Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008

Life is a CABaret

At first listen, they sound an awful lot like Blink 182. Sure, Blink is their favorite band - but don't expect the same old punk-rock sound from Cab. Those copycat days singing about women, alcohol and female body parts, are over. Well, more or less.

Micah Dunn and Michael Doescher of Cab are getting a little stir crazy to get started on their west coast tour this summer. This past June they brought on new drummer Tim Thornton after playing a couple acoustic shows around town.

Originally, the group formed in 2005 with former drummer Joe McMurphy in tow. Their band name, "Cab," drew in a lot of inquiries from fans. Some theorized it was an acronym. Cute Adorable Boys? Cunts And Bitches?

In actuality, it was the nickname of a classmate and they thought it was a pretty tight moniker. They never meant to keep the name, but something about it stuck and it kept their fans guessing.

As they played more and more shows in and out of town, the Mountain Dew drinking threesome were instantly recognized by their peers for their slap-stick lyrics about Pizza Hut, women, and being immature. Doescher said at first they were just a couple of kids goofing around, trying to make music like their favorite artists.

"We were trying to do a lot of things that we heard from people's albums and kind of make them our own," Micah explains.

Still, the band grew in popularity and drew in sizable crowds at their shows.

Their catchy guitar riffs and fast-paced drumming give people something to tap their foot to, as well as give crowds something to mosh to. They appeal to various crowds and have good rapport among each other, known for their playful banter on stage.

Dunn's poppy vocals are most notably similar to Blink-182's Tom DeLonge or New Found Glory's Jordan Pundik. Doescher oftentimes gets the most flack on stage, taking the fall if Dunn thinks their song sucked. A good sport, Doescher laughs it off, then continues to rip it up. McMurphy, incredibly agile, set the tempo for the adrenaline-packed threesome.

Just as the group thought they were going in the right direction, McMurphy decided to leave the band.

"He just decided that this wasn't the music for him anymore and he wanted to go in different areas with his music," Doescher said.

Currently, McMurphy is with the indie, alternative rock group Mister Orange, replacing their former drummer, Mike Kollmar.

Their friend DeShaun Dowdy of the now defunct group Better Off Naked, told them to check out Thornton when he heard they were looking for a new drummer. Thornton, currently finishing up his senior year of high school, fit into the band with ease. His style is laid-back with a silent cockiness to it.

Since then, the guys have been reevaluating their music and writing new songs.

"Recently we haven't been doing that at all," Micah explains. "We've been trying to do what's ourself. Been trying to come up with stuff that we want to play rather than what another album would sound like. We've become more professional - we really try to tighten things up and make our music really clean."

"It's more of our own style now, not so much influenced by what we listen to," added Michael.

Even so, they rattle off a list of influential musicians in their lives: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Green Day, Blink 182, Gosling, MXPX, NOFX...and techno.

"I've actually been listening to a lot of techno recently, it's kinda crazy," admits Dunn. "We listen to techno every night. It's ridiculous."

But don't think that's all there is to these foul-mouthed teenagers. A classical upbringing hides behind their punk exterior.

Dunn grew up playing the piano since he was four. Doescher took guitar lessons in elementary school and joined the school band throughout high school. Thornton has been playing the drums for more than eight years and started out in jazz.

Now, two drummers later, Cab is ready to start getting serious and putting its music out there... For free.

The group's hitting the studio to re-record their songs with Thornton. They hope to have a compilation CD available by summer to distribute on tour. Making the CD free helps circulate their music faster, explains Dunn.

The only setback in their agenda is being able to find venues to fill.

"It's really hard to get good shows besides at Ray's," Dunn points out. "Ray's is a great place, but the scene is dying."

"We want to play out of town places, but the underground in Walla Walla and The Zone in Yakima and places we've played at quite a few times just aren't there anymore," Michael said.

For guys who appear to not have a care in the world, they certainly are astute to the challenges facing small-town bands.

"A lot of the music business is being in the right place at the right time and it's really hard to be in the right place at the right time here, because obviously it's the Tri-Cities, so you have to be at the right place at the right time while you're out of town on a show and get lucky, so your chances are a lot lower," explains Dunn.

The boys are no stranger to the open road and have a few stories of camping out overnight in Wal-Mart parking lots.

People in a car they pulled up next to in the parking lot almost picked a fight with them simply for just parking next to them.

The most difficult experience while on the road? The walk to the Wal-Mart bathroom at 3 in the morning, Dunn admits.

Their playful attitude and campy lyrics are what makes them so likable. They're just punks who speak what's on their mind. They're not impostors - they walk the walk.

When they sing of Pizza Hut or pulling some immature prank - it's really happened. In fact, Doescher and Dunn currently work at Pizza Hut and are able to drink endless amounts of Mountain Dew.

"They provide Pepsi products for free for employees, so we drink as much as we possibly can while we're there," Doescher said.

Thornton explains during the first two months of being in the band, he drank Mountain Dew with the guys everyday, non stop. He said after a while he got really sick and dehydrated, so now they stock water in their mini-fridge, but continue to drink the same amount of Dew.

"If we had any choice to be sponsored by anything, we'd love to be sponsored by Mountain Dew," Doescher said. "We'll pay for our own instruments - I just want free beverages. We'll put a big Mountain Dew sign on our van; just give us money for gas."

To check out their music, go to www.myspace.com/cabwa