There is a documentary that is underway for Kathy and the club that she ran for the better course of a decade. I was asked to write something in regards to my part and what I experienced at the kave.
it was never about the bands, it was about the sense of being and the fact that Kathy understood us. The hundreds of bands, both big and small that passed through there was just a perk. I grew up in the Southern Maine hardcore scene in the 90s, so by the time I got around to going to the Kave I was already in college. I was familiar with Kathy as she would frequently come down to southern Maine to hit shows at the Asylum, The Industry, The Fermatta club, The Presumpscot grange hall & Zootz with her daughter. I was aware that she booked the occasional show up in the Bangor area, but never actually ventured up that far for shows. It wasn't until I had moved to Bangor, and she had established the Kave that I had started searching out her shows. At first the Kave wasn't much to look at, it was a garage that was converted into a makeshift venue. bands played on the floor, it was dark, in the summer time it was hot and you froze your ass off in the winter time (that would change once the pizza oven started cranking in the winter!) Although the club wasn't much to look at, the heart and passion that Kathy had for running the place stood out. Sure, she loved the outcast kind of music, but it was really rooted in giving bored, creative, or troubled kids a positive place to go. She was looking after her community. She was always supportive of the local bands. If you weren't in a band, she found ways for you to be part of the local music scene. parking lot detail, running the pizza bar, being a runner for the bigger bands, security (although we did a great job at policing our scene as it was,) allowing us to book our own shows, supporting fanzines, the list goes on. When I was humming and hawing about starting a band, she called me and said that we were opening for Agnostic Front, so "we better have material to play 3 weeks from now...."
As time passed, and I feel like I can speak for many, Kathy became a mom figure for a lot of us. No matter how busy she was, she always had an ear for us, food for us, and most importantly an understanding of us and our passion for music. She went miles beyond the roll of a promoter. The same compassion that she had for her local community of kids and music scene she had for bands as well, often times spending DAYS preparing leading up to a show. Cooking, cleaning, last minute advertising cooking some more, and more last minute cooking or baking, Often times going as far to do the laundry of the touring bands. Now, I've been to dozens of clubs through out the northeast, been to hundreds of shows, and met a lot of cool people and promoters, but there ain't NO WAY that them Brockton boys are washing your fucking duds for you when you roll into town. That was the type of commitment that she had to her brand and everyone loved her for it. If you had a problem with Kathy you were shown the door real quick. Quite possibly even chased out of the club by the Kathy herself brandishing the testical skewer (a large 2 tined .
The community she helped stitch together was indeed like a family. Sure, there were spats, scuffs, and at time some wild fights that took place at the shows (but what music scene is without that type of drama?)To me that's no different than fighting with siblings or your friends siblings. Some friendships get lost due to father time, but a majority of the friendships that I had made while involved with the Kave I still have today. I could go on and on about my love for Kathy & The Kave, and write about all of the amazing bands and shows throughout the years. At the end of the day, the Kave was my home and This club, to me, is just as legendary as clubs like CBGBs in NY, The Rat or Bills Bar in Boston, Gilman St or chain reaction in CA, The Met / Lupos in RI, the El-en-Gee or Toads place in CT. My time spent playing shows, attending almost every other show, interviewing bands for my fanzine, and helping to run the place ran from 2002-2009 when I moved out of state. I kept up with the club from a distance until it's closure. I was sad to see it close, and although I won't be able to inhale another piece of Kave pizza, the memories and the stories will live on.
