CAVE Women brings its love for jazz onto campus today at noon in the University Union’s Serna Plaza.

Sacramento locals Casey Lipka, Alicyn Yaffee, Vanessa Cruz, Emily Messick and Kim Davis form the band known as CAVE Women. These five women came together through their passion for music and going to gigs in downtown Sacramento to perform.

One might wonder about the origins of the name CAVE Women. Before the final member Davis joined the group, the women found they were in a tight spot, trying to find a name for the band right before a gig. Putting together the first letters of their names they created the acronym CAVE – and of course, they are all women.

Originally three of the members met at the Capital Garage jam sessions, which are held downtown each Tuesday. Cruz, Yaffee and Lipka performed as a trio on Valentine’s Day, and it started from there.

Their next performance introduced them to Messick, who sat in on a performance providing some vocal harmony for the performance. In April, the band started to work on recording its album. Davis had written some music the other band members enjoyed, and the rest is history.

The band members said they enjoyed recording their album.

“My first time singing and recording was with these girls so recording was a different experience for me but I would not want to work with anyone else either,” Davis said.

The women recounted their story of preparing the car for their trip to San Francisco. With only one SUV, the five women traveled with all their instruments – amps and, yes, the drum set and stand up bass were in the car, too.

“The car was literally jam packed to the top,” Messick laughed.

Each of the ladies independently writes her music, starting with melodies and instrumentals and going on from there. They said one of their favorite parts of working together is they do not lose themselves in the process of collaborating with each other.

“All of us are really quick with this kind of stuff – understanding how someone wants something to sound, we get each other musically” said Yaffee, the drummer.

Lipka, Yaffee, Messick and Davis are Sacramento State music majors. Yaffee wrote one of their songs, “Song for Kreisberg,” on campus in Capistrano Hall.

“I was in room 303, staring out the window and I was messing with delayed sound and voicing on the guitar Jonathan Kreisberg (New York City guitarist and composer) uses,” Yaffee said. “We find inspiration everywhere, even in the rustle of the wind between trees.”

Their eclectic style of music brings together instruments one does not always hear on the radio. “We will be able to open the eyes of students to a new type of sound” bassist Lipka said of their performance today. The band members provide good, honest music for their listeners to enjoy. All of the band members come from different musical backgrounds interests ranging from classical to pop.

“Our music reflects those individual styles,” Davis said.

For more information about CAVE Women, visit their website at cavewomenmusic.com

Chanel Saidi can be reached at [email protected].