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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Scott Walus had been trying to record and release a record since 2004 when he was an undergraduate at Illinois State University. Every three months, for four years straight, he failed.
Over the course of those four years, three of his bands broke up, issues sprung up in studios and in home recording, and financial issues were, well, issues. In 2007, while playing in a garage pop band called Pat Boone’s Farm, he moved to Columbia, Mo. from Normal, Ill. to pursue his doctorate in Communication at the University of Missouri.
The band had attempted to record a vinyl LP three times in the previous year, with two tape machines breaking in the process. In his basement, Walus set up his studio and recorded what he thought would finally be the album he had tried to record and release for four years. Technical and financial issues once again reared their inevitable heads.
Four years has a way of both clouding and clarifying judgment. Walus spliced the tape down to four songs and maxed out a green Visa card to press the Pat Boone’s Farm “Garage Dance Loud” 7 inch record. His friends called him Thee Caveman, so he called the label Cavetone Records.
Over the next six years, Cavetone released records by bands such as Monte Carlos, The Ex-Bombers, Cedar Plank Salmon, Wild Cat Daddies, and several other Midwest bands. Despite moving the entire studio and label to Charleston, Ill. in 2011, each record was still recorded and mixed onto the same tape machines as the first.
Friday, March 21 marks the six year anniversary of the first Cavetone release and the label is having a showcase at Top of the Roc in Charleston, Ill. for a one night only performance featuring all of the currently active bands on Cavetone. These bands include The Ex-Bombers (Walus’ current band), Monte Carlos (Columbia, Mo.), Cedar Plank Salmon (Chicago, Ill.), The Down-Fi (Indianapolis, Ind.) and for a special one-time reunion Pat Boone's Farm. This label showcase is the first one not held in Columbia, Mo..
From the beginning Cavetone Records had a different philosophy to the logistics of a record label, rejecting the prevailing business model. Cavetone remains a non-profit label that only releases vinyl records recorded on tape. Since 2010, their releases are exclusively analog without a digital component, only appearing on vinyl, with a 100% analog process using only open reel tape and tubes.
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