#the cavedogs

From the LP "Joyrides for Shut-Ins"

Hand-written playlist for a mix tape of songs by Boston bands The Cavedogs and Gigolo Aunts, summer 1990.

Much like my Flying Nun mix tape, here I copied music from CD to tape so I could more easily play it in friends’ cars, or my boom box at my school’s art studio. In this case, it was an entire CD: the recently-released debut album by one of my favorite local bands, The Cavedogs. But of course I needed to fill up the rest of the cassette.

I’d taped a live Cavedogs show that July, one of my first outings using my Sony D-6 recorder. So that went on the tape. And I thought the Gigolo Aunts would be another good addition. Not only were they sonically similar, the two bands even often shared a bill. And the Gigolo Aunts demo tape I had was only four songs long, so it made sense to put it on another cassette with a longer run time.

CD longbox for Joy Rides for Shut-Ins by The Cavedogs, released by U.S. label Enigma Records in 1990.

I first discovered The Cavedogs via WFNX’s local music program, Boston Rocks, where their demos were in heavy rotation for most of 1989. I’d go to their gigs (when I could sneak into the rock clubs) and even interviewed them for my high school newspaper.

Hand-written lyrics for the Cavedogs song “Tayter Country,” as scribbled by guitarist Todd Spahr.

The Cavedogs were one of my favorite bands in the Boston music scene of the late 80s. Hooky songs that veered from power pop to crunchy rock, with three distinct personalities and songwriters brimming with charm and sass.