Java Hut show to mark release of Cacho's multiform 'Spark'
Thursday, March 14, 2002

By Scott McLennan
Telegram & Gazette Entertainment Columnist

Carl Cacho's music is all over the place. And that's a good thing.
The skilled singer-songwriter shows an ease with multiple styles and settings on his new CD "Spark." Cacho takes the listener from the lonely setting of a Texas rail station to the flirty environs of a beach club on Massachusetts' North Shore. Cacho matches his nicely chiseled lyrics to musical styles that range from bluegrass to primal rock 'n' roll.
"I like to express a lot of different things in my music. Someone like Joni Mitchell can have a whole album of love songs about one relationship. I can't do that," Cacho said.
Yet, the strength of Cacho's lyrics do allow him to draw some common themes through "Spark," a CD that offers up the sort of vivid impression one gets from a well-written novella.
"It's about going through the trials in life and the mistakes you make along the way," Cacho said. "But I didn't think about that as a theme when I started making the record."
"Spark" opens with the mischievous "The Devil in Me" and ends with the redemptive "Save Me a Seat." In between are a bunch of songs about flings, trips and other lesson-learning experiences.
Cacho is set to celebrate the release of "Spark" locally with a show Saturday at The Java Hut, 1073 Main St., Worcester.
The disc is Cacho's second and features a long list of luminaries from the New England acoustic-music scene. Ellis Paul, Kris Delmhorst, Stephanie Corby, Mark Erelli, Kevin So and Jimmy LaFave are among those collaborating with Cacho on the disc's dozen songs. Some of these guests have recorded Cacho's songs for their own projects.
Cacho began playing open stages around New England in the '80s while he was still a teen. After taking up a career as a social worker, he moved around from Colorado to New York to Michigan. It was in Ann Arbor that he went pro as a musician. He came back to Massachusetts a few years ago and found himself nominated for a Boston Music Award for best new singer-songwriter.
Though recognition keeps coming his way, Cacho said he is still trying to perfect his craft.
"It took me a long time to get to the point that what I do, I do well," he said. "But the one thing I want to be able to do is write a powerful anthem like 'This Land Is Your Land.' "
And Cacho knows that the modern folk anthem may take a radically new shape because the singer-songwriter world is ever changing and growing in talent. "There's no limit to the amount of great songs being written. I go to open mikes, and I inevitably hear another great song," he said. "People keep pushing the boundaries."

And Cacho seems ever willing to push those limits with his own ideas.