About Howlin’ Kitty Music

Howlin” Kitty Music LLC was founded on the musical epiphany of Mike McCauley. After some early songwriting success in Nashville during the late 1970s, he decided to give up music entirely in favor of making a “steady living”. Over a quarter of a century later, Mike’s interest was re-energized during an Appalachian roots music performance by father and son duo, Frankie and Fred Revell. The three became fast friends, and before long, Frankie was recording Mike and some of his older music in the Revell’s home studio.

Now seventy years old and retired, Mike finally came to realize that he could still play guitar and write songs. He soon wrote and recorded “Diane’s Song” for his wife to celebrate their upcoming wedding anniversary. After watching woman after woman come to tears while listening to this song, he decided that it was time to more fully engage with his music and bring it into the present.

His reacquaintance with Ty Crawford, a phenomenal young musician, sound engineer, and multimedia developer, made the idea of a new online record label and publishing company a serious potential.

All of this lead Mike and Diane McCauley, with the help of Ty and Frankie, to form Howlin’ Kitty Music LLC (named after their beloved cat, Woodstock). Their mission is to explore the back roads and alleyways of American music in search of talented folks who play their music on front porches, in garages, small clubs, churches, the streets, or even just for their own amusement.

In a global culture dominated by glitz and glamour, this music can be novel and even profound. Our intention is to place even obscure performances of public domain material not only on our own website but on other major internet outlets as well.

GROW WITH US

First, if you are or know someone who is an undiscovered talent, please get in touch with us. Fill out the artists profile form and attach an MP3 recording of a song. Although we pledge not to steal anyone’s material, we encourage you to obtain a federal copyright if the song is original. We will acknowledge your submission and listen carefully and return a notice of acceptance or rejection. Since we are a legitimate record label and publisher (rather than a web aggregator or vanity label) we reserve the right to reject any submission for any reason. However, rejection may not mean that we don’t like your material; we may be backlogged with projects and too busy to accept new ones, Don’t hesitate to submit again in a few months.

Write a new song or come up with a new way to perform an old song. Many old songs lend themselves well to clever reinterpretation. Be sure to indicate on the “Submit Sample” whether a song is an original, cover song, or within the public domain.

Collaborate

Find other musicians who will support your project, and come up with an arrangement that showcases your song(s) appropriately. Remember that simplicity is often best. Highly elaborate production often obscures the originality or artistic interpretation of a song.

Record

Create a finished .WAV or MP3 file for each song. Production is important. Work with a competent recording engineer. If you live in the West Virginia, Western Maryland, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, or Western Virginia areas, you might want to work directly with Howlin’ Kitty’s own producer/engineers. We are located in the heart of Appalachia.

Publish

Submit your songs to the Howlin’ Kitty Music LLC. If you become an artist on the Howlin’ Kitty Music label, we will help you through the process of publishing your music, signing with a performing rights organization, obtaining mechanical rights, and distributing your music to other outlets in the most inexpensive and effective ways possible. All the while, you will maintain ownership of your copyrights. Your music will be featured, advertised, and sold on the Howlin’ Kitty LLC website.

About Howlin’ Kitty Music

Meet The Team

Diane McCauley

Mike McCauley

Ty Crawford

GROW WITH US

Diane
McCauley

Mike
McCauley

Ty
Crawford