Cavo rides Daughtry boost on its own tour From sidelight to limelight

By JOHN BENSON

entertainment@vindy.com

Being in a rock band can create an alternate reality that most of us haven’t experienced. Take, for instance, the notion of traveling. For the most part, if you recently visited a city, you’ll remember where you went.

For singer Casey Walker, whose band Cavo came through Youngstown last fall as the opener for Daughtry at Covelli Centre, his recollection isn’t so clear.

“I remember our drummer dragged me to a bar, but I can’t remember the name,” said Walker, calling from North Charleston, S.C. “It was a hole in the wall, but we had the best time. It was just like sitting there chilling, and then all of a sudden the party just happened.”

Ostensibly, the party for Cavo began last year when the rock quartet released its major-label debut, “Bright Nights Dark Days,” which yielded No. 1 rock radio hit “Champagne” and No. 7 rock radio single “Crash.” Over the last decade, the St. Louis rock band went from unknown act to Daughtry opener. Naturally, the idea of being an opener is getting your band in front of larger audiences. That’s exactly what Walker feels happened to his band when it spent month after month on the road for the ex-“American Idol” contestant.

“Every show we played with him was amazing,” Walker said. “It was like 8,000 to 10,000 people every night, and I’m used to playing for eight to 10 people. So that was great. I think it helped a lot. We’re out here now doing our headlining run and pretty much 99 percent of the crowd we meet says they saw us with Daughtry. I think that’s where we got a lot of our fan base from.”

Cavo is mounting its first major headlining tour, which includes a Tuesday show at Club Gossip in Austintown. Fans attending the local date can expect to hear material from “Bright Nights Dark Days,” as well as older track “Nameless,” which recently has resurfaced in its set and may be on the group’s next CD.

Also, Cavo recently released two live and acoustic EPs, which Walker believes follows in the tradition of one of his favorite rock groups.

“When I was growing up, Pearl Jam was my favorite band,” Walker said. “I loved the fact that they would put out acoustic stuff. And even though they had an album out a few months before that, they were playing newer stuff and different stuff. So it’s something we always wanted to do. Every band strives to have the integrity of Pearl Jam. They’re a great band.”

Finally, does Walker plan on maybe returning to the hole-in-the-wall bar — that is, if he can find it — his band visited last time through town?

“Definitely,” Walker said. “Shots of J §eger. That might be a bad thing to say, but that’s what I want.”

Hmm, perhaps that explains why he can’t remember the name of the Youngstown establishment Cavo visited last time?

“That’s probably it,” Walker said, laughing. “You’re right.”