1) Who is in the Cawz, and how long have you guys been making music?

The Cawz is:

Ef Double
Carlos
Jeremiah
Lord Byron
Rick Reed
Gref
Stel Designs
Mylk One

The Cawz was established in 1997.

2) What is the meaning, if any behind your name the Cawz?

The Cawz encompasses MC’s, Writers, DJ's, Aerosol Artists, Tattoo Artists, Music Producers, Photographers, Canvas and Mixed Media Artists, along with graphic design artists. Beyond the threshold of Art, The Cawz is dedicated to enlightening individuals with the knowledge and visions they encounter in life. There are many emotions and truths we all face. From happiness and sadness to love or loss; we all have occurrences that directly affect our lives and the product we create. The Cawz’s main focus with our work is to capture the essence involved within these occurrences, and remind those of us who feel isolated by the uncertainties in life, that we’re not alone.

3) Who are some of your influences in music, and who is your CD player right now?

Influences in music would have to be old Soul Music of the 60's and 70's, Classic Rock, Jazz, Classical, and a lot of the stuff your parents listened to... In the CD player right now we have self help programs along with Aesop Rock, anything from Def Jux, Sage Francis, etc....What some people like to consider Nerd Rap, we think is very inspirational and not just relative to music but to life.

4) What do you guys think about the crackdown thats going on right now by the RIAA for file sharing?

We love it! [file sharing]

It gives people a chance to hear music without the risk of spending Hard earned money on something they might not end up wanting. It is Somewhat like a free commercial and hopefully more and more people find our music and pass it along. This new attitude and outlook on recorded music will take things back to when the shows and how well artists performed were the main influence in whether or not the music got distributed worldwide.

5) Can you give us all a little insight on the newest record you are working on, I think its name is GREY?

This album is aptly titled GREY because we did not want the music or Sound to be too much in either direction or extreme. We wanted the music to be in the middle of all the musical chaos that you hear now-a-days from the radio to the underground and we didn't want one to grasp the concept of the album that we produced by a single title. That is why we chose GREY. Taking everything and blending it all into one.

6) Are there any other projects/appearances that you all are working on?

Currently, on top of the GREY album, each of the CAWZ emcees are Working on a solo project. It is kind of an on going thing so there are no definitive dates as to when they will drop. But rest assured that it Will happen when the time is right. Rick Reed is also currently working with another group, Underground Movement Sounds. He has got some beats coming from everywhere and they are collaborating together to make for a full on explosion. You can check the website of UMS at: http://www.umsounds.com

7) Are all of you guys from Sacramento? We are from the Adelie Coast in Antarctica but since we are starting to bring the heat...we had to move.

8) Your crew just got back from a tour, where did you go, and how was the response?

We just got back from a tour with CKY and Leisure and the tour spanned from Las Vegas to Seattle and everything in between you could hit with a Van and two weeks. Jagermeister helped out a lot and we want to give a shout out to CKY and Leisure for showing much love and letting us play on stage with them.

The response was enormous, we had hit a whole new genre of fans beyond California. We gave away a lot of free stuff and it was somewhat of a breakthrough for the CAWZ to be able to have that kind of exposure in such a short amount of time. Many things have and will come from it. We plan on doing another tour when the timing is perfect so we can spread the grey message.

9) I think I heard something about a brawl in Oregon at a show......what was that all about?

One of the bands on the tour (Not CKY or Leisure) had some problems With what was going on so things got handled accordingly. The brawl was actually at the Orangevale show near Sacramento and not in Oregon. Not too much else to say about that.

10) What kind of response have you got from Sacramento over the years and what is your overall opinion about the Sacramento hip-hop scene as it stands in 2003?

Sacramento has showed a great amount of love. We appreciate every door the city and the people in it have opened up for us. The promoters, artists, and fans in Sacramento are wonderful people and we enjoy being in such a priviliged position as far as performing with/for them. It is time to go beyond Sacramento because of the politics involved with the leaders at the state capital that do not want much going on here. We will always remember where we came from though.

11) Would you like to say anything random?

www.thecawz.com

check for special events, shows, music, art, videos, pornos, and all sorts of entertainment..........................

12) Thanks for putting out tight underground music, and helping the sac scene strive. Post your shout outs here.

The Cuf, Scapegoats, I.N.E., UMS, Brotha Lynch, Verbatum, SCP, Phonk Beta, DJ Epik, Who Cares, Joey Sonshyne, Hostile Environment, FSKO, Soul Clap, Plan B, Siccmade, K5, and the whole rest of sacramento that stays Healthy and active.............

PEACE!