By Kreig Marks, July 2024

 

TRR: Could you tell us about how your band formed and what inspired you to start making music together?

CA: Prior to Caged Affair, I played bass in a country band for a couple years. I decided it was time to do my own thing, so I formed an alt-rock pop punk type project to make music closer to what I grew up on. Since I’ve been playing and creating music off and
on with my dad for almost 20 years, and he’s one of the best drummers I’ve ever known, he was an obvious choice for a rocking two piece of a band.

TRR: What would you say sets your music apart from other emerging rock bands today?

CA: There’s a lot of bands that have a lot of intensity to their music, a lot of rawness, and there’s a lot of bands that have precision and musicality, but there’s not a lot of bands that do both in the way that we do.

TRR: How would you describe your band's sound and style? Are there any specific artists or bands that have influenced your music?

CA: A recent review of our music suggested that if the Beach Boys were grunge, it would be us (laughing). In terms of inspiration, I like a lot of that sub-pop type 80’s and 90’s alt-rock stuff. We’re talking Pixies, Weezer, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine…bands like that.

TRR: What has been the biggest challenge your band has faced so far, and how did you overcome it?

CA: Making our live show feel like our recorded music and vice versa. Because there is so much technology and expansion of ideas in musical and sonic spaces you can figure out how to really push what a two piece can do. Through mixing as well as effects with
different pedals, EQ and compression, reverb and delay, you can get something quit incredible.

TRR: Can you share a memorable moment from one of your performances or recording sessions that stands out to you?

CA: I had my high E string break on the second song of the night while we were opening for a band called Big Wreck in Charlotte at The Underground @the Fillmore. At that point, I did not have a backup guitar. So, in front of almost 800 people, I had to sort
of rearrange my chord structures as I went. Crazy, but we made it through and people loved it.

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TRR:  Mental note......Always carry a spare guitar!  What are your short-term and long-term goals as a band? Where do you see yourselves in the next few years?

CA: Short-term goals… I just want to pay my mortgage. Long term goals, I want to be a part of creating music that has a sense of sincerity and that can help people feel that they’re not so alone.

TRR: How do you approach songwriting as a band? Is it a collaborative process, or does each member contribute individually?

CA: Well, we often jam, listening for riffs and grooves we like. Then we build it out from there. Sometimes the riff is on percussion and sometimes it’s on guitar or sometimes bass or even a synth which might turn into a guitar lead.  But it pretty much all starts from a little piece.  Every song starts with a riff.  People might not call it that in some forms of music but it’s always a riff. So we build out from that riff and once we have the music, I allow it to inspire my lyricism.