MP3 Cavil at Rest - Orion Way

Music that taps your mind while you tap your feet. Cavil at Rest dabbles in different genres of sound, giving them a unique blend of melodies, and vocal patterns that accommodate every mood swing you may encounter.

9 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Surf Rock, ROCK: Modern Rock



Details:
CAVIL AT REST

Ryan Hahn and Taylor Rice, guitar/vocalists from Southern California, have only ever been in one band. They met in high school and started a group, something many restless teen boys do. Very few of such projects ever make it out of the garage, but four years, a few recordings, and a fair amount of lineup changes later, Hahn and Rice find themselves in the same band, honing the same project with different tools, sharing the same bloodline with different brothers: Kelcey Ayer (guitar/vocals), Andy Action (bass), and Matthew Frazier (drums). Only now when they play, people are listening. They are called Cavil at Rest.

âWe have something special,â says Hahn with conviction, nodding to the others. âWe feel like brothers. This is where I need to be and where they need to be.â

Cavil at Rest, a five-piece based out of South Orange County where the scope of art and culture typically extends to chain restaurants and dolphin paintings, is a bit of an independent rock anomaly. For starters, their sound is hard to peg.

âI mean, I did the hardcore thing, Iâve done the funk thing [specifically] in other bands,â says Action. âThis is differentâwe have so many different styles but you can always tell that itâs Cavil.â

With unexpected song structures, cross-genre instrumental arrangements, and nods to the past five decadesâCavil might channel the raw rock energy of a band like MC5 as naturally as the cool harmonics of Beach Boys or the eclectic freestyling of now-defunct At the Drive Inâthe sound of Cavil at Rest is one of mix-and-match influences and an overflowing bank of musical knowledge.

âWeâre all such fans of just music in general and what it is capable of doing,â says Hahn. âAs far as influences go, itâs the Zombies, CSNY, Radiohead, Motown, jazz, you name it.â Later, he adds, âIâve always had respect for people who can write a great pop song. Itâs not something easily done.â

Unlike many of their peers, the band doesnât expend words spouting angry anthems or mindless limericks. If anything their verses tend towards proud and provocativeâbut the guys balk at the idea of being preachy.

âWe want the listener to do with the song what they will,â says Hahn. âThey can take it at face value and leave it at that. Or they can go deeperâthe lyrics definitely hold up under scrutiny, and usually have another meaning if you take the time look at it another way. Itâs not meant to be crypticâitâs just supposed to get you to be introspective, to make you stop and think.â

âWe donât want [the music] to just be a sugar rush,â adds Action. âWe want people to say, âI donât feel guilty for liking this. I think itâs intelligent.ââ

Another oddity the band is happy to share. âWe tend to be really prolific, weâre just constantly writing,â says Hahn. âAll of our songs are available online. Weâve just wanted people to download them for free; listen to them, give them to your friends, pass it on.â

Perhaps it is their warm and fuzzy approach to musical outreach that has gained them such a loyal following in just a handful of years. Having not yet even entertained the idea of signing to a record label, the band has manned their own statewide tours, graced the stages of notable stages like the Whisky A Go-Go and the Knitting Factory, and shared bills with modern heroes like Jimmy Eat World and She Wants Revenge.

And at the show it isnât the audiences joined together crowd slamming and fist pumping so much as toe tapping and singing. âWe're simply plotting world domination by way of catchy melodies and foot stomping,â insists Hahn with a grin. âWe play our songs and invite people to join us. Come join us. We have a lot of fun.â

Perhaps most unique of all is that Cavil at Rest is ready to evolve, perhaps into a band that tours the world and sells millions of records and lives the dreamâbut they donât want it to come easy. âWe want to earn it,â declares Action. âWe want to be working it. We need to prove our longevity.â

How many SoCal bands can even spell longevity?

Hahn sighs. âEveryone thinks weâre from Europe.â