It’s always a thrill to go to a show, watch a great band and get into the music, but it’s a real treat to be able to sit in on a rehearsal and see the inner workings of the band on a personal level. I was lucky enough to be able to do just that recently with Cuttlefish. With their indefinable ’Boro-Rock sound, influenced by Radiohead, Wilco, Queens of the Stone Age, Jeff Buckley and Pink Floyd, as well as our local Murfreesboro music scene and many others, Casey Strength, Jim Elrod, Eric Giles and Jonathan Gower mesh together perfectly to form the sound that is Cuttlefish.
Guitarist and lead vocalist Strength and drummer Giles played in four bands together including Honeybear, DeMonet, Rachel’s Trapezoid, and then together in Biffs Deville, with Jim Elrod on bass and vocals, all before forming Cuttlefish.
“I’d also like to include that I am completely dependent on Eric,” claims Casey.
“All because of this,” Eric jokingly chimes in on the infamous cowbell. And now the most recent addition, Gower on keyboard, who was introduced to the band by Elrod after the two met at Liquid Smoke one evening.
“Yeah, I met him at a bar, and Casey was looking for a keyboardist and I said ?well I know a guy and I hear he’s pretty good,’ so he’s been hanging out with us ever since,” explains Elrod.
Casey lights up another cigarette as he tells the story of the Cuttlefish: “On a hazy Saturday night more than four years ago, I was hanging out at about 2 a.m. watching NPT, low and behold, a special on exotic undersea creatures came on, and that’s where I met the wonderful cuttlefish?the AMAZING cuttlefish. And it was really psychedelic, dude. And basically they hypnotize their prey and they are very camouflaged when it comes to fitting in, and it meant a lot to me.
“I don’t know why the name stuck, I think we just wanted to play one show with some original stuff so we just decided to call it Cuttlefish, just for sh*ts and giggles, ’cause we liked the animal and I thought it kind of represented us a little bit and we had intentions on changing the name because, you know, for obvious reasons,” Casey explains.
“People never heard of it and they thought it was ?cuddle – fish,’” Elrod adds.
Cuttlefish started working on their new album in October of 2007 with Jason Dietz of Twin Oak Productions, “the ?local sorcerer,’ who rides a scooter upwards of 55 mph,” jokes Giles.
“What I hope they get is a solid rock album, that’s unrefined and it doesn’t limit itself and it’s all over the map, kind of like a showcase of our sound. That’s basically what I expect and what I’d like people to get out of it,” says Casey of the upcoming record.
May 23 is the set date for the release of Cuttlefish’s album, with a release party at the Boro Bar and Grill,
“If you are reading this: attendance is mandatory and Cuttlefish will know, Cuttlefish knows,” states Casey.
The band let me get a sneak peak of the album, and no matter your taste in music, everyone is in for a real treat. They’ve put together a phenomenal mix of lyrics and appealing riffs, with tracks ranging from raw, solid rock songs like “Crowdog” and “Strange Things,” to some softer ballads like “Ballroom Dancing” and “Noon.”
So whether you’re ready to rock out or just want to lay back and chill, this is a must-listen album.
