MATTHEW J CUTILLO: Press

Matt Cutillo is a confident performer and embraces his music with an infectious enthusiasm. The first time I played his CD, I almost immediately knew I was going to enjoy all 13 tracks. His website says he is an acoustic guitar player, but that's not the impression I got from his album. Yes, there's the acoustic guitar, but there's also electric guitar, driving drums and frenetic rhythms of good old rock and roll. "Imperfect Heaven" is a fine example of that. Do I catch, perhaps, a hint of 90's grunge? Matt's voice reminds me a bit of Thurston Moore's of Sonic Youth. Kinda monotone, but emphatic. Check him out.

It's clear Matt Cutillo can sing. His powerful lyrics are delivered with ease and are accompanied by instrumentation that brings a strong cohesiveness. The lasting effect of Matt Cutillo's music leaves the listener craving more.
(my D.o.a.M. favorites)
2. Long Division- inspiring lyrics, great musical instrumentation 7. I Surrender- brings to mind Johnny Cash with great guitar harmony work 11. It's Alright- great vocal melody, awesome guitar riffs Thanks!

Matt Cutillo
Death of a Musician
Make no mistake about it: Matt Cutillo sings in a monotone voice, but it’s a good monotone, the type of soulful expression that sticks in the head long after the CD has left the player. Death Of A Musician is a revelation, the kind of album that jumps up and grabs you when you expected nothing at all. Sure, it’s a local product, but you’d never know it upon listening to this shockingly well-produced recording.

In that light, a major tip of the cap to Chris “Crispy Chicken” Laybourne, who recorded, mixed, and mastered this CD at his own Coop Studios in Oceanside, and it sounds, to be blunt, fantastic. It’s further proof that in today’s recording world, it’s the ear of the engineer that’s important, not the equipment used – and this album is aurally pristine.

The arrangements of these wordy, emotional songs are another shocker – do we hear mandolins on “Mountainside”? A spoken word intro on the sublime “A Place I Like”? Sound effects on “Open Road”? It’s as if Cutillo and Laybourne labored for ages on getting this album just right, and they succeeded.

Lyrical wordplay is just gorgeous and very personal; from “Open Road”: “I was looking for a open road/I found it in my room.” If you can’t relate to that, you probably thought your high school principal was the coolest guy you ever met. Cutillo is an intriguing, original, and quirky artist, and in this region, that’s saying a mouthful.

Matt Cutillo will be the focus of a “live music meet and greet” on Wednesday, March 21 at 7 pm at Looney Tunes in West Babylon. For more information, log on to mattcutillo.com.
– Syl Nathan

L.I. Spotlight:
Matt Cutillo
Putting It All On The Line

If you are going to take the risk, then you might as well put all your chips in. Having already made a name for himself overseas, Matt Cutillo is back home. He's released seven albums in the past two months as a way of showing Long Island – as well as the rest of the world – what they have been missing.
In 1994, Cutillo traveled to Hamburg, Germany as part of a one-year foreign exchange program. The music scene was so massive and lucrative that he decided to remain in Germany for 10 years. During that time, he played in more than 30 bands and performed in some of the biggest venues in Germany, such as the Berliner Dome, Hamburg Stadtpark, and Hamburg Grosse Freiheit. With money in his pocket and partying always on his mind, Cutillo was living the life of a successful musician.
In a heartbeat, on September 11, 2001, the world changed forever.
“I wasn’t able to get my family on the phone or fly home," Cutillo recalled. "I knew then it was time for me to go back home.” Although it took another year and a half before he was able to make it back home to Massapequa, it was 9/11 that was "definitely the turning point," he said.
Life in Massapequa was quite different than the life he left behind in Germany. Moving from odd job to odd job, working for friends and family in just about every aspect of the construction business, Cutillo fell into a depression. He realized he is not meant to conform to a conventional lifestyle; he is a musician and that is what he was created to do.
Filled with spirit and determination, Cutillo has relaunched his music career on Long Island. As a songwriter Cutillo, believes that the "drive behind my music is social change. I'm for a change in global consciousness. We can't look away anymore or else we will all perish pathetically … infused in every song is my personal passion. Music makes me feel like laughing and crying, sighing and screaming, and it is reflected in my songs."
Whether it is playing the drums, piano, bass, or guitar, Cutillo feels most comfortable with an instrument in hand. He admits he didn't learn how to play a guitar until he was about 17.
"At first when I was in Germany I really sucked on the guitar. People thought I was putting effort in to make it sound like such crap. It was embarrassing," recalls Cutillo. "Everyone loved me because I was the funny American guy who loved to party. But I knew I had some work ahead of me." Devoting his time to his craft, Cutillo has developed diverse methods of playing the guitar, as well as the other instruments he surrounds himself with.
Over the past two months, Cutillo has released seven full-length albums (including Death Of A Musician, produced by Chris "P. Chicken" Laybourne, reviewed in our Demolition column recently); all are available Looney Tunes in West Babylon as well as online at iTunes and CDBaby.com. The collection is music that has been recorded during the past 10 years. "It evolves. You are able to hear the difference in the music," says Cutillo. So why release all these recordings at once? He felt it would be wrong to limit the amount of exposure people received of his music.
For more about Matt Cutillo and a schedule of upcoming shows, log on to mattcutillo.com or myspace.com/mattcutillo. Besides playing at various local venues, Cutillo will take the stage at the legendary Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on May 24.

i know matt from his time in germany,and i nicknamed him 'mr overdrive'.his energy was breathtaking and sometimes a bit too much. on this album,he manages to combine this natural power with the wisdom of a man who spent a lot of years on the road and who learned his craft. beautiful songs with a beat.my favourite is track 5:'open road'

This music comes from Matt's soul and it is completely evident. Great stuff with tons of character. Creative lyrics and cool hooks. Pick it up, It is a must!

ALT ACOUSTIC ROCKER ANNOUNCES NEW MUSIC

Alternative rock musician Matt Cutillo has announced two new projects. One is the forthcoming “10 Years of Music”; he is also at work writing and recording a whopping “3-CD 45-song epic life work” named “Matt Cutillo : 38 : Generosity of Spirit, Odor of Folklore, Rock of Ages”.

Cutillo says that much of the drive behind his music is social change. “I’m for a change in global consciousness. We can’t look away anymore or else we will all perish pathetically.” He cites personal freedom as a major motivator in both his music and life in general and his songs contain a message to arrive at independence.
“It’s obvious. We are trained to live in shame by people who were innocently taught the same. Watching TV, smoking cigarettes, drinking and drugging excessively and eating fast food will screw up your body and mind. But we are fed this crap from our beloved country by mass media and mind-diseased politicians …”
“Matt Cutillo’s sharp socio-political message works so well because it is assertive and intellectually presented but also because it is couched in tremendous rock songwriting,” according to a spokesman of his. You should be very proud to be working with this potentially world-changing artist, who infuses every song with his personal passion.
“Music,” says Cutillo, “makes me feel like laughing and crying, sighing and screaming. Write from the heart and wonderful things follow.”
Cutillo has already performed extensively, having taken the stage numerous times over a ten-year span in Germany. He has recorded seven full-length albums and five demos. Cutillo opened for Germany’s most popular act, Modern Talking, in front of 12,000 fans at the Berliner Dome for the 1999-2000 New Year’s celebration.
He also sang on stage with Lotto King Karl in the Hamburger Stadtpark in front of thousands just two days after 9/11. He’s also appeared on stage at the Hamburg Grosse Freiheit, where some of history’s biggest bands have played (such as The Beatles, just to name one stellar example).
“Change yourself. Be strong. Get the point. Take the power back. Find love. Be peace,” says Cutillo.
More information is available by visiting www.mattcutillo.com, www.myspace.com/mattcutillo

i absolutely enjoy all of matt's music...i can not start my day until i hear him sing...he is the best!!