have hurt the album that was not as universally praised as "Joy Rides." The first single released was the Rivers-penned "Boy In A Plastic Bubble" which fared well with some MTV rotation. During this time the Cavedogs toured with Dramarama and The Replacements. As the Cavedogs were about to release "Love Grenade" as the second single off of "Soul Martini" Capitol dropped The Cavedogs. Soon The Cavedogs were no more. After The Cavedogs broke up, Brian Stevens toured with Aimee Mann and recorded "Prettier Than You" with producer Jon Lupfer, Jon Brion, Dave Gregory of XTC, Merrie Amsterburg and Pete Linton of The Natives, Milt Sutton, Roberto Toledo, Clayton Scoble of The Aimee Mann Band, and Clarinetist Mark Lowenstein. After performing locally for a couple of years Brian Stevens left the music business but still is compiling demos. Todd Spahr formed "Meringue" with Mark Rivers which released the single "Drunk and Quartered". Then Spahr formed the Gravy with Glenn Brown of Evol Twin, Steve Jordan and a revolving cast of drummers. The Gravy released an LP, "Hangman's Pop" and an EP, "The Hollywood EP". Recently Spahr has been involved Swedish Pop Band/Web Show "Spahrhusen". Rivers formed Poundcake with Clayton Scoble and Josh Lattanzi after the dissolution of Meringue. Poundcake released one album, "Aloha Via Satellite" But soon Rivers would also soon leave the music business. But The Cavedogs have done reunions in 2001, 2002, and 2010
Singles
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="4"|Chart positions
!rowspan="2"|Album
|-
!US Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
!US Modern Rock
!US Mainstream Rock
!UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
|-
| 1990
| "Leave Me Alone"
|align="center"| –
|align="center"|17
|align="center"| –
|align="center"| –
| Joyrides for Shut-Ins
|}