Elsa's Doghouse: Nick Cageao
One of the craziest things about Terrier Cvlt has been meeting people I probably never would have crossed paths with otherwise. Somehow Boston Terriers have this strange ability to bring people together. That’s exactly how I met my friend Nick Cageao.
At the time, Nick was playing bass in Mutoid Man, a band I had been a fan of for years because of their perfect mix of chaos and humor. He was also part of the house band for Two Minutes To Late Night, both of which I would eventually end up doing artwork for. But the thing that actually connected us in the beginning had nothing to do with music at all.
It was friggin’ Boston Terriers.
A few messages back and forth about dogs turned into conversations about pizza, music, and who knows what else. Nick is one of those guys who immediately feels like someone you’ve known forever. After all these years, I consider him a good buddy. Not many people know this, but a few years back I wasn’t doing so hot, and Nick, who barely knew me at the time, was constantly checking in on me and showing me another side of people that I hadn’t experienced much in my life. Buds forever and I’ll never forget it. Super funny, insanely talented, and very much one of us.
I reached out to Nick recently to talk a little about dogs, music, pizza, and whatever else came to mind. Here’s what happened.
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First things first. A lot of people know you from Mutoid Man, but I’ve also gotten to know you a bit away from the stage. Tell our readers a little about yourself.
> Well, Bob, thanks for having me. Outside of bass duties for Mutoid Man, I have been a live sound engineer for something like 20 years at this point. At least getting paid for it. I grew up in New York and come from a big family of six children who are all scattered about the globe, so I’ve been fortunate enough to get some world traveling in since my preteen years.
I now mostly work in television broadcast doing sound and communications. I snagged an old church a few years ago in upstate New York where I have been recording albums and tracking instruments for projects for a few years now. I love cats and have three of them. I am married to my best friend and we have a pretty great life.
I would consider myself a communist, or at the very least anti imperialist, anti capitalist, and pro whatever the hell our current timeline isn’t. I like to imagine I am on several lists.
We bonded pretty quickly over two important things in life: dogs and pizza. That feels like a pretty solid foundation for any friendship. What’s your current favorite pizza spot in NYC? I’m still looking forward to you giving me a proper NYC pizza tour this year.
> I live close to L’Industrie and Best Pizza, which are both very good! I recently realized that my workshop is close to Luigi’s, which has been a famous classic pizza shop since the 70s, and man, it does NOT disappoint!
Back when you were in Mutoid Man, the band had this amazing balance of riffs, technical playing, and a sense of humor that a lot of heavy bands seem afraid of. I remember smiling ear to ear watching you three idiots give each other the finger on stage. So good! Was that always part of the vision, or did that on stage vibe just develop naturally over time?
> Man, I think the three of us were just vibing. We all kind of have the same sick sense of humor and Northeast saltiness in our blood. We had a lot of laughs pretty much wherever we were, so I think the humor and silliness just kind of worked its way into our live show.
You’ve played with some seriously talented musicians over the years. When you’re writing riffs, songs, or working on new material, are you the kind of guy who sits down very intentionally to write, or do ideas usually hit you in random moments when you least expect them, like me and my dumb t-shirt design ideas?
> Man my riffs have nothing on your t-shirts! I think I work best when I am just messing around, and something just stands out to me. Then i’ll work it and rework it until it becomes something I really like, and then Inevitably something I hate. And then love again.
You and I have finally begun recording music together (to be released soon), and I’m fucking stoked. As someone who spends most of his free time screaming into a microphone hanging in his kid’s bathroom while she’s away at college instead of actually playing instruments or doing anything social, what advice would you give to someone trying to step outside their comfort zone creatively?
> I think it is important to step outside your comfort zone as much as possible. It is the only way to grow as an artist. If you just keep doing the same thing over and over, sure, you might become extremely proficient at that one thing, but then you sort of typecast yourself as just that. Trying new things can be difficult at first and produce less than desirable results, but like anything in life, the more you work at it, the better you get.
Post Mutoid Man, I know you’ve been spending a lot of your time recording and playing with Blood Vulture. Now that the crazy road life of being in a touring band is behind you, what does a normal day look like for you these days, besides us DMing each other brain rot 24/7?
> Brain rot… the only way to maintain sanity. Well, I mostly work in TV broadcast now, some Film stuff too. Doing audio and working in the mysterious world of comms. Where I basically build a big push-to-talk telephone network on sets, and in studios so that all of the crew members can communicate efficiently to make the show happen. It is not creative audio, but more like being an IT professional with some audio skills.
And yeah, in my free time, I have been recording bands and have an old church in upstate NY that I have been tracking out of!
Since we are technically a dog company, and this interview series doesn’t even make sense on paper, I have to ask the important question for all the diehard animal heads out there. Have you had an animal in your life that really stuck with you or changed you in some way? I always say my Boston Terriers, Elsa and Ivy, completely rewired my brain and basically became the entire inspiration behind Terrier Cvlt.
> You know, I have had lots of dogs and cats throughout my life and have loved each and every one of them so damn much. Dogs and cats alike, there is just something so pure about the unconditional love that they give us and we give them. However, my current cats have been a game changer. They have done so much for my mental health in a positive way that it is hard to put into words. Cosmo, Arlo, and Thumbs are my saviors. And the first letters in their names spell out C.A.T., hahaha.
Last one. Between cats, church recordings, bass licks, dick jokes, pizza, and whatever strange ideas come next, what should people keep an eye out for from you in the near future?
> I am sure more recordings will be coming from me soon! In fact, you and I have some stuff brewing. I’m also slowly working on a project with Ben Koller (Mutoid Man) called Church Crimes. It’s like synth and bass video game seizure music.
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Nick, thanks so much for taking the time to hang and answer a few questions. It’s always awesome chatting up people who share the same weird love for music, dogs, and good food.
If you haven’t checked out Mutoid Man yet, fix that immediately and go listen. I've done so much "design" work for them over the years it's crazy haha.
Elsa’s Doghouse is an ongoing Terrier Cvlt interview series featuring artists, musicians, weirdos, and dog people from all corners of the world. You can read all of our interviews at terriercvlt.com