Category: Cutler, Mark
Mark Cutler – Murder of Crows
75OL-384 Mark Cutler – ‘Murder of Crows’ digital download and compact disc
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Track Listing
- A Good Day
- You Can’t Sweet Talk
- Move
- Keep an Eye Out
- Too Late
- Floating Man
- Remembering Wrong
- I Know What It’s Like
- Some Kind of Light
- Man on the Moon
- Find Out Who Your Friends Are
- Home
Mark Cutler has been a musical hero in my native Rhode Island for decades now, and his latest record cements his status as one of the great un(der)discovered songwriters of recent times.
On Murder of Crows, out on streaming services June 9, Cutler continues to make rock music thatâs for adults but still actually rocks: direct while still artful, serious without angst, classic but not self-pitying retro, combining the personal and the universal in a way thatâs authoritative and empathetic.
My personal favorites included âFloating Manâ even before I spoke with Cutler and learned that the titular character is his biological father, who died 10 days before Cutler was born (âSo many things he didnât get to know/As he floats above the power lines/All the people walking to and fro/In and out a little ring of lightâ); the tough-minded âFind Out Who Your Friends Areâ (âYou find out who your friends are/They find out who you are tooâ). The closer âHome,â which Cutler describes as âa love letter to lifeâ (âHow high I have felt when the ice starts to melt/First green sings in the sun/A new dayâs first sigh/Before you know, the checkered flag flies/Seems like the race has just begunâ), is another highlight, as well as the Zevon-esque snarl of âRemembering Wrong,â with lyrics by the Rhode Island-native author, music journalist, and TV producer and host Bill Flanagan.
Cutler recorded a lot of the tracks himself, as well as with longtime bandmates Rick Couto and Jimmy Berger. Murder of Crows is one of two albums Cutler has planned for the year; some the songs are brand new, while some have been kicking around in embryonic form for decades. âI’m getting old, and I want to literally release songs â you know, free them out to the world,â Cutler says. âI don’t want to just have them sitting around on a shelf or anything. âŚ
âIt’s just to get my body of work out there â not to be immortal or anything like that, but I feel like if you create something, you owe it, not to the public or to the world, but you owe it to the thing that you created, to give it a fair shot.â
A new path
Cutler made his name with The Schemers and The Raindogs in the 1980s and â90s, touring the country and getting radio and video airplay, though the brass ring eluded both bands in the end. That said, he made the break into full-time music-making 11 years ago, quitting his longtime job as a quality assurance engineer. âDan, who was my therapist, he really saved my life and came up with a plan. I quit my job; I had enough guitar students to hold me over, and I drained my 401k and all that.â
It wasnât long after that that Cutler found a new musical avenue thatâs changed his life.
Filmmaker Jim Wolpaw contacted him about writing the soundtrack for a documentary on the Ladd School, an institution in Rhode Island for nearly a century that served as a school for people with mental and developmental disabilities but in practice was a âdumping groundâ with more than a little bit of a eugenical philosophy and with many human rights violations to its name.
Wolpaw wanted Cutler to collaborate with former Ladd School residents on the soundtrack, and while Cutler says he wasnât sure what to expect at first, by the end of the first meeting âI just said inside myself, âThank you, God â I know I made the right decision.ââ
That led to a decade of work with people with disabilities, and that led to The Same Thing Project, which Cutler describes as a community songwriting workshop for people from all walks of life.
âMy elevator pitch is âFrom the banker to the bricklayer,ââ Cutler says. We all want to want something out of life, like love, happiness. Want to take care of ourselves. Want to be able to have something to look forward to.â
Workshops are held once a week, and roughly 30 people show up. âTheir day is transformed,â Cutler says. âI won’t say their life’s transformed, but their day is better. And I know my day and my life are better because of it. So, you know, it’s nice to have that cause and that effect.â
While a lot of the people at the Same Thing Project are differently abled, many are not. âMy goal is to not have the Same Thing be about folks who are disabled. They’re just part of it. You know? They’re like, âThat guy’s retired; that guy has Down syndromeâ â it’s just, that’s a person, that’s a person, and we’re all part of this thing, that we’re writing a song together.â
A lot of people find it a difficult time to be creative, and Cutler says he feels the same way at times â âI’ve gone a year without writing a song; there’s been periods of time when that happensâ â but on the other hand working with the Same Thing Project is a great way to keep the creative muscles in shape.
Memories
Now Cutler, 67, plays with his band, Mark Cutler and the Men of Great Courage, as well as solo shows and the occasional Schemers reunion (âI don’t have much family alive anymore. ⌠Your bandmates, they become a family for you tooâ). Heâs not the same person who wrote âI Want Some Funâ or âRememberâ more than 40 years ago, but the songs are memories for him as well as the audience.
âIn most of the songs that I wrote, I can remember where I was when I wrote them, and I can go back to that, basement, and feel the air. You’re not the same person, but recalling back to that person is something that that’s magic, because, not everybody gets to do that, you know? I mean maybe a carpenter or a stone mason who can see, like, the brick wall that they built for a house when they were in their 30s or 20s. I guess that’s like our little monument, or whatever.â
Meanwhile, the songs keep coming, and with Murder of Crows, they keep coming out. Cutlerâs also a skilled, evocative painter â he did the cover of the new record, and his Instagram features his artwork regularly â but songwriting, he says, is like nothing else.
âSongwriting resonates,â Cutler says. âI can feel it vibrating in my body, my chest, like two cool notes hitting together. And I’m not like, religious or anything. I’m very agnostic. But I do feel like completing a song, the act of writing a song, especially with other people â like Jesus said, âWhere two or more of you are there in my name, that’s where I amâ? Well, that’s God. To me, when you get together writing a song, that’s God â writing a song with other people. It’s a spiritual thing, even if you’re writing the low-down nastiest song in the world. It’s great stuff.â
And itâs as important as ever. âI know where I stand in the pantheon, but â you know, sometimes they find diaries of people [from] during Nazi wartime, and sometimes those little diaries say so much more. I’m not even talking about Anne Frank, although they found her diary. But you find these little snippets of life, and that’s what I’m trying to do, is leave little clues. And let people know âThis is what was going on. And in my corner of the world, this is how I was feeling.ââ
Mark Cutler Soundtracks Vol 1
75OL-347 Mark Cutler – Soundtracks Vol 1
Digital download and streaming available here
Track Listing
- Feeling Good 03:11
- The Mirror Song 03:35
- Slow Lightning 04:19
- True Crime Part 1 05:00
- True Crime Part 2 05:05
- A Safe Place 04:14
- True Crime Part 3 05:12
- True Crime Part 4 05:09
- Write Things Down 04:03
Thanks to friends and film makers- Guy Benoit, Laura Collella, Susan Collier, Richard Marr-Griffin, William Smythe, Jim Wolpaw.
All songs written and performed by MC.
Percussion on âWrite Things Downâ by Rick Couto.
Recorded and mixed at Rev Mok Studios Cranston and East Providence, RI.
Copyright 2023
Mark Cutler Side Effects
75OL-345 Mark Cutler – Side Effects
Digital download and streaming available here
Track listing
- I Didn’t Know 03:33
- Make Yourself at Home 02:45
- Half a Dose 03:05
- Side Effects 02:54
- Queen of the Dive 04:12
- Jimi Hendrix Changed His Own Strings 02:42
- Brainwashed 03:13
- Over and Over 03:36
- Things Gotta Change 03:09
- Flat Tire Town 03:04
Recorded and mixed at RevMok Studios in Cranston and East Providence, RI.
Produced and engineered by mc.
The Same Thing Project – Walks of Life Collaborations
75OL-293 The Same Thing Project – Walks of Life Collaborations
$15.00 S&H Included
Digital download and streaming is available here
Track Listing
- Common Ground
- Mama’s Blueberry Pie
- Someone to Love
- Music of the Night
- Better Days
- Scary Love
- Dream
- Ebb and Flow
- Home
- We’re Leaving
The Same Thing Project is a songwriting workshop for people from all walks of life.
We have musicians, artists, retired folks, people with disabilities, blue and white collar workers participate every week in writing a song.
We provide a place where you donât have to be skilled at a musical instrument in order to be musical. The goal is to have a place where someone can be part of a creative community that is open, non judgmental and encouraging.
Itâs our belief that the world is a better place when people can express themselves in an imaginative way. A society is measured by how much it nurtures its arts and culture. People appreciate the arts more when they themselves take part in creating it (whatever that might be). People are never too old or young to learn something new or to write a song. You can see that spark of inspiration go on in young kids, retired newspaper writers and the father and son who take lessons so that they can play guitars together. People who take part in The Same Thing Project know the feeling of being in the midst of the creative process. We want others in the community to experience it.
The Same Thing Project meets every Tuesday morning, 10:00AM at The Artists Exchange 82 Rolfe Square Cranston, RI and itâs free and open to everyone!
Mark Cutler ‘Travel Light’ review in Motif Mag
Mark Cutler â Travel Light
On Travel Light everything is a little darker, from the tone of the guitars to the vocals; it isnât overtly political, so much as a songwriter trying to make sense of the world. Cutlerâs voice retains a sense of leeriness on âNothing from Nobodyâ as he sings âI donât want nothing from nobody, donât expect you to hand your soul to meâ over a rollicking Chicago blues lick. âWhat About Youâ is a classic ballad that feels like it fell off of an expanded version of Tom Pettyâs Wildflowers as Cutler croons, âIâm only a hobo when Iâm not by your side.â âGaslightâ is a cool tune that reminds me of â70s Neil Young set to a rhythm reminiscent of a stripped down version of Smashing Pumpkinâs â1979.â The starkness of âEast of Edenâ reminds me of a cross between Beggars Banquet era Stones and Time Out of Mind era Dylan. âMisfitsâ and the closing title track retain a youthful quality â hitting the road for the next adventure. If youâve never seen Mark Cutler live, it is an all-night party as he and his band play non-stop for hours with one tune after another drawing from his expansive career and covers of anyone from Jonathan Richman to the Stones. It is not to be missed and pick up a copy of Travel Light while you are at it!
Mark Cutler ‘Travel Light’ review at BCMN
You can read the article hereÂ
Mark Cutlerâs latest album Travel Light marks another fine release from this Rhode Island roots rocker. Here, heâs as smooth as Jack Daniels at the microphone. The musicians around him create a weave of rustic, acoustic notes and snaky electric instrumentation. Together, itâs a strong package of music from an Americana singer-songwriter who just keeps getting better and better.
Opening cut âTwo Hours To Goâ is a lilting, breezing tune with an easygoing vibe. Cutlerâs alluring vocal timbre and measured delivery keep it intriguing. Throwing in an acoustic guitar strum and a swinging groove, Cutler keeps the music in motion, like itâs taking us somewhere special. Beyond these musical accomplishments, the singer-songwriter presents an adventurous attitude that might remind of some of rockâs greatest heroes.
âNothing From Nobodyâ continues that air of individual freedom and spirited adventure. Cutlerâs attitude carries the most weight here, and he makes a fine example of someone who can live and breath the life he sings of. His slight swagger at the microphone is authentic. A persistent electric guitar humming and winding around the groove motion builds an aggressive vibe that suggests no prisoners will be taken on this personal life quest.
âGo With The Flowâ does indeed have a flow. Cutlerâs voice glides in measured doses over a restless groove and acoustic guitar march. Heâs as cool as the bass line that oozes the low end motions as smoothly as anything that rides on ice. When an electric guitar begins crackling, the tune emits another layer of cool that just canât be beat. We feel a 1960s laidback vibe and a feeling of acceptance of how all of the moving parts in this crazy, messed up world of ours have a life of their own.
âThe Other Shoeâ has more of a greasy edge, thanks to its electric guitar presence. An acoustic guitar makes a circular motion, like that something that doesnât want to resolve itself. A swirling organ line and a sly fiddle line help complete the musical support. Cutler then opines quietly but persistently about the things that can wrong even as we anticipate the calamity. His natural cool comes across well, giving this tune a personality all its own, a sprawling attitude and a sprawling musical landscape to boot.
âWhat About Youâ is a quiet, rootsy piano ballad. Cutlerâs raw, raspy voice fills the soundscape in this paired down number. He might remind of Tom Petty or Tom Waits singing of the sorry facts of life. A seesawing harmonica line ups the ante, making this song full of emotive suggestion. Perfectly crafted, this number carries all of its moving parts with a swaggering grace and with the kind of inner peace that comes from being world weary for too long.
Cutler contemplates the self-head game, the way we all have of freaking ourselves out in âGaslight.â His witty observations are accompanied by musicianship so subtle you have to listen for it but would leave the song horribly naked if it wasnât there. An acoustic guitar melody spirals upward and then back on itself so that the lyrical theme feels unresolved. This beefs up the lyrical theme beautifully while make the song move with a rustic, roots charm.
âIt Goes Like Thisâ features a pedal steel melody whose notes ring out with a beautiful authenticity. A hefty organ presence and a brisk electric guitar give Cutler a platform to deliver his heartfelt philosophy. Amongst many natural and rustic notes, this singer captures perfectly the feeling of being resigned to fate. He delivers it by wrapping his voice around every nuanced feeling his words and music conjure.
Chugging in more speedily, âI Killed A Manâ becomes a fiercely honest murder ballad. A shuffling groove and mighty acoustic guitar strum backed by a muscular electric make one feel the urgency of just having committed an atrocity. It rocks out while offering stark images of what went down. Cutlerâs skills as a songwriter and a singer who can deliver the goods comes across loud and clear.
âEast Of Edenâ is a quiet marriage of electric and acoustic instruments. Its multitude of notes travel in a lilting manner through Cutlerâs lyrical imagery of damnation and hopelessness. His vocal here is a cross between a clear, smooth croon and a harrowing dark tone. It all works itself into a perfect mood and a perfect setting.
âMisfitsâ is a mellow dandy. With sparse accompaniment, Cutler sings of those who donât find their place in society. His vocal, warmer here, reflects his compassion toward those who always seem to be stuck on the wrong side of the tracks. Creating a world of lost souls while looking over it like a concerned father, Cutler crafts a fine song out of his perceptive observation and his view of humanity.
Cutler closes out with his title track, âTravel Light.â A breezy melody line conjures images of an easy afternoon drive. His smooth croon contrast beautifully with a sharper electric guitar line. Sounding reserved and wise, Cutler delivers a stirringly handsome vocal, like heâs been keeping this sharper timbre in reserve for the finale. .
Cutler has come up with another fine roots rock albums. Traveling light with bassist Jimmy Berger, drummer Rick Couto, drummer David Narcizo, pedal steel player Jonathan Gregg, acoustic guitarist Banjo Bob Kirkman, fiddler Cathy Clasper-Torch, and keyboardist Rickard Reed, Cutler cut most of these tracks at RevMok Studios in Rhode Island. The album is a fine document of where the artist has arrived with his mastery of Americana roots music.
Mark Cutler – Travel Light
75OL-266 Mark Cutler – Travel Light
$15.00 S&H Included
Digital download and streaming available here
Track Listing
1. Two Hours To Go 2:53
2. Nothing From Nobody 4:11
3. Go With The Flow 4:44
4. The Other Shoe 4:14
5. What About You 3:48
6. Gaslight 3:45
7. It Goes Like This 3:48
8. I Killed A Man 3:38
9. East Of Eden 2:50
10. Misfits 3:23
11. Travel Light 3:50
All songs recorded and mixed by MC at Revmok Studios, except Killed A Man, recorded and mixed by Emerson Torrey at Satellite Studios. Mastered By Tom Buckland. Produced by MC. Special thanks to Kelly and Dan Cutler, Kyle and Lindsay Oelofse, Jonathan Gregg, Family, Friends, my band mates, and the folks from the Same Thing Project.
Cover design by Rick Couto.
Photography by MC.
Dedicated to George Skaubitis and Auntie Ev.
Jimmy Berger – bass guitar
Rick Couto – drums
David Narcizo – drums
Jonathan Gregg – pedal steel
Banjo Bob Kirkman – acoustic guitar
Cathy Clasper-Torch – violin
Richard Reed- keyboards
All songs written by mc copyright 2017 mok music publishing ascap
The Noise Lists ‘Seven RI Bands to Take Note Of’
Two 75orLess veterans are part of the The Noise’s Seven Rhode Island Acts To Take Note Of, Allysen Callery and Mark Cutler and the Men of Great Courage
Allysen Callery â guitar, vocals
Noise:Â Â Where is your band located?
Callery: Â Iâm in Bristol, RI, about 25 minutes from Providence.
Noise: Whatâs good and bad about your local scene?
Callery: There are a couple venues that really shine, The Columbus has an upstairs theatre with seats thatâs a dream for me to play, Iâve really enjoyed myself there. Aurora under Jacob Wolfâs booking is starting to emerge as a premier room, as well. They brought out tables and  chairs the last time I played, and that works best for my sound.
Noise: Describe your bandâs sound and how you fit into the scene?
Callery: I play finger-style guitar & sing on the British Isles spectrum of folk, but Iâm New England. Iâm not trad Americana, but I play with some of the gentler acts like Haunt the House (I was in his band too, for awhile) and  love the gothic New England folk style of Vudu Sister, and I book with them a lot, too.
Noise: Whatâs your best song?
Callery: Wow, thatâs a tough thing to answer- but Iâll go with âI Had A Lover I Thought Was My Own,â for the DADGAD fingerstyle playing, and the narrative. That song got me into SXSW in 2014.
Noise: What national actâs influence is most evident in your sound?
Callery: Jessica Pratt & Meg Baird do a similar style of acoustic that I do, not quite folk, but I call it that out of convenience.
Noise: What are your plans for the future?
Callery: Iâm doing my first Italian tour this October, stopping to play a show in Brighton, England for some folks instrumental in getting me on my first European label. I am also thrilled to be returning to SXSW festival in March, 2017.
MEN OF GREAT COURAGE
(rock ânâ roll/ country and soul)
Mark Cutler â guitar, vocals, Jimmy Berger â bass, Rick Couto â drums, Bob Kirkman â guitar, banjo, Richard Reed â keyboard, Cathy Clasper -Torch  â fiddle
Noise:Â Â Where is your band located?
Cutler:Â My bands, The Men of Great Courage and The Schemers are located in Providence, RI.
Noise: Whatâs good and bad about your local scene?
Cutler:Â I love the variety of styles and the high quality of music thatâs being made around here. Thereâs always a sense of support and community. Although nowadays, I donât get out too much unless Iâm playing. One thing that gets me down and itâs probably true for many places is that I hear musicians talking about what they do like its a pain in the ass to play music. For Godâs sake, you found something that you love to do! And sometimes you make some dough doing it! Itâs not like youâre working in a chain gang. Youâre playing music.
Noise: Describe your bandâs sound and how you fit into the scene?
Cutler: I donât know how we fit in the scene. We kinda hover around it. My band is all over the place but weâre influenced by tons of styles and artists. We like to  get hypnotic and expansive but we also like to play a cry in your beer song too. Hank to Hendrix and all that it implies.
Noise: Whatâs your best song?
Cutler:Â I donât know and I hope I havenât written it yet.
Noise: What national actâs influence is most evident in your sound?
Cutler:Â The usual baby boomer stuff, Stones, Velvet Underground, Dylan, gut bucket blues, old time country.
Noise: What are your plans for the future?
Cutler: I plan on playing, writing, mentoring, putting out records, creating, and trying to do the right thing until the day I die.
Vote in the 2014 Motif Music Awards
You can go here to vote for the 2014 nominees for the Motif Music Awards. 75orLess artists with nominations include Bob Kendall, Mark Cutler, The McGunks, Sick Pills, The diePods, Haunt the House, Jacob Haller, and Six Star General.
Mark Cutler ‘Dreamland’ review at Bill Copeland Music News
You can read the article here.
Mark Cutler has been a fixture in the New England roots music scene for some time now. The Rhode Island nativeâs latest album Dreamland continues his tradition of laying down earthy, soulful music with rich acoustic instrumentation around his mellow, flowing vocal, driving beats, and edgy guitar.
Opening his disc with âDoing Things That We Like To Do,â Cutler unfurls his flowing, tender guitar melodies. Within no time, a listener is wrapped up in the dreamy landscape of floating nuances from the acoustic instruments. A sparse amount of notes gather to make a fulsome sound around that assured, easeful vocal glide. Above all else, the tune is quite catchy, and hummable. It feels like a folk-rock number from the early 1970s.
Cutler digs deeper into his roots influences for âTankful Of Gas,â a mellow piece marked by tender slide guitar. Possessing a real front porch in the summer of 1939 vibe, Cutler takes his sweet time finessing his tragic tale of a racing car driver. Itâs a treat to hear all of the old time guitar picking styles offering notes that strut, jump around, and slide with greasy tenderness around its sturdy fretboard.
Cutler rocks things up a bit on âYouâre Gonna Need My Help.â Here, an electric guitar gets a bit edgier while the percussion pieces slap things out uptempo. Cutler expresses his admonition to a friend with world weary persistence. Itâs a fun number to follow because its pace and vigor make a listener picture all sorts urgent outcomes if his friend doesnât take his advice. Thereâs a batch of roots things going on at once that make it a thicket of emotive, soulful Americana.
âCircle To A Squareâ finds Cutler holding his vocal notes a bit after accenting them with a driving persistence. He makes you feel the urgency of his tale. Surrounding his voice is a carefree layering of gritty banjo, thumping low end, pushy drum beats, and a smoldering electric guitar. The tune makes its steady march into destiny as a lead guitar unfurls its burning passion at its own considered pace.
Title track âDreamlandâ moseys on up to the listener with a lilting, moody harmonica line that could be friendly or that could be weary. Cutler sings this one with a world worn resignation. He clearly has feelings about his situation but he also clearly feels that those feelings wonât power his dreams. That handsome vocal makes you feel what the song is about while putting its own indelible stamp on the song. You know its Cutler when you hear him. You also hear him control every direction that every verse and every instrument is taking. Cutlerâs easeful control over his songs gives them another layer of that drifty, roots quality youâre looking for in this genre.
âToo Much Funâ feels like an FM classic rock staple even though itâs a new original song. Cutler puts something comfortably familiar in his acoustic guitar chord progression. It invites you in like an old friend waving you into his home,. The melody is alluring and the chorus is hooky as hell. An adept lead guitar line too helps to burn this song into a listenerâs consciousness with its simmering buzz, its ability to swagger around the beat.
âSoul Flameâ switches gears back into down tempo folksy roots flavoring. Cutlerâs voice flows like honey over a thumpy beat and alongside fulsome harmonica and a hefty acoustic guitar melody. This creates a warm thick vibe that invites one in while offering plenty of nuances within a sparse instrumentation. A listener can follow Cutlerâs message because he unfurls it at a friendly, respectful pace. His theme is strong enough to explain itself without a lot of verbiage and his rich, fulsome vocal makes it come alive like a fire thatâs just burst into full bloom.
âDead Manâs Songâ continues the traditional Americana roots styles. Cutlerâs lyrics sound like they were written in an earlier time period in American history. Itâs as if Cutler had traveled back in time, worked at a 1930s gas station in a sleepy town for a few years, then came back to the present to write about all the human drama that the town slept on. His handsome vocal slides across the back of the imagery he offers. Meanwhile, a greasy slide guitar projects his message over a brittle thatch of peppy acoustic instrumentation. Itâs that buzz of activity that keeps the ears glued to the song.
A wistful feeling permeates âWe Donât Do That Stuff No More.â Cutler looks back at his past with mournful respect. Each verse his voice glides through bring his story to vivid life, infusing each with his plaintive timbre. He doesnât just sing to you. He invites you into his world with an unforced, unobtrusive vocal approach. Itâs like a painting on the wall that draws your attention with all of the details and nuances it offers. The instrumentation around his voice is, as always, plentiful in taste, respect, the right touches in the right places. Each time that greasy slide guitar unleashes another melodic line inside a measure, you feel the personality behind the man playing it and the man who wrote the song.
Closing out his album with âIâll Play For You,â Cutler offers the listener one last parting glimpse into his world, a landscape of human souls bruised, wounded, enlightened, and rescued by the power of redemption or damaged or destroyed by the indifferent hand of fate. Itâs a gritty, realistic world Cutler writes and sings about. The gritty instrumentation around his steadfastly handsome vocal helps deliver that world with soulful, emotive purpose.
Dreamland is certainly another tasty nugget in a line of gems from this Americana roots music singer-songwriter. One can only play his albums over and over until he releases his next offering of timeless roots music and gritty realistic words. This is a songwriter who deeply cares about people from the highways and back roads and dark alleys of American life.