Names may change, but the songs remain loud
by Jesse Morton
There is enough of a sound buffer between Cuts lyricist Harold Heffner's house and his nearest neighbor to allow for the band to practice at all hours. Not that cinderblock walls could actually stifle the blistering barrage of amphetamine rhythms and dueling surf-guitar riffs. Rather, the nearest neighborly windowpanes to shake and dishes to rattle are those of a church that is empty most of the time.
Distance is especially crucial since the use of the tiny room in which the Cuts rehearse has recently doubled.
Heffner and the Cuts enjoy sharing space with sister band Divorce. But he does somewhat mind having to change the band's name to suit a music scene that is becoming quite crowded.
"Turns out there is some other band known as the Cuts," Heffner says. "They're from California and have some records out, so we have to change our name. It is tough getting everyone to agree on something."
It may be equally tough to get a new name to stick. Heffner and guitarist Fletcher Stewart have been referring to themselves as the Cuts for over four years. In their mid-teens, the two met at Laurel High School, started practicing together and patronizing punk shows at the Mercury Theatre.
"We wanted to be surf-punk from the beginning," Heffner says.
"We weren't very good, but we had a lot of energy," Stewart says.
The band accrued ex-Malignman Ian (he refuses to give his last name) on bass in 2002 and ex-Superlative Julia Hungerford on drums in '03. Henceforth the Cuts have released a five-song CD and played over 20 shows.
"Julia's first show was in January," Stewart says. "Since then we've definitely gotten a lot more done this year."
With several ongoing projects, the Cuts say that their sound is maturing. "The songs have become more introspective and serious," Stewart says, citing the recent dissolution of a long-term relationship as inspiration.
Heffner says that they have a routine for turning such inspiration into songs. "We will have a definite idea in mind and then we work through it."
"Harold and I do the guitar work, experimenting with arrangement," Stewart says, and then the band as a whole will collaborate on the final concept.
"But we reach the end product by trial and error," Heffner says. The physical process of repeatedly practicing a song will inspire the necessary finishing touches, he adds.
"We don't jam out," Hungerford offers, explaining that the process is more of a concentrated dissection of a song's working components than a chaotic brainstorming.
Stewart says the band is always reworking some of its earlier stuff, building upon that which is already proven.
"Our older songs are more cartoony, funnier and entertaining," Heffner said. "They survive because they are so much fun to play."
Their self-titled CD features both sides of the band. Whereas the song "CIA" comes across as a juvenile, light-hearted poke at the stern political punk bands of yesteryear, it's preceded by "Ninjas," a melodic anthem weighted with bitter social commentary set in tones of despaired resignation.
"I just had the line, 'Every ninja says my kung fu is the best,' and I put the rest of it on paper in about 10 minutes," says Heffner. The song is about how "people always want to talk about themselves."
"Everybody wants to be the center of attention," Stewart says.
"And we are screaming for it," adds Ian.
Attention was exactly what they received at Barley's' New Year's Eve bash. The sold-out show, which left many audience members waiting in line outside, featured four other acts.
"Because of that show I am no longer content to sit around and wait," Heffner says. "We are looking at releasing a full-length CD." Some of the Cuts' recent work is of an entirely different sound than that of the self-titled CD, he says.
The Cuts are also planning February gigs at venues as far away as Nashville and Atlanta and a Valentine's Day performance at the Pilot Light.
"Before we start playing out of town, we want to have a new name," Heffner says. Based on a suggestion, he says, "we're going to become The Cheat."
That doesn't mean they will change their identity, he says. By any other name the Cuts will still rock the house, as well as the church next door.
January 22, 2003 * Vol. 14, No. 4
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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