Michael Cavanagh (drummer)
Australian drummer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Cavanagh (5, July 1990) is an Australian drummer best known for being the drummer for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. He also releases solo music under the pseudonym CAVS.
Michael Cavanagh | |
|---|---|
Cavanagh performing in 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | CAVS, Mickey |
| Born | July 5, 1990 |
| Occupation | Drummer |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of | The Houses |
Spouse |
Amy Findlay (m. 2019) |
| Signature | |
 | |
Musical career
Cavanagh grew up in Deniliquin, New South Wales and was drawn to drumming at an early age.[1] Cavanagh became the drummer for a band called The Houses which was formed in 2005 and by 2010 consisted of him, Lucas Skinner, Blaise Adamson, and Stu Mackenzie.[2] However, despite this, he was not an original member of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, which was formed by Mackenzie, Joey Walker, and Eric Moore in 2010, rather, he joined the band via an audition.[3]
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
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Cavanagh would join the band as their dedicated drummer, with Eric Moore as the band's manager.[3] However, Moore, who also played drums for Love Migrate, started being the band's second drummer as their songs became more complex.[4] Besides their highly prolific discography, King Gizzard was also known due to their novelty of having two drummers.[4] Cavanagh, the more experienced drummer, would often take the lead, with Moore "adapting" to match his play style, as most of the songs were written with Cavanagh on drums, with Moore only playing drums during live performances.[4] On August 25, 2020, Moore would post to the Flightless website that he would be stepping away from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, leaving Cavanagh as the only drummer.[5]
In 2022, while touring in Greece, Cavanagh would come down with COVID-19 and would be replaced for two shows[6] by a drum machine.[7][8]
Solo career
On June 8, 2021, Cavanagh announced that he would release a solo album of some of his drum solos under the pseudonym CAVS.[9] Alongside this announcement came a video of a ten-minute solo dubbed T2JD, directed by John Stewart (who made other Gizzard music videos, including the video for "Some of Us").[10] The self-titled album CAVS would be released on July 9.[11] He would release another single, Gun Point on August 28 of that year.[12]
On February 24, 2026, a second CAVS solo album was announced, titled Sojourn. The album was produced by Mildlife drummer Jim Rindfleish alongside collaborations from other Melbourne-based musicians, and was described as a "journey through Cavs' rythmic imagination". The album was announced alongside a lead single, Candiru.[13]
Discography
Studio albums (as CAVS)
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [14] | ||
| CAVS |
|
— |
| Sojourn |
|
88 |
Singles (as CAVS)
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| T2JD |
|
| Swordfish |
|
| Fury Gong |
|
| Gun Point |
|
| Candiru |
|
Personal life
Cavanagh is married to Amy née Findlay, the drummer for Stonefield.