Christian Cuff
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Christian Cuff

Bath, Maine, United States | SELF

Bath, Maine, United States | SELF
Band Americana Acoustic

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Bath Songwriter Finds Open Mic Close to Home"

Bath songwriter finds an open mic close to home

By Emily Burnham
BDN Staff
At the age of 22, Christian Cuff was living under the 59th Street Bridge in Manhattan. He had 200 bucks and a guitar to his name. Ostensibly in New York City to try to make a break as a songwriter, he discovered things didn’t quite work out as planned.

“It was really cliché. I was playing shows and then sleeping under a bridge,” said Cuff, now 24 and living back in his hometown, Bath. “Things definitely don’t always work out the way you plan.”

Fortunately, when things don’t work out according to plan, something else happens. Case in point: While playing the open mic circuit in New York, Cuff met a friend who eventually gave him a spot on her apartment floor to crash. The friend in turn introduced him to Gustav Haggren and Helena Arlock, a Swedish songwriting duo. Long story short, Cuff’s heading off to Europe on Monday to tour with them for the next month.

Let this be a lesson to you, kids: One day, you might be living in a cardboard box. The next, you’re playing music in Ireland with your friends. Life is funny that way.

Before he goes abroad, though, Cuff will play a show with his older brother, Jacob, at the Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor at 8 tonight.

The younger brother came to music later than the rest of his siblings.

“Coming from a musical family, and being the youngest of five, everybody played an instrument. We all played guitar,” Cuff said. “But the funny thing is, I kind of rebelled against that. I didn’t really start playing music seriously until I was 20.”

Cuff, ever the world-wanderer, became inspired to compose songs while he was studying at Murdoch University, outside Perth, Australia. A bad breakup with a girlfriend made him pour his emotions into his songs — 10 of which are available on his debut album, “Silo.” While Cuff is a fine guitarist and vocalist, for him the focus is on the lyrics.

“It’s always going to be all about the lyrics for me. That’s where it all starts,” he said. “It’s very much an outlet for me.”

“Silo” brings to mind the slow-burning, complex music of Nick Drake, Damien Rice or Ray LaMontagne. Laced with evocative cello and upright bass, with very little drum accompaniment, the simplicity of the arrangements is in stark contrast to the heady lyrical content.

The stripped-down nature of his music makes it easy for him to pick up and tour, though, and that’s why he’s been across North America and Europe several times over. You could call him a wandering troubadour, but Cuff’s happy to just drive around in a van and play music with his friends.

“There’s been a lot of serendipity in the things that have happened to me, and the friends I’ve made,” he said. “Being able to travel and play music is really wild. It’s been an amazing ride so far.”

Though don’t let that fool you — he’s spend most of the past year on the road, but his heart belongs to Maine.

“I’m never in one place for too long, but Maine is home,” he said. “Why go live in New York City, where it’s so expensive and so competitive that you’ll end up playing open mics for the rest of your life? In Maine you can just be. It’ll always be home.”

Christian Cuff and Jacob Cuff (who this week is releasing an EP titled “I Am”) will play at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, at the Criterion Theatre, 35 Cottage St., Bar Harbor. Tickets are $12 and $15. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/christiancuff.


- Bangor News


"Christian Cuff & Co. celebrate debut release"

Christian Cuff & Co. celebrate debut release
by B.J. Carter
Christian Cuff
Coastal Journal staff

BATH - In case you haven’t heard, Christian Cuff has had a big year. Following a massive tour schedule that included stops in Europe and Scandinavia, Cuff found time to record and release Silo, his proper debut album with Rocking Horse Studios.
He celebrated in loose fashion with a release party at the Chocolate Church, which saw Second Grace, an Italian dream-folk outfit, play their first ever US show. Despite a few technical difficulties in the middle of their set, the charming lads had the crowd’s admiration by the time they left stage. The band is set to continue their first US tour this spring.

Cuff walked onstage to thunderous applause with cellist Janet Lee, fresh off a tour with Damien Rice, upright bassist Gil Goldman from Israel, and a few guest drummers, including Second Grace’s Fabio Finnochio, in tow. Oft compared to Rice, Cuff brings a grittier vision of the forlorn than most of his contemporaries, his gruff, atmospheric delivery and keen eye for plotting and detail coloring the low-lit landscapes of the instrumentation. He performed several cuts from Silo in between jokes and snapshots of his life on the road in the last year.

Clearly excited to play for his hometown audience, which included his parents, local music heroes Earl and Nancy Bigelow, Cuff told the Coastal Journal a few weeks ago that he was particularly nervous to play the Chocolate Church, despite the familiarity of the setting and audience. “The Chocolate Church is the first place I ever got up onstage,” he said. “I’m just worried no one will show up.”

Unsurprisingly he had nothing to worry about, word of his fame and talent spreading quickly throughout his native state. Still, despite the success of shows like these, he still openly wonders about his future in music. “I’m a realist,” he said, “but I do hope this all works out.”

While “buzz” can be a hard word for new artists to live with, here’s a guy who actually deserves it.

Look for Silo in stores now.

- Coastal Journal


"Songwriting with a World View"

Local Songwriting with a World View

Bath native Christian Cuff releases "Silo" with an international roster of supporting artists.

By Bob McKillop



Christian Cuff is a young man who traveled the world, collecting music, experiences, and ideas, and who brought them all back home to Maine, to put them together into his first studio album, “Silo”. The music on this disc is not about those travels, but is informed by the music and the musicians that he encountered and performed with while on the road.

Born and raised in Bath, he spent his college years in Australia, and came back stateside to New York to try the music scene there. He entered a songwriting contest sponsored by a recording studio in New Hampshire, and that was the beginning of the process that ended with his new CD.

Brian Coombes at Rocking Horse Studio in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, didn't pick Chris as the winner of that contest, but he contacted Christian, and they began discussions on creating a record. Christian did not have the resources to finance an album. Brian eventually decided that backing the project was a solid investment, and he and Christian had a deal.

For 11 days in September of 2007, Christian and Brian holed up together at Rocking Horse Studio and laid down the foundation of what was to become “Silo”. Christian then left for a tour of Europe that he was managing. This time on the road, meeting people, performing, and experiencing a variety of musical styles, had a significant impact on the character of the record. He developed the sound he wanted for the album on tour, and he asked Brian Coombs for help in finding and recording that sound for the tracks they were working on. Eventually, 9 of the 22 contributors on this record were recorded in Europe.

Christian booked his CD release party for March 6 of this year at the Chocolate Church in Bath. The CD project came right down to the wire – the first time Christian saw a finished CD in the wrapper was 20 minutes before show time. It was a stressful time, but he is completely satisfied with the result. The Chocolate Church show was a smash hit.

The record is quiet and understated; Christian is whispering in your ear, exploring his soul and sharing his hurt and healing with you. He calls this a “literal, day-by-day account” of the aftermath of a broken relationship – almost a concept album. Most of the tracks are led by Christian’s husky, resonant vocals over his strummed and flat-picked acoustic guitar. Christian doesn’t so much sing these songs; it’s more like melodic spoken word. It makes for a soulful, powerful, introspective mood.

The many contributors on “Silo” add their special tones and highlights to the mix. The drums and percussion lend structure without burying anyone – four musicians supply the beat on this record. They include Petter Bengtsson, David Pierog, Graham Cuff, and Patrick Andersson. The consistency of the styles across the album is remarkable, considering the number of drummers.

Producer and engineer Brian Coombes plays optigan, mellotron, bass, and Wurlitzer. Alicia Jacobs adds violin and Janet Lee plays cello on several tracks, to great effect.

“Closer” is a melancholy narrative of life at the bottom of the hole, where the effort to heal from a broken heart is disrupted by tenderness from the lost lover. Local singer/songwriter Marie Moreshead adds some haunting, soulful backing vocals.

“I’m not lost for what I’ve found,

Just thought I’d be better off by now..

When you call me closer, call me close,

And you call me yours”



“Hope” is perhaps the song on this album that best displays the European influences on this disc. It has a gypsy mood, with a down-tempo ¾ time signature, strings, and a swelling, raucous instrumental break.

“Because I don’t want to think ‘Should they have been?’

While I lie broke and stoned on the kitchen floor

With this hope

That you pushed down my throat”

“Frying Pan” is a little more upbeat, with a funky shuffle and back beat and some nice acoustic guitar chord progressions. But the subject is still anger and hurt; strong and hateful words, but recognized for their context.

“That girl’s a trick, that girl’s a whore

She’s not I know, but damn it feels good to say so;

That girl’s a trick that I fell for,

She’s not I know, but sometimes I just need to think so”



This is not an album to listen to if you are dealing with some heavy depression yourself – it’s great songwriting, but a full dose can be a little heavy. I enjoyed it for it’s arrangements, it’s powerful lyrics, and for Christian’s unique vocal style. It’s great to hear these songs come up in the shuffle mix.

You can purchase these tracks directly from Christian’s MySpace page, or from Bull Moose Music’s website; Christian also sells them at his gigs. He will perform on July 3 at the Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor; on the afternoon of July 5 at Heritage Days in Bath; and that same evening at the North Star Music Café in Portland.


- Bob Mckillop Mainefolkmusic.com


"Singer Brings Show to Lewiston"

Singer will bring intense songs, lighthearted show to Guthries


LEWISTON -Singer/songwriter Christian Cuff of Bath, who plays and writes folk/Americana, will perform Friday, May 16, at She Doesn't Like Guthries. Performing with him will be cellist Allison Caine of Bates College.

After touring through 40 cities in the United States as well as in Canada and Europe, Cuff began recording his album, "Silo" at Rocking Horse Studio in Pittsfield N.H. Brian Coombes, who has worked with such artists as Godsmack's guitarist Tony Rombola, produced the album. A total of 22 musicians from all over the world perform on "Silo," which, Cuff said, "is the incarnation of something I was getting over … and that I'm still not over yet."

Inspiration for the album came from an old silo he saw in Florida. He walked by it every day for a month, wondering who it belonged to and what was in it, and letting his imagination run wild.

Finally, he climbed inside to see what was there. He found nothing, just a rusty old silo with a hole in it and a few strands of hay. Months later, he realized that a relationship of his was much like the silo. "Just because it is all sealed up doesn't mean that there is some kind of treasure in there, it could be sealed up for nothing, just against the wind," Cuff said.

The entire album is a timeline of that relationship and a confession to himself about the mistakes he made along the way. His songs are candid. The album is melancholy but his show is not. It is half storytelling and bantering back and forth with other musicians. The songs are intense but there is lots of joking around and lightheartedness during the show.

For a sample of Cuff's music, log on to www.myspace.com/christiancuff or www.youtube .com/christiancuff.

- Sunjournal.com


"Christian Cuff with Indienational Tour in Sweden"

3 soloartister - 1 enda konsert
MUSIK. Det startade under en tre månader lång turné i USA. Tre soloartister gick ihop för att uppträda tillsammans på scen. De köpte en gammal van, sov på en madrass inslängd där bak och delade på samma täcke.

Indienational tour

Vad: Indienational Tour 2007 består av Helena Arlock på cello och piano, Gustav Haggren på gitarr och Christan Cuff på gitarr.
Startade: Helena Arlock och Gustav Haggren träffade Christian Cuff under en spelning i New York. De började spela tillsammans och bestämde sig för att åka på turné ihop.
Var: Wishclub, Kungsgatan 19.
När: I kväll 20.00.

Nu har turnén kommit till Europa under namnet Indienational Tour. Den består av Gustav Haggren, Helena Arlock och Christian Cuff.
– Vi spelar samtidigt på scenen och kompar på varandras låtar. Men det är tre olika soloartister och tre olika musikstilar. Jag såg det konceptet i USA och gillade det, säger Helena Arlock.
Hennes trip-pop-låtar varvas med Gustav Haggrens gypsy-folk och Christian Cuffs singer-songwritermusik.


Mer omväxlande
Ute i Europa kommer de även ta kontakt med lokala musiker som kan komma och uppträda tillsammans med dem.
För en av tankarna bakom Indienational är att skapa nätverk mellan musiker och spelställen världen över för att hjälpa varandra och inspireras.
– Jag tycker det är tråkigt när musiker ser varandra som konkurrenter, säger Helena Arlock. Och det är mycket mer spännande och omväxlande på scenen när man spelar tillsammans än om vi hade haft tre separata spelningar.

- Goteborg City


"Indienational in Helsingborg"

Publicerad 21 september 2007 kl 10:59 Tipsa en vän Skriv ut Musiker hjälper varandra och andra
Tre musiker. Ett möte. Och en bil som bryter ihop någonstans mellan Los Angeles och New York. Club Indienational är mer än bara en sporadiskt återkommande klubb i Helsingborg.


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Bildmaterial Tre dagar fyllda av kaffe, rödvin och musik. Christian Cuff, Helena Arlock och Gustav Haggren i Christians föräldrars studio i Maine.
PRIVAT


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"Det var inte direkt turnéns roligaste spelning", säger Gustav Haggren om den där måndagen i mars på Rockwood Music Hall i New York. Två okända svenskar, han själv och Helena Arlock, drog inte någon större publik.
— Vi var väl sjätte, eller sjunde akten som gick på. Det var inte många som orkade sitta igenom hela setet.

Undantaget var Christian Cuff.
— Jag var egentligen på väg hem den kvällen, men när jag såg en liten tjej med en stor cello på väg in vände jag i dörren.
Några månader tidigare hade han lämnat Maine för New York. Han skulle satsa på musiken, istället fick han slita som bartender fram till småtimmarna.
Efter spelningen gick han, sprudlande intensiv, fram till två blyga helsingborgsmusiker.

Christian Cuff blev Gustavs och Helenas guide. Han visade dem vilka klubbar de kunde få spelningar på, var det fanns tak över huvudet och vilken bilfirma i Bronx som hade billiga skrotbilar. När en av dessa skrotbilar bröt ihop på väg till en spelning i Los Angeles ändrades hans egna planer. Några dagar senare satt alla tre tillsammans på en scen i Kanada.
— Det är roligt och inspirerande, men samtidigt en utmaning med tre olika egos på scen, säger Gustav Haggren.
— Jag, Gustav och Christian är helt olika, men det funkade ändå, säger Helena Arlock.

Sex månader senare är Christian Cuff i Helsingborg för att spela in delar av sitt debutalbum. 27 september spelar han på The Tivoli tillsammans med Gustav och Helena innan de alla tre packar in sig i bilen för att ta Club Indienational ut i Europa.
— När vi skulle boka spelningar i USA märkte vi att det blev lättare om vi gjorde det under ett namn. Tanken om att boka spelningar direkt via lokala artister och spelställen började som ett skämt innan vi insåg att det här är något som faktiskt skulle kunna fungera, säger Christian Cuff.

Med samma funktion som ett bokningsbolag minus den ekonomiska vinsten. Club Indienational ska bana väg för mindre artister, göra så att klubbägare och festivalarrangörer vågar satsa på dem.
Än så länge är bara en spelning inbokad på The Tivoli. Tanken är att det ska bli fler.
— Vi vill kunna boka artister som vi gillar och som antingen är på väg till eller vill spela i Skandinavien. Sedan när vi ger oss ut vet vi att det finns folk som kan hjälpa oss. Och vi har ett etablerat namn i ryggen, säger Gustav Haggren.

20 datum i Tyskland, Spanien och Italien är inplanerade. Klubbar i Polen, Slovenien och Tjeckien har också hört av sig. I studion spelar Helena Arlock in de sista cello-slingorna till Christian Cuffs skiva. De har redan börjat prata om en ny USA-turné tillsammans.
— Det är lite som att ha en antikarriär, vi vet inte riktigt om det leder till något eller var det kommer att sluta. Antingen så fungerar det jättebra eller så finns vi inte kvar om ett år, säger Gustav.

Vad? Club Indienational med Gustav Haggren, Helena Arlock och Christian Cuff.
Var? The Tivoli, Helsingborg.
När? 27 september kl 20.

Katarina Höije

katarina.hoije@hd.se
042-489 90 46
- Helsingborgs Dagblad


"Criterion Theatre"

BAR HARBOR (Oct 13, 08): The Criterion Theatre hosted a very talented family of up and coming songwriters Friday night.

Christian and Jacob Cuff, originally from Bath, Maine, played to an intimate, yet excited crowd, in support of their new albums.



Christian Cuff (Photo by Rob Jordan)


The concert came on the eve of a European tour for Christian Cuff, a tour that will include stops in Ireland, Belgium, Germany and Sweden to promote his new album, Silo.

Christian’s songs delve deep into his personal life, exploring dark and captivating themes set to brilliant, folk guitar work and a soothing, welcoming voice that lets the listener sympathize with Christian’s feelings, yet feel hopeful at the same time.

Accompanied by a four-piece band, including upright bass, organ, cello and classical guitar, Christian's songs ranged from Americana and folk to a toe-tapping, jazzy, blues style.

There is a duality about the singer when he is on stage. Between songs, Christian joked with the audience and riffed on his bandmates and he controls the stage like a comic fishing for laughs. But when he plucks the first note of a song, he is fully tuned in, genuinely pouring out his emotions through song, a place that the listener can truly appreciate.

At some points, it almost seems that Christian might break into tears during songs like Silo and Adventures, both dealing with lost love and the emptiness it can bring.

With ironic timing, he told the story behind his song South, an ode to the emotional hardships of life while touring, playing music every day and being far from home. The lyrics, he said, were inspired by two Swedes he was touring with on his last trek around Europe, and the melody was inspired by the constant rhythm of the tour bus.

Christian’s brother, Jacob, warmed up the audience, as a release party for his new album, I Am. Armed with only a classical guitar and a pocketful of stories, he captivated the audience with his solo performance.



Jacob Cuff, left, who opened the show, gets some backup vocals from his brother Christian and another bandmate. (Photo by Corey Pickett)



Much like his brother, Jacob explained that he has trouble distancing himself from the deep subject matter of his songs while on stage. The singer was visibly shaking after the powerful Queer Lullaby, an ode to a time in his life when he felt hopeless, unable to help a good friend in time of need.

His aura, and presence on stage, were striking, and his melodies took on a haunting atmosphere that only a classical guitar can bring, none more so than on the title track from his new LP, I Am, and his only cover song of the evening, the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby.

Jacob joined his brother on stage, adding a second guitar to the group, and masterfully experimented his way through some great solos on some of Christian's better-known songs.

Give a listen to Christian Cuff on his myspace page and give Jacob a listen here.


- Village Soup


"Hotpress Magazine"

Christian Cuff has his first studio album SILO heading your way, supported by an Irish tour. His music is acoustic driven indie-folk, with the emphasis on subtlety and a rather downbeat mood. He has a restrained but expressive voice that gets under the skin of a melody, and the cello on "Pretty Floor" fills out Cuff's own guitar. "If and Walking" continues the brooding mood, and would fit comfortably in the Rosey canon, with a hint of Donovan in the light-husky voice, to which decent harmonies are added, before the soft-show rhythm section arrives on the scene. "Little Man" ups the pace a little, with a restless shuffle rhythm on the snare kicking it along, but it isn't exactly a raver either. Setting aside the difficulty of finding out the track titles among the verbose sleeve notes, this is a promising debut set, a Loudon Wainwright without the jokes. - Jackie Hayden- HotPress Magazine


Discography

"Silo" is my debut release.
Tracks from the album that are receiving international radio play are "pretty floor", "silo", "frying pan" and "little man". We've had 4 NBC appearances and the album has made numerous "Top Albums of 2008" lists throughout New England and Europe.
Our follow-up album currently titled "Sinshine" will be released May 2010 and supported by both a US tour as well as a European Tour.

Photos

Bio

I spent a solid year touring with a group called the IndieNational Tour. We did the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Eastern and Western Europe and Great Britain...all in a row. Along the way the songs developed with whatever accompaniment might be around. Sometimes there would be a cellist, sometimes a trumpeter, sometimes slide guitar, sometimes a didgeridoo...a lot of sounds just came together when they needed to.
The album "silo" is a minimal, intense display. It's a concept album based on a monsterous year of a lot of doubt and a lot of reason. I hit some lows and worked different ways out. The live show is dynamic and very energetic. The songs run the gamet, but work through a gorgeous narrative of the last two years. The band ranges from a full 6 piece, to a trio, with a few solo performances peppered in there; and I can honestly say there's not a single venue I wouldn't take on with these guys.