Living near Lake Michigan provides Milwaukee indie-rock band The Cutouts plenty of inspiration for their music. Water-themed songs such as “Ocean Floor” are a testament to the area’s natural beauty, according to drummer Rob Weber, who especially enjoys spending time in South Shore Park and walking along the beach. “It’s a sacred thing for me, like a pilgrimage,” he said. Along with The Form, the band will play Club Garibaldi on Friday, May 18, as part of the venue’s Underground Hive series.
In winter 2015, The Cut-Outs braved the cold and collaborated with high school students working on a class project to make a video of the band playing live along the lakeshore. The students were eager to help and worked hard, Weber said.
Through his brother, Weber met guitarist Joel Van Gorder, then a Pulaski High School senior, in the late ’90s. Van Gorder began playing while he was in the seventh grade. “I got a guitar from my buddy across the street,” he said. The pair formed The Cut-Outs in 2000. The current band lineup includes bass player Tim Kowalski and keyboardist Eric Abshagen. With the exception of Kowalski, who took music courses at Milwaukee Area Technical College, all members are self-taught musicians.
The Cut-Outs’ musical influences include a mix of emo, Brit-pop and rock, including The Cure, Oasis, Blur, Guided By Voices, Superchunk (“They’re my favorite band,” Van Gorder said) and, from closer to home, The Promise Ring.
Over the years, the band has cemented their own style. “We’re more organic now,” said Weber.
In 2005, the band recorded an album with engineer Billy Ciccarelli for radio station WMSE’s “Local Live” program. Weber was happy with the results. “He caught our sound right away,” said Weber.
Since then, The Cut-Outs have released a handful of albums and EPs—including 2006’s Bring The Beat Back—played a number of shows locally and toured the Midwest, including Chicago and Madison. They have opened up for and played with national and international acts such as Scottish band PAWS, Seattle-based Dude York and Canadian bands Metric and the Stills.
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One memorable experience was playing the popular Chicago bar The Beat Kitchen. “That was the highlight of our career,” said Weber, who is also in charge of the band’s bookings. “We will play Milwaukee still,” he said, “but I want to get us out there.”
The Cut-Outs recently released a split single, “Fallen Horses” and “Tropics,” which they recorded at Howl Street Studios in Bay View with recording engineer Shane Hochstetler. “Working with him was pretty awesome,” said Van Gorder, and although members of the Cut-Outs now have day jobs, families and other commitments, they still manage to get together and practice once a week.
“We have a lot of songs we are working on,” Van Gorder said; “It’s our art, something we can never get out of,” added Weber.
The Cut-Outs will play at Club Garibaldi (2501 S. Superior St.) with The Form on Friday, May 18, at 8 p.m. Listen to their songs at reverbnation.com/thecutoutsmke or thecutoutsus.bandcamp.com.
