Cutler Station is a group of dads (10 children combined) (and best friends!) who love to write and play music together. Steve, Jason, Kirby, and John have been in various bands together since the late 90’s including Neutral, Fleming, The Crooked Tree Band, Tackle Box, and Saints of Mary’s Town.
Formed by John, Kirby, and Steve in 2008 in Columbus Ohio, the band released their debut EP as Cutler Station in June 2011. Titled “Volume One”, it features songs about their favorite television show, LOST, wayward hitch hikers, and struggling with the existence of a higher power. These songs still find their way on set lists from time to time.
Following the EP’s release John moved from Columbus back to the Mid-Ohio Valley for work. Steve joined him the following year, reigniting the spark of Cutler Station. With John and Steve reunited, Cutler Station once again began to write and record with the addition of their old buddy Jason on drums and Kirby contributing as much as possible while still living in Columbus.
In 2015, Cutler Station released “An Introduction to Trees”, their first release in nearly five years. An Introduction to Trees features many songs written and recorded over a period of time in which Cutler Station would call “hanging out in the barn and playing some music” band. In 2017, Cutler Station would release the 8-track album, “Happy Campers”, which the band recorded over a long weekend at the band’s very own, Red Barn Studio. The release of this album marked the band’s reentry into live shows.
As the band whipped themselves back into playing shape, new material emerged and the band would start the process of recording its first full length album. Cutler Station will be releasing their first full length on January 18, 2019. This self-titled work includes songs about gun toting cheetahs, the polluting of our hometown, and trips into the catacombs with the Mothman. Check out the self titled album below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talked about their album and more!
So how has your full titled album gone down with fans so far?
The response has been great. We have heard nothing but good things about the album from folks who have always listened to us and some folks who had never heard of us before. The common response we always seem to get is “that is a really fun album”. Which is exactly what we were trying to do. I think most folks arent really sure what to expect when they see a smoking yeti on the cover with some weird motorcycle pictures on the back. Couple that with some strange song titles and most people are like “wtf is this?”. The vinyl pressing seems to have pushed us over to some folks who might not be that interested. The random color pressing and the lyrical insert we created that includes lyrics on one side and a coloring book pop art poster on the other side has really received a lot of positive feedback.
What is your favorite single on the album?
My favorite single on the album is “Death From Above”. That song came out of a weird place. Our local city had an old plastic storage facility catch fire and it burned for almost a week. It was super depressing and the lyrics kind of just poured out of me. It’s such a weird thing to be in love with your home town/area but also fear it. We Mid-Ohio Valley folk have a strong sense of self and pride and love for our community and the folks in it. But we have been burdened with folks who seem to value profit margins over human life. And to top it off, the governor of WV(our boarding state in ohio) shows up on the local news and is trying to laugh it off and pretend like it’s no big deal a plume of black toxic smoke is just hovering around us. So yeah, I had started writing these lyrics to little melody that i had been chewing on and then one night at practice, Steve starts squirting out this sweet synth line and we just kind of fell into the song. It was really amazing. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen often. For the most part, we flush songs this way and that way until something comes of it, but this song just kind of fell in our lap. It’s like the mothman himself wrapped this sucker in a big red bow and left if under our chemical tree.
What was your favorite moment recording the album?
We are a bunch of dads with jobs and responsibilities and stuff. So when we set out to make this record, we knew we would be able to dedicate a large chunk of uninterrupted time straight to it. Like we couldnt setup on monday and just record for a week straight or whatever those lucky lads get to do. So we had to set out and record this thing ourselves, in our home built studio in Steve’s barn, on about 3 hours a week. Not sure if I have a favorite moment making the record, but I do have a lot of pride for doing everything ourselves. Not one piece of this thing was fixed or polished by anyone outside the band. We spent countless hours critiquing ourselves and massaging the mixing and mastering process until we had birthed something that we would all be excited about. There are certainly moments when you’re like “oh shit. I am not sure we can achieve what is in our heads” but it was certainly worth effort to be able to walk away with something that you have built from day one.
So what’s it like working together with ten kids to look after as well?
The 4 of us make it a priority to practice together at least once a week. You can’t be crafty if you dont practice your craft. My kids have gotten so used to my bands practice schedule they know what day of the week practice is on and are usually waiting at the door to kiss me good night for the evening as I had to practice. It is a challenge to keep the nucleus together but you just have to set your mind to it and keep on keeping on. The wives are all great support as well. Sometimes they compliment us tongue in cheek but it’s all out of love. They know we love it and they support us 100%. We try to get together every couple months as band families and share dinner and drinks and laughs. All of our kids go to school together and they are all within the same age range. Steve and Jason’s wives are even teachers at the grade school all of the kids currently attend or will attend. If you make it about more than just the music, it shows. We love each other and support one another and that support has created a nice foundation for the band to coexist with our personal lives. That’s super sappy, but it’s the truth.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
I would love to work with Tyler Childers. I think a Cutler Station/Tyler Childers collaboration would be a weird but tasteful experiment. The band has come to love and adore Tyler Childers through playing in his back yard of Huntington WV. The legend of Tyler Childers and his ethos grew the music scene in Huntington WV into a flourishing hot bed of amazing talent and music. Tyler writes beautiful songs about his eastern Kentucky roots and in the same vain, his love for his home and community. We draw a lot of inspiration from that. He has certainly turned into a hero of some sorts within the Appalachia region. I think he has reminded the music community that amazing art can come from anywhere, not just a few select cities, which is really inspiring. I watched Tyler Childers play the box car stage at the Nelsonville Music Festival 2 years ago. And now in 2019, he is headlining. How amazing is that? So yeah, if we could ever collaborate with Tyler Childers, that would be amazing.
Will you be touring at in 2019?
Being dads and working jobs and coaching our kids ball teams and having families and stuff really limit the number of shows we can play a year. Our wives tolerate(best word i can think for it) us playing 1-2 shows a month. So we try and maximize those 1 to 2 shows a month. We book everything ourselves and always try to get the best talent we can around us. There are so many great bands in the area from William Matheny, Of the Dell, and Jake Dunn and the Black Birds, that we always try to setup shows that we will enjoy seeing just as much as playing. A show night not only consists of us getting to play music for people, but also consuming local and regional artists that we love. Like this rad ass dude John R Miller. Mf’r dropped this insane album and opened an amazing show we were playing on his album release day. This dude is amazing and he’s just out there, floating around, playing bass in William Matheny’s band. There really is so much talent in the area. But we do have some sweet shows coming up and we are actually going on a little 3 day dad tour. It should be a lot of fun. We are hitting the road with our buddies Ben Davis Jr & the Revelry. Should be really fun with lots of shenanigans. We are also playing our local fair, which is a pretty big deal, depending on who you ask. Hahaha. We will also be starting our follow up album this year. We have so many songs in the parking lot, we could make an album every year for the next 2-3 years and still not record all the songs we have been grinding on. I think this helps us keep a healthy perspective on not being able to tour as much as normal bands. We just play some fun shows and keep writing fun music.
What do you all get up to in your spare time when not working on music?
Not much spare time to be had here. Between writing songs, making our own music videos, recording our own music, there isnt much time left for other things outside of family activities.However, Jason is an avid hunter and outdoors-man. He lives on a large chunk of property that has some amazing hiking trails that will lead to some rock faces and clearings. It is a nice place to take the kids and head out and see what kind of fun we can find in nature. Steve is highly involved in his kids sporting actives. He enjoys coaching baseball and soccer. He also loves riding motorcycles, though this hobby has taken a back seat as of late. He enjoys working on his homestead and casual wood working projects. Kirby enjoys playing with his son, traveling, and art. He also enjoys hearing and finding new bands. He has been trying to get a tshirt screen printing press up and running. John enjoys hanging with his family and enjoying different projects together. DIY arts and crafts and home recordings are just some of the things he enjoys. The band in general loves sitting pool side, sippin on a few busch lights, playing volleyball and launching kids into the deep end of the pool.