If you are from Jersey City, New Jersey there is no doubt you have heard of Tom Barrett, a staple of the indie rock scene for over a decade. Tom has played with everyone from punk band The Everymen to the most popular band he fronted, the My Bloody Valentine inspired Overlake (Bar None Records). However in between these louder projects Tom always came back to delicate folk inspired tracks in the vein of Elliott Smith, Lou Barlow and more. Tom's newest album "You Are And You've Always Been" is an epic indie folk gem and we're so glad we got to talk to him today about it and we are even premiering a brand new song from it below!
1. How did the band form and what does the name mean? (Yes, Yes, all the comedian solo people like to have fun with this one)
Well, I’m primarily a solo dude these days, so I guess “the band formed” when my parents got together and birthed me, haha. The Cuts formed in 2019 when I’d asked my friends Jamie Zillitto (bass), Gabe Chiarello (drums) and Matt Palasz (piano) to back me up for a show in the basement of Pet Shop in Jersey City. The name doesn’t mean anything. It was literally the first thing that came to mind when I started playing with a backing band, I felt they should have a name and that one stuck. Jamie is still in the band, but Jake Fiedler is our drummer now and we’re just doing the power trio thing. That’s always been my favorite kind of band, anyway.
2. Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
Overlake, American Watercolor Movement, No Pasaran, several others… I’ve loved music ever since discovering my mother’s Elvis and Beatles records when I was a child, and seeing AC/DC on MTV. I thought they were dangerous. They looked and sounded dirty and fired canons into the crowd. I was into it. I wanted to learn to play guitar after that.
3. First concert that you ever went to?
My first concert was Chicago at the Garden State Arts Center in 1984 or something. Some awful comedian opened. I can’t remember my first local show, probably something at Obsessions in Randolph in the early 90’s.
4. What's your writing process like?
I don’t really have one. There’s a multitude of ways songs get written. Sometimes music comes first, sometimes words, sometimes I write on acoustic guitar, sometimes in GarageBand… There’s no one way. The connecting thread is that it usually takes me forever to finish a song. I can go years sometimes without completing anything new. I wish I could be more prolific, but I also think good quality control is important. I’d rather put out a ten-song record with no filler than a twenty-two song double record where it look you’re skipping past most of it.
5. What other artists or songs inspire your music?
I’ve always been inspired by people like Lou Barlow, Nick Drake, Neil Young, Elliott Smith… Songwriters who wear their vulnerabilities on their sleeves and express a certain type of honesty in their lyrics, and who are unafraid of their flaws. That’s something I’m always aspiring for. Lou Barlow and Elliott Smith alsomade their earliest records on four-track cassette machines in college dorms and living rooms and they sounded like it. I still love that quality, like anybody can do it. Anyone can make a record. That’s a good idea to be exposed to at an early age.
These days I’m mostly inspired by stuff like Wilco, Sharon Van Etten, Cassandra Jenkins, Kurt Vile… David Berman is one of my favorite songwriters ever. He’s untouchable… I’ll never be at that level. All I can do is keep working at it and hopefully get a little better in the process.
6. What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be it's own thing?
It’s good and it’s bad, it’s fun and it sucks… It all depends. Regardless, it’s always better to be playing than to not be playing. You always learn something. About yourself, about your songs, about the instruments you use, about people… Good or bad, it’s always educational and therefore always worthwhile.
I personally don’t believe the live performance of a song has to sound like the recording. Depends on the band, I guess. I used to be pretty hung up on that idea, nowadays I don’t really care. It’s not something I concern myself with that much anymore. I just try to make the songs sound good however I can.
7. Has the band toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows? Worst shows?
I haven’t taken the solo thing on tour yet and most likely won’t, aside from maybe a weekend here and there. With touring, I find when I’m home, I wish I was on tour, and when I’m on tour, I wish I was home. The grass is always greener. No more long laps around the country for me, though. That kind of thing just crushes my spirit, though I really miss traveling and visiting other parts of the country, seeing new faces and everything. I just can’t do it anymore.
Some of my favorite shows were the ones I played during the thick of the pandemic, on people’s porches and stoops and what not. Some friends hosted a few shows on their stoop in Hamilton Park in Jersey City where I played twice. My other friend Dan and his family hosted a show in their front yard in the heights. It’s like a little hidden oasis up there. Plenty of green with lights strung up all around, folks brought their own booze and chairs and just sat back and listened. I played for an hour and half or something. That one certainly had its rewards. My least favorite show was at FM in Jersey City at the end of 2018 where I basically had a breakdown on stage. It was disastrous. I’d rather not relive it.
And speaking of shows Tom Barrett is headlining White Eagle Hall for his album release show and tickets are available now!
8. What's up next for the band?
The Cuts are playing White Eagle Hall in Jersey City on Friday, September 9th for the release of my new record, You Are and You’ve Always Been. Some other great bands will be joining us: Sunshine & the Rain, 50 Ft. Furies, CR & the Nones and Sean Kiely. After that, there’s nothing on the immediate horizon for the band. I’d like to retool the set a bit before we play out again, maybe get into the studio at some point. It could take a while. I’ll hopefully play more solo shows in the meantime. That’s where I’m most in my element these days, where I feel most at home.
Right now we are premiering the brand new single "Hear It Again":