Cavemen Not to be confused with New Jersey’s Cavemen (‘Small World’), Buffalo’s Cavemen recorded the great ‘All About Love’ at Fine Recording Studios in 1966.  Co-founder Joey Calato, the band’s drummer, left the band in 1969 to join the Armed Forces and unfortunately lost touch with the group’s other members. Shortly after we printed Joey's interview, however, we were contacted by co-founder Jimmy Crouse and he, too, agreed to share his recollections.  Joey and Jimmy are not in contact with eachother; hopefully other members of The Cavemen will come forth as well. Cavemen Photo Courtesy of Mark Taylor's Fine Recording Studio Web Site. Click The Photo For More Information on Fine Recording Studios. An Interview With Joey Calato and Jimmy Crouse 60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music? Joey Calato (JC): My Dad was a drummer. My family is well known for their drumsticks, Regal Tip by Calato. All of my family is into drumming. When I was a kid, back in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, whenever my dad was not around, I would get the drums out and set them up, turn the radio on and play along with the music. I never had a lesson. My dad played with Guy Lombardo and locally in the Buffalo area, and when I was in the Army I played with Bob Hope in the USO Band. So, we have had lots of drummers around for a long time. 60s:How did you first get interested in music? Jimmy Crouse (JimC): My father was a player and showed me a few things. 60s: Was The Cavemen your first band? JC: Jimmy Crouse and I were the ones who started the band. We started out as The El Dorados, but one of the guys in the band wanted to change the name to Alley-Oop & The Cavemen after the song, ‘Alley-Oop’ by The Hollywood Argyles. We all thought it was kind of neat so we agreed. After a while we dropped the name to just “The Cavemen” because macho man Al didn’t like being called Alley Oop.    There was (originally) a sax player, Denny Puricelli, but he quit for whatever reason. The group was formed in 1963 in Buffalo, New York. During that year other members came and went. (The band primarily consisted of) Joey Calato, drums; Jimmy Crouse, lead guitar; Ron Gorski, rhythm guitar; Harry (Skip) Miecheski, bass guitar; Al Cretacci, lead vocals; and Sammy Sparazza, keyboards. Sam joined after the recording in 1966. Ron Gorski passed away in a car accident in 1969. I’m having no luck trying to contact the rest of the members. 60s: Where did the band typically play? JC: When we were just starting out I remember playing in many basements for birthday parties and jam sessions. We were not getting paid for anything just so we could get our name known in Buffalo. Once we got a name we started playing at frat and sorority parties on Angola Bay, at clubs like The Cave  (I think there were two or three in Buffalo), The Inferno, The Club Commodore, The Pit (in Blasdel, New York), The Volcano (Eastside of Buffalo), and The Dungeon (in Jamestown, New York) to name a few. JimC: We first played eight grade graduation parties for five dollars a person if we were lucky; we then played frat parties. They were fun. 60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you? JC: When Jimmy, Denny & I started we did a lot of original songs. As we got better we started doing Top 40 songs.  As years went by and members stayed and the group got tighter we did more funky stuff—Sam & Dave, Wilson Picket, James Brown. We also threw in some Young Rascals, Vanilla Fudge and Cream. JimC: We did a lot of harmony stuff.  The music scene was good; a lot of bands were popping up.  We liked The Stones, Dave Clark Five, James Brown and The Beatles.  We liked it all. 60s: What was the Buffalo rock and roll scene like in the '60's? JC: Buffalo was not ready for the long hair scene (“I tucked my hair under my hat”).  I know from experience we couldn’t walk down the street without people having some smart comment to make.  You had your typical Top 40 bands, but not many. We played a lot of teen centers in all parts of Buffalo. I can’t remember a lot during the first couple of years. As the band became better we started playing nightclubs. Then it seemed like the bands were coming out from everywhere and Buffalo started to rock!  If we weren’t practicing we were out at the nightclubs checking out the local groups, or at our favorite place The Inferno (where we got in free as soon as were seen at the door)…and we drank pretty cheap, too! Mr. Goldstein (the owner) treated us like kings. He also booked some fantastic out of town groups like The People and Mike St. Shaw & The Prophets. The Inferno had two rooms. Goldstein would hire you if you were good but you had to prove yourself with the crowd and the type of music you were playing. He would hire the group for one or two weeks. He would put you in the small lounge (it held about 75-100 people). The stage in the small bar was shaped like a horseshoe and had a stage in the center of the bar. You had to get there early to set up because you had to lift all your equipment over the bar to set on the stage. (That was fun if you had a Hammond B-3 organ in the group!) The big room held 400-500 or more people and was packed on the weekends. (Depending what kind of mood and how much drink they fed the fire Marshall). If your group was good and was keeping the small lounge busy from Monday to Thursday he would then put you in the Big Room on the weekend. Now you hit the Big time! (Oh, by the way, if the band was bad you were fired Thursday at the end of the night) Mr. Goldstein always had bands waiting in the wings that would be happy to come in for one-three nights at the Inferno! There was one night on a Thursday we got there early to get a bite to eat and drink and to relax on an off night. We saw Mr. Goldstein smiling and limping fast toward us (he had one leg shorter than the other). He grabbed Jimmy and me and said, “Go home and get your equipment. I need you guys to finish out the week in the small lounge. I’m firing that lousy band!”  That was the hottest place in Buffalo; however it burned to the ground I think in 1969 or 1970 (no pun intended). Once we were known in Buffalo, we played at The Delaware & Boulevard Cave, school CYO dances, The Volcano Club, The Pit, The Dungeon, the Utica Beatle Ballroom, Tin Pan Alley, Banat Hall, and The Hullabaloo, just to name a few. There were more than I can remember. 60s: Did The Cavemen participate in any battle of the bands? JC: We played two battle of the bands that I remember. One was in Rochester.  I think there were five or six bands. I can’t remember any names. They were all pissed off because we won the contest and a recording contract with Capitol Star Artists. Then after that we went to Buffalo Memorial Auditorium for another contest where we came in third out of 50-60 bands.  60s: Did The Cavemen have a manager? JC: Yes.  We had four managers.  First was Al’s father for a short time. The second was a guy named Sandy Levin who was a great person and helped us grow a lot. The third and last managers were two brothers, Joe and Bill Jaworski, who took us under their wing after they heard us at their teen club The Pit in Blasdel (just outside of Lackawanna). They took us all over the New York state area, teen clubs, nightclubs and everywhere you could book a band! JimC: Bill and Joe.owned three teen clubs: The Volcano, The Pit and The Dungen.  60s: How popular locally did The Cavemen become? JC: The Cavemen were one of the best bands in Buffalo. Our biggest competitors as far as bands were The Rogues. They did more Beatles-type music. We were into the heavier sounds and funky music (Wilson Picket, James Brown, Cream, Vanilla Fudge). JimC: We were very popular.  It went to Al's head. He was ‘Mucho Boy.’  It was fun. 60s: What other local groups of the era do you especially recall? JC: (In addition to) The Rogues, I recall The Road, Cesar & The Romans, Vibratos, The Wild Cats, The Tweeds, The Checkmates, The Insanes, The Syndicate, The Sinnermen, The Restless, plus many more (I have the band cards.) When we were in Rochester we were booked at Brockport Community College for a night and we opened for The Standells. We also played with Question Mark & The Mysterians at The Pit and The Blues Magoos at The Dungeon in Jamestown. 60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory? JC: Well, we played all over the New York state area, but not too much out of town.  I think that hurt us when we had the record out. We needed a different type of manager. I don’t remember what happened. I think our managers kept us local because they saw money and they opened two more teen clubs in the Buffalo area and they wanted us as partners in that venture (I have to say we had a ball). JimC: About 100 miles; we went to Canada and played in Niagra Falls a lot; that was fun. We would ride the Greyhound bus.  60s: Where did The Cavemen record the Capital Star Artists 45? JC: We recorded at Fine Studios in Rochester (the only way I remember it is because I found the Web site). It seems to me it only had one or two rooms. I sat in front of a tall partition (I couldn’t see anybody else) and the rest of the group was split in the same room on two different mikes. Al, the lead singer, had his own mike. On one other take, they put me in one room and the rest of the band in another room. JimC: We recorded in Rochester.  I remember having a hard time getting to the studio. I had no way of getting there.  I finally got a ride from my dad. 60s: Did The Cavemen write many original songs? Who was the band's primary songwriter? JC: Al Cretacci. Al wrote ‘All About Love.’  I think he may have written one or two others but I’m not sure. They were never recorded as far as I know. 60s: Do any (other) '60's Cavemen recordings exist? Are there any vintage live recordings, or unreleased tracks? JC: Our band did not record ‘Small World.’  Unless you find others at Fine Recording Studios, in the pile, there are not any that I recall. Maybe there’s some live stuff but who knows where those could be? (Note: Mark Taylor’s Fine Recording Studios Web site documents an alternate version of ‘All About Love’ (with effects or whistles) exists, as do two alternate versions of its flip, ‘Bo Diddley’). 60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances? JC: No. 60s: What year and why did the band break up? JC: I was tired of fighting off the draft board and going to hearings, so to keep myself out of the service, I left the group in 1969 to join Uncle Sam. That’s when I lost contact with the rest of the group. I think they were mad at me for leaving, because I joined for three years. My dad and mom were divorced at that time, and my mom passed away when I was 18, so it was my 17-year-old sister and I at home at the time. I don’t know what happened after that. I think I tried sending letters to Jimmy and Al but got no response. While in the Army I was in two bands in Vietnam, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and played with Bob Hope USO shows. After Vietnam I was stationed in Maryland to finish my three-year tour. Well, as things go, I would frequent the local nightclubs close to base where I was stationed. I would go check out the bands (and the ladies). That’s where I met my first wife, and settled in Maryland. I was in a band called Alex Karras & Company for two years in 1973-1975. I then joined another local Top 40 group called Perchance and stayed with them until 1979-1980. Then disco came to the Baltimore area and the bands were dropping like flies. I started a deejay service in 1980 and started deejaying in clubs and at weddings, parties, etc. I’m now remarried (for 19 years) to my second wife. I have two sons by my first wife who both play in bands. I had a chance to buy an old car, and that’s when my wife and I started an antique car club. I deejay at the car shows (only the best ‘50’s-‘60’s music) and restore old cars, collect Hot Wheels (I have about 4,000).  I still work a easy day job and am enjoying life! JimC: After Ron had his car accident and died, things changed.  I have been in a lot of bands with Al Cretacci after The Cavemen.  Today I am a guitar teacher.  I have a rock band called The Acoustic Cats and I play in a Christian band at church here in San Diego. 60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Cavemen? JC: My days with The Cavemen were unforgettable; it kept me out of trouble. (Although we did get a little crazy, that’s another story) I met so many wonderful people, played great music and had the chances to do things that I would have not done. I would do it all over again and not change a thing! Thanks for allowing me to share this part of my life with you. You really picked my brain and help me to remember one of the great times of my life.  Thank you!  JimC: It was the best time of my life.  Nothing could compare.