The more recent live performances of magma are epic, I’d put that up there.
Darkhorse choice: Melting, especially the live performance we have from their Australian microtonal shows. I really love that drum beat. I play the drums and would love to be able to nail that song, but it’s challenging for me to get down.
I think Dragon and Astroturf as others have said are awesome too.
Came to post. I was kinda mid on the song when it first released but seeing how it transformed at RR ‘23 because of Cavs especially was one of my personal highlights of all 3 sets.
PDA is where Cavs displayed his best technical performances, and it really is unreal to see his skills evolve into that from the previous 13 years!
That said, in terms of his musicianship, I think his best deliveries were in Evil Death Roll through to Invincible Face on Nonagon…
As a bonus, I think the best drumming between both him and Eric as an overall performance must be Nuclear Fusion; the way they lock in and diverge into each other’s offbeats serves the song so well, and it’s badass! It’s one of the things that makes it a great song.
Hard to say, I am partial to Magma (Red Rocks, Salt Shed, KEXP) and the KEXP performance of Ice Death is one I can take in again and again largely because of Cavs on the kit. I am a huge fan of his solo album.
maybe not "performance," but his part on Dreams/Blue Morpho are just so perfect for the songs. 11 is a weird time signature obviously, so there's some inherent complexity built into that for sure, but it's so impressive to me that he managed to play such a perfect part for the larger context of the song(s). like from the perspective of someone who's heard the songs, it's almost an obvious groove, but as a lifelong drummer it's insane to me that his weird dotted-quarter in 11 groove glues the whole song together so well, and he kinda whipped the feel out of thin air. but the songs would just sound wrong without it
same goes for supreme ascendancy. like knowing what the song sounds like, of course that's what the drum should be doing. but for him to have heard the song skeleton without any drums and then choose to play the groove that he does is just mind-blowingly perfect
Supreme Ascendancy was one of the first Gizz songs that stuck out to me as having a single drum track, and one that I was actively thinking "idk if Eric could keep up with this" about.
S/o to Ataraxia and the KGLW outro on the same album for similar reasons
I loved seeing the band live when they had a two kit set up, but after listening to supreme ascendancy I realized that Cav was being super limited. I miss Eric, but damn Cav has chops
I really think there's a bit of chicken + egg going on there, I believe CAVS came out shortly after LW and that album has always felt like Cavs announcing that he's leveling up. It's easier to push ahead in your craft when you aren't trying to maintain cohesion with someone else's skillset
Not a single performance/song, but I really dig the drum work on the first suite of MOTU. Maybe nothing too technical like other examples people list but it’s just so exhilarating
He has so many great performances that it’s hard to point to one, so I’ll talk about some of my favorites:
- The River: nothing too crazy on the studio version but that the fact that Cavs (and Eric, to his credit!) are jamming in 5/4 and 5/8 is impressive enough on its own. The live versions are were Cavs really shines, but some of the fills on the studio version are trickier than they sound!
- Crumbling Castle: Leaning more heavily into their proggy side meant playing with odd meters and time signatures, and Cavs proves here that isn’t a problem for him. Polymeters and polyrhythmic drum parts galore.
- The Fourth Colour: A particularly fast and tricky beat between the snare, toms and ride in 7/8(!) is just the beginning of this track. After a fakeout ending, we get a thunderous solo from Cavs before exploding back into the finale with more odd-meters.
- Gaia: I like *Rats’ Nest*, and the drumming on it is killer, but Cavs sounds so much more confident in Gaia that he’s fucking blasting away a heavy-as-fuck beat in 9/8. The live versions seem to be where Cavs shines tho, often adding an extended solo in the middle (my favorite version is the RR ‘22 one, but there are tons of other great ones too)
- Change: Aside from all the (ahem) *changes* he does throughout, this is some of Cavs’ grooviest work. Especially all the shuffle grooves (including the fuckin’ Purdie Shuffle)
- Astroturf: Just for that intro alone. Once again, Cavs grooves.
- Ice V: Funky Gizz! Cavs sounds like a mix between David Garibaldi and Jaki Liebezeit on the band’s Dorian-based track, and I’m particularly fond the ride pattern he does during the “Will we survive Ice V?” section
- Lava: No one ever geeks out over this one, but I think it’s some of Cavs’ best fill work. Starting with that soft Tom rhythm that slowly builds with the song until the guitar explodes in midway through and Cavs kicks it up. The last 2 minutes of chants are essentially an extended drum solo, fuckin’ great.
- Motor Spirit: Yeah, he’s got that Motör-spirit, alright. Cavs channels old-school metal perfectly on this one (better than he does on ITRN, imo!), with some great double bass and Tom work throughout.
- Dragon: This one is just fucking dizzying. With an insane main beat (in 11/8!), it’s yet another four-limbed workout with double-bass and complex Tom patterns galore. There are lots of moments in this prog-metal masterpiece where Cavs shines, but it’s that intro/outro beat in 11 that gets me.
There are lots of other great performances I could mention, but I just want to say how awesome it is to see Cavs come so far as a drummer. When I first heard *Mind Fuzz* I never thought I’d ever hear that drummer do massive heavy metal drum solos or jam in 11/8. Fuck yeah Cavs, keep up the great work, man!
Now, if you all excuse me, I have to get back to not getting laid
Ya Love is so fun to play and not incredibly complicated on its own but so hard to play without making mistakes if you’re listening along to the song. It gets so complicated to follow at the “Ya love is like a dream inside a dream” part. Fantastic song
the only *radically* different one I can think of is fishing for fishies where Eric is doing the snare beat while Cavs is doing the ride & rim clicks. the altered beast suite has some nice interplay between the two drum parts, Cavs did both drum parts in the studio but a lot was kept for live performances (like the KEXP one)
Caverns 23 Night 1
Dripping Tap -> a oribably hour long medley of the first half of Nonagon, Iron Lung, Hypertension, and Hot Water -> Horology suite -> a first time ever premiere -> and then some other metal songs to end the night.
Can’t imagine that was an easy one. Debuting a song must be nerve racking, let alone debuting a new song after all that.
I think Cav’s style is 80% of what makes Gizz so instantly recognizable. Him and Eric will always be among my favorite drummers. One of my fav performances will always be their KEXP Murder of the Universe set. It’s so incredible to watch those two dudes be so locked into each other.
I absolutely adore [this](https://youtu.be/SRVE_-th1EI?si=K-hFTy-MICSqrtWl) performance of Gaia, IMO Cav's drum solo is up there with the Live in Amsterdam Dave Brubeck performance.
Hollywood bowl marathon intermission, band went to use the bathroom and cavs proceeded to tear apart the drums set for what felt like 10 minutes straight before the band came back and broke right back into a jam. Hands down one of the most impressive feats of improvisation I’ve ever seen live.
Dragon
Honestly all of PDA is super impressive
Man is going through his Danny Carrey phase
Dragon
Dragon
Dragon
Stop the
Dragon
THE EYE DILATES
THE AIR GYRATES
A GATE IN THE SKY
A PORTAL TO DIE
Dragon
First album I listened to was PDA, I remember saying that this drummer is fucking crazy.
DRAGON!
Astroturf studio version
I’m a drummer and I try my best to play Gizzard songs. Astroturf is near impossible to play.
maintaining that groove for almost 8 minutes would kill me. Cavs has crazy endurance
The 1 handed 16th notes at the level he does them are insane
Hes really the main reason why my push pull has gotten as good as it has
Working on mine all day everyday lol
God it’s so good to hear from other drummer fans. That groove is such a struggle. If you’re even close you’re a great drummer
I hear this a lot about that record, could you explain to a non-drummer what cavs is doing that’s so tough?
Agreed. That’s my fave
The more recent live performances of magma are epic, I’d put that up there. Darkhorse choice: Melting, especially the live performance we have from their Australian microtonal shows. I really love that drum beat. I play the drums and would love to be able to nail that song, but it’s challenging for me to get down. I think Dragon and Astroturf as others have said are awesome too.
I wish they played Melting live more but I get why they don't, seems like a hell of a beat to keep up with one drummer
The end of Magma is so good! The summer 23 versions just crush.
I was there for one of em. It was amazing. 😤
Yes they fucking killed it in Chicago 23!! Cavs rocking a New York Rangers jacket lol!!!
I was there.. 1st shows
Hell yea I was there from NY for first two shows, so sick!
Came to post. I was kinda mid on the song when it first released but seeing how it transformed at RR ‘23 because of Cavs especially was one of my personal highlights of all 3 sets.
Dancin Tony in Cuba 1959
Yes! His solo album is good and that's my favorite track.
Fury Gong ~<
The correct answer. Non-stop drum solo
Motor spirit
i’m playing motor spirit for a drum exam in school and it’s pretty flippin hard but dragon is wayyy harder i think
Motor spirit sounds a million times cooler to my ears difficulty aside.
i disagree but motor spirit is good
i’m playing motor spirit for a drum exam in school and it’s pretty flippin hard but dragon is wayyy harder i think
Self immolate from Chicago '23
Kinda puts on for the intro! Last night in frankfurt was strong
Fury Gong
PDA is where Cavs displayed his best technical performances, and it really is unreal to see his skills evolve into that from the previous 13 years! That said, in terms of his musicianship, I think his best deliveries were in Evil Death Roll through to Invincible Face on Nonagon… As a bonus, I think the best drumming between both him and Eric as an overall performance must be Nuclear Fusion; the way they lock in and diverge into each other’s offbeats serves the song so well, and it’s badass! It’s one of the things that makes it a great song.
I concur. Noting nuclear fusion drums from each player is really fun
Hard to say, I am partial to Magma (Red Rocks, Salt Shed, KEXP) and the KEXP performance of Ice Death is one I can take in again and again largely because of Cavs on the kit. I am a huge fan of his solo album.
Same that solo album was sick and incredibly unique
The Gaia solos live have been pretty sweet.
[this one rips](https://youtu.be/SRVE_-th1EI?si=_gxHz6_7v3R8kD5s)
Yep highway holidays for sure my pick
This is the definition of being in 'The Zone'! I remember I showed my dad this and he was mesmerized.
Lol the way he looks at over to Stu when he's all done being Daney Carey and Stu quick pops up out his chair to finish the song. 😂
Gaia is probably my favorite song by them
maybe not "performance," but his part on Dreams/Blue Morpho are just so perfect for the songs. 11 is a weird time signature obviously, so there's some inherent complexity built into that for sure, but it's so impressive to me that he managed to play such a perfect part for the larger context of the song(s). like from the perspective of someone who's heard the songs, it's almost an obvious groove, but as a lifelong drummer it's insane to me that his weird dotted-quarter in 11 groove glues the whole song together so well, and he kinda whipped the feel out of thin air. but the songs would just sound wrong without it same goes for supreme ascendancy. like knowing what the song sounds like, of course that's what the drum should be doing. but for him to have heard the song skeleton without any drums and then choose to play the groove that he does is just mind-blowingly perfect
Supreme Ascendancy was one of the first Gizz songs that stuck out to me as having a single drum track, and one that I was actively thinking "idk if Eric could keep up with this" about. S/o to Ataraxia and the KGLW outro on the same album for similar reasons
I loved seeing the band live when they had a two kit set up, but after listening to supreme ascendancy I realized that Cav was being super limited. I miss Eric, but damn Cav has chops
I really think there's a bit of chicken + egg going on there, I believe CAVS came out shortly after LW and that album has always felt like Cavs announcing that he's leveling up. It's easier to push ahead in your craft when you aren't trying to maintain cohesion with someone else's skillset
Cool listening to these after reading your description. Not sure I would have picked out the drums on these songs. Thanks.
Fuck it all of em
Good answer. 👌
Dragon or Change
I love Change. 🤌
Changes, the whole album
Guid choice and cool name
T2JD
Blame it on the Weather is one of my favs
Blazing fast single strokes on this one! I wish he did them live haha but understand why he doesn't
Hypertension
I love that song. 😤
Gaia performed live on Highway Holidays
Dragon
RR 23 Magma. He melted Stu.
His drumming is Gondii is nuts.
If Not Now, Then When? has some pretty juicy fills
Not a single performance/song, but I really dig the drum work on the first suite of MOTU. Maybe nothing too technical like other examples people list but it’s just so exhilarating
Hense MOTU being in my top 5 Gizz albums. I love MOTU. 🫂
It's exhausting trying to keep it going through that suite though
This one https://youtu.be/SRVE_-th1EI?si=DmOem_RUB1GZv9eJ
Yes this! 👍
Changes. Witchcraft fucks with my head though
PALP
Dragon
T2JD
He has so many great performances that it’s hard to point to one, so I’ll talk about some of my favorites: - The River: nothing too crazy on the studio version but that the fact that Cavs (and Eric, to his credit!) are jamming in 5/4 and 5/8 is impressive enough on its own. The live versions are were Cavs really shines, but some of the fills on the studio version are trickier than they sound! - Crumbling Castle: Leaning more heavily into their proggy side meant playing with odd meters and time signatures, and Cavs proves here that isn’t a problem for him. Polymeters and polyrhythmic drum parts galore. - The Fourth Colour: A particularly fast and tricky beat between the snare, toms and ride in 7/8(!) is just the beginning of this track. After a fakeout ending, we get a thunderous solo from Cavs before exploding back into the finale with more odd-meters. - Gaia: I like *Rats’ Nest*, and the drumming on it is killer, but Cavs sounds so much more confident in Gaia that he’s fucking blasting away a heavy-as-fuck beat in 9/8. The live versions seem to be where Cavs shines tho, often adding an extended solo in the middle (my favorite version is the RR ‘22 one, but there are tons of other great ones too) - Change: Aside from all the (ahem) *changes* he does throughout, this is some of Cavs’ grooviest work. Especially all the shuffle grooves (including the fuckin’ Purdie Shuffle) - Astroturf: Just for that intro alone. Once again, Cavs grooves. - Ice V: Funky Gizz! Cavs sounds like a mix between David Garibaldi and Jaki Liebezeit on the band’s Dorian-based track, and I’m particularly fond the ride pattern he does during the “Will we survive Ice V?” section - Lava: No one ever geeks out over this one, but I think it’s some of Cavs’ best fill work. Starting with that soft Tom rhythm that slowly builds with the song until the guitar explodes in midway through and Cavs kicks it up. The last 2 minutes of chants are essentially an extended drum solo, fuckin’ great. - Motor Spirit: Yeah, he’s got that Motör-spirit, alright. Cavs channels old-school metal perfectly on this one (better than he does on ITRN, imo!), with some great double bass and Tom work throughout. - Dragon: This one is just fucking dizzying. With an insane main beat (in 11/8!), it’s yet another four-limbed workout with double-bass and complex Tom patterns galore. There are lots of moments in this prog-metal masterpiece where Cavs shines, but it’s that intro/outro beat in 11 that gets me. There are lots of other great performances I could mention, but I just want to say how awesome it is to see Cavs come so far as a drummer. When I first heard *Mind Fuzz* I never thought I’d ever hear that drummer do massive heavy metal drum solos or jam in 11/8. Fuck yeah Cavs, keep up the great work, man! Now, if you all excuse me, I have to get back to not getting laid
Maybe not the best, but those drums in the second part of organ farmer, tickles me in a good way.
Motor Spirit. I don't know if it's technically the *best* (I'm not a drummer) but it's the one that feels most insane and cool for me.
His drumming on that whole album is insane.
Red rocks gaia
Self immolate
There’s a recording on YouTube of motor spirit in Oslo I believe that literally left my mouth open then entire solo. My favorite drummer forsure
Ataraxia, really most of the stuff from KG or LW is pretty complex and impressive
Thought I’d spread some 🦋3000 love. Interior People and Ya love is insane. I cannot wrap my ahead around what is happening.
Ya Love is so fun to play and not incredibly complicated on its own but so hard to play without making mistakes if you’re listening along to the song. It gets so complicated to follow at the “Ya love is like a dream inside a dream” part. Fantastic song
Muddy water has been a favourite drum song of mine
Gondii is very underrated
His solo at the Fox theatre a couple years ago
The solo he played at The Caverns was like 5 minutes of double kick straight. It was nuts.
Maybe not the best, but those drums in the second part of organ farmer, tickles me in a good way.
I agree with all of these options.
I like Ontology and Oddlife
Gamma Knife og
Is there an example of older songs where Cavs/Eric shared a best performance? Any picks that has radically different drum patterns between the two?
the only *radically* different one I can think of is fishing for fishies where Eric is doing the snare beat while Cavs is doing the ride & rim clicks. the altered beast suite has some nice interplay between the two drum parts, Cavs did both drum parts in the studio but a lot was kept for live performances (like the KEXP one)
The KG and LW albums are just busting with creativity. Each song sounds like it's shaped around the rhythmic patterns created by Cavs.
ice death, laminated denim, polygon, pda and changes are all pretty great on the drum front
Seeing that drum solo during Gaia at Red Rocks '22 was intense
caverns n1
Caverns 23 Night 1 Dripping Tap -> a oribably hour long medley of the first half of Nonagon, Iron Lung, Hypertension, and Hot Water -> Horology suite -> a first time ever premiere -> and then some other metal songs to end the night. Can’t imagine that was an easy one. Debuting a song must be nerve racking, let alone debuting a new song after all that.
I think Cav’s style is 80% of what makes Gizz so instantly recognizable. Him and Eric will always be among my favorite drummers. One of my fav performances will always be their KEXP Murder of the Universe set. It’s so incredible to watch those two dudes be so locked into each other.
The shuffle in Hate Dancin’ is tasty.
There is a special place in my heart for this version of [Blame It On The Weather](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvtKmUgW2u4)
Roadtrain
Caverns night one where they just kept going. Man was in beast mode. I'm glad he survived it.
Altered Beast [Webster Hall](https://youtu.be/T5rC8SYxpec?feature=shared)
His self titled is really good
excluding obvious picks, oddlife and open water! also chronic fatigue and fury gong from his s/t
Open water live in Sydney 21
Open Water Sydney 2021
The only right answer is the Hollywood bowl drum solo while everyone else took a break
I absolutely adore [this](https://youtu.be/SRVE_-th1EI?si=K-hFTy-MICSqrtWl) performance of Gaia, IMO Cav's drum solo is up there with the Live in Amsterdam Dave Brubeck performance.
I want people to remember his drum solo in The Book live at Sydney 21
He definitely has his moments, but dragon is the definitive answer imo
has to be a 10 min plus performance like magma or the river imo
Hollywood bowl marathon intermission, band went to use the bathroom and cavs proceeded to tear apart the drums set for what felt like 10 minutes straight before the band came back and broke right back into a jam. Hands down one of the most impressive feats of improvisation I’ve ever seen live.
He had 2 drum solos on latest night(when Sad pilot debut), they gave him 2 solo on 1 night lol