“Mammoth Cave was actually inspired by Vancouver bands. They bring along a huge merch table full of bands from all over Vancouver, and nobody was doing the same thing for the Alberta scene, so we wanted to fill that void,” Lawton said adding the first cassette compilation included bands from Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge.“We look at bands who are less commercially viable but who are still really good,” he said adding there are a lot of bands who are big in their own home towns but don’t travel outside of them very often.
“There’s not a lot of overlap in the three major markets. So we want to get that music heard outside of Alberta,” Lawton continued adding he has signed distribution deals to get Mammoth Cave recordings in record stores across Canada and the United States.
Their first big release was the recently released Moby Dicks and Sharp Ends 7 inch singles, which like all Mammoth Cave recordings is released on a vinyl record which comes with a digital download of the music.
He gets the records pressed at United Records in Tennessee. Mammoth Cave Records work with other companies to expand their distribution.
So far, Calgary’s Sharp Ends and Lethbridge acts, The Myelin Sheaths and the Moby Dicks (which feature Lawton on drums and bass respectively) are on Mammoth Cave Records and they are working with Edmonton’s the Famines and Krang. They are also working with Calgary’s Tension Slips and Hunter/Gatherer plus a new Lethbridge band called Fist City consisting of former members of Endangered Ape and the New Danger Kids plus Amelia Earhart’s Ryan Grieve.
“Most of the stuff we’re interested in is bands who have a little bit of originality which falls into more self-produced, lo-fidelity music, often garage and punk,” Lawton said adding Mammoth Cave records are made in Lawton’s basement studio with him at the controls.
“I like garage rock because it is more primitive. The songs are really stripped down. You know it’s a good band if the song comes through without relying on the studio,” he said adding bands Mammoth Cave is interested in, must be able to pull off a live show as well. Lawton used to be in poplar local garage band Endangered Ape which were known for their crazy live shows. He is enthused about some of the new bands he will be working with.
“Krang is a heavy psychedelic band with a little bit of electronica,” he continued adding Mammoth Cave activity takes place whenever he has time in between teaching at the university and working on his doctorate.
“I’m kind of the jack of all trades here. I don’t have any formal training,” he said adding he has learned how to record by recording his bands’ material.
One of them, the Myelin Sheaths,’ new CD, sold out of the first run and are almost through the second run of 500 CDs.
The Myelin Sheaths, in which Lawton plays drums, will be releasing their new 7 inch single at a release party, Jan. 9 at Henotic.
It has been released through Hozac Records in Chicago. It will also released in Europe through Bachelor Records in Austria.
Thanks to the Internet, which lets anybody expose a song to the world, Lawton has made contacts and exposed his music to a wide audience.
“The Myelin Sheaths are far from being the most popular band in Lethbridge but people all over the world really like what we’re doing. Geography doesn’t matter anymore. You can be popular on a micro scale. It’s just spread out more,” he said adding he doesn’t expect to make Mammoth Cave a full time job.
“I’m about a year away from finishing my PHD,” he said adding work with Mammoth Cave takes a backseat to teaching and educational responsibilities.
”I guess it will be as big as it wants to be,” he said adding the next big release is the Famines’ 7 inch to be released in early 2010.
A version of this article is in the Jan. 6,2010 edition of the Lethbridge Sun Times
— By Richard Amery,L.A. Beat Editor
