Kathy Kave: Like a second mother in the hardcore scene

Sometimes people are only aware of the things right under their noses. For whatever reason, they don’t sniff around and learn foreign scents. It’s always good to at least know what else is happening. You don’t have to fall in love with it and write love poems about it, but understand what’s out there and what’s going on beyond your space. You’ll be the better for it. You never know, you might find something or someone important, life changing or influential.

Up in Bucksport, wedged between the Penobscot River and Silver Lake was the most unlikely of important music venues anywhere in the country. The Kave played home to punk rock, hardcore and metal bands from around the world. As you approached the location, you thought, “There’s a music venue here?” Then you see it; graffiti covered, worn and abandoned looking, but sturdy as steel. There isn’t another venue that mirrors its people better than The Kave. Why this place happened, how it stood the test of time and how its doors remained open is a testament to what makes a music venue successful. I’ve met people in faraway music places that told me stories about playing at The Kave. I didn’t get to go there as much as I would have liked to, but this venue will go down as legendary as almost any venue in the Northeast. Like punk rock itself, this place had to happen. There’s no plan. It just happens. And it’s real. At the helm was a woman that was the true definition of “mother” to all those who entered the club.