Meet the band: Caterpillar Tracks

Caterpillar Tracks: Shane Johnson (vocals, guitar), David Cupp (guitar), Joseph Suer (drums), Matthew Tomlinson (bass) (Credit: Provided)

This Halloween, instead of looking way too old to be trick-or-treating, put on your mask and head to the Northside Tavern to check out the one-of-a-kind Whomageddon.

At the top of the bill, Caterpillar Tracks will be performing as a fully costumed tribute to the Who, with John Curley (Afghan Whigs, Staggering Statistics) sitting in as bassist John Entwistle. In addition, the evening will also feature Scott Wood performing Ramones tunes and Jason Knar taking on Devo.

This evening of music legend impersonators assists fundraising efforts for Media Bridges’ new radio station WVQC, which according to development coordinator Christa Zielke will feature local music shows, as well as news and talk programs. Those contributing will help the station purchase a transmitter, which Zielke says is “the last piece of equipment needed to ‘flip the switch.’”

We caught up with Caterpillar Track’s Dave Cupp who’ll be playing the role of Pete Townsend in The Who tribute:

A tribute show on Halloween almost begs that you dress up as the band. Are you breaking out some sort of Pete Townsend outfit? I’m not sure I’d even know what that would looks like.

We're going for as much accuracy as our bank accounts and lifestyles will allow.  On one hand, we're doing this mainly for fun, so we don't want to get too serious about it...on the other hand though, The Who has held a high place in my heart since before I even picked up a guitar. I definitely want to do the material and the live show itself much justice.  

As far as Pete's look goes, think 1969-70 (Woodstock, Isle of Wight). That was personally my favorite era and white jumpsuits are pretty easy to come by these days. That's as much as I want to give away for now.

Caterpillar Tracks and the Who are pretty different musically. Are you doing Who songs in a “Caterpillar Tracks style” or are your covers going to be faithful recreations?

Actually, The Who's energy, ridiculous stage volumes and somewhat indignant attitude have always been important ingredients in our approach. As Pete once said in an interview, and I’m paraphrasing, “you are in a room with us and we are all there is for the moment.”  We feel pretty comfortable in their clothes.

However, we do take some liberties here and there and try to make the most of our limitations. We've also enlisted some help in the vocals department that will add something totally new for both Caterpillar Tracks and The Who.

Are you planning on sticking to hits or will there be a few obscure tracks? Maybe something from The Who Sell Out?

I'm not going to give much away here. I'll just say that there won’t be any disappointments. We're doing a fairly long set that spans from The High Numbers era (1964ish) to Who's Next.

The band’s lineup is changing slightly to feature John Curley as bassist John Entwistle. How did this collaboration come together?

I had seen the ghost of John Entwistle wriggle around inside that beard of his at many Staggering Statistics shows. When our bass player became unavailable for the Who project, it had to be John Curley.  Now, thanks to modern communication technology and John's rabid enthusiasm for The Who, people will get to witness a very beautiful thing on Halloween.

You released a 7” split with Arms Exploding earlier this year. Any status report on when you guys will be recording again?

We've actually recorded a few new tracks with Steve Wethington at New Fidelity Collective. It’s great stuff! I'm excited. We'll record a few more this winter and hopefully have something out by spring.