Cutler & co. play Lupo's
The '70s remain my favorite period of recent American History. With the '70s in mind this week, I'll turn my attention to a band that formed during the Carter Administration – The Schemers – who will be playing at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel June 29.
I thought it was odd to see an all local bill on a Friday night at a place, like Lupo's, that caters to national touring acts. My first reaction was that it must be some sort of weird family reunion for Schemers-Dino Club guitarist Emerson Torrey's son, young Emerson, plays in Mustache Ride, who are also on the bill. The truth is, this show is more of a pow wow of local music from the 1970s to the present that appropriately enough is billed as "Locals Rule!"
Performing, in addition to The Schemers and Mustache Ride, are The Dino Club – Bob Guisti, Mark Cutler, Emerson Torrey of The Schemers along with Mike Tanaka – The Masons, indie guitar swingers Six Star General, and power popsters The Jesse Minute. Some are even referring to it as The Rapture for local music.
I caught up with head Schemer and card carrying member of The Dino Club, Mark Cutler, to find out more about the show, his musical projects, and how the post-Buddy incarceration Providence music scene compares with Buddy’s mayoral reign.
Clarkin: It's rare to see a place the size of Lupo's doing an all local bands gig on a Friday night. How did this show come about?
Mark Cutler: The Dino Club opened for Southside Johnny at Lupos not too long ago and Rich Lupo is also an old friend from back when The Schemers used to play the old Lupo's. He wanted The Schemers to play Lupo's which got the wheels in motion. We thought it would be a good opportunity to showcase our body of work by doing both a Schemers and a Dino Club set. Then it took off from there and I'm really excited about it. The Schemers will be going on early so some of our older fans can see us and still be able to get the babysitter home.
Clarkin: How would you describe The Schemers?
Mark Cutler: We always thought of it as American rock 'n' roll. It is kind of like Hank Williams meets Lou Reed meets The Stones. Bands like The Blasters, Television, and Mink Deville were all influences. It's through the prism of our limitations that our sound comes from.
Clarkin: What are some of your other projects?
Mark Cutler: Well we've done The Dino Club for about 7 years and done two concept CDs called "Hey Drink Up" and "Bright Wide Screen." I've maintained the same influences but The Dino Club has a more roots vibe than The Schemers with influences like 1950s Frank Sinatra, Iggy Pop, and Jonathan Richman. We also do a few songs from Emerson and my band in the 90s, The Raindogs, with The Dino Club. It's a lot of fun, because the guys know where I'm going to take them, but at the same time none of us are really sure where the music is going to take us. Some nights are really magical when you get to that place.
Clarkin: How would you compare the scene in Providence from when The Schemers started in the ’70s to Providence today?
Mark Cutler: It's not that different. In the ’70s there were a lot of great bands from all around Rhode Island and a lot of different places to play. You had Lupo's and The Living Room right across the street from one another, so at last call you had the punks and the bikers spilling out in the street together at 2AM peacefully coexisting. Now I guess it would be better if there were a few more places to play, but you have a lot of smaller spots like Jakes, The Penalty Box, Eddies in Warwick having live music. The Blackstone is re-opening soon in a great new location closer to Providence. There seem to be a lot of great bands around like Six Star General, The Chinese Stars, and The What Cheer? Brigade marching band that are all doing exciting things. There is great stuff going around Rhode Island. I'm proud to be from here.
this has been edited for space. you can read the entire article over at motif's website.
This really is great news for many different reasons. obviously playing a place as historic as Lupo's is one thing, playing with the Schemers, who I caught at Jake's a few months ago and sounded as good as ever, is another. but looking at the entire line-up, all these bands are our friends. Old college chum Kraig Jordan's The Masons put out their record "Let Me Down Easy" on 75orLess Records back in February and his live band is just incredible with members of the Throwing Muses, Velvet Crush and Medicine Ball backing him up. The Mustache Ride have roots in Laurel Park and we have played more shows with them than any other band. This will only be our second show with the Jesse Minute but guitarist Brian make appearances at many of our shows, including this past Saturday, and he is a great guy too. To find ourselves being mentioned in the same sentence with the Schemers, Chinese Stars and What Cheer? Brigade is really stunning. Still seeing 75orLess or Six Star General in the Prov Phoenix, Prov Monthly, or any other local media is still crazy to us. More and more people are coming to the shows, we are being asked to play more shows, the cd submissions for 75orLess reviews increases each month, the 75orLess Live showcases always do very well, 75orLess Records will have more than 12 releases this year and is selling more cds than ever. Maybe there really is something to be said for treating people nice, setting honest expectations, and avoiding people with negative attitudes- but probably not.
75orLess
@ 7:34 AM
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