Interview With Neil Roemer of Cutthroat

Cutthroat are an LA hardcore band who's members have been around the block. Musically, it's like a kick in the dick to a 90's mosh-hardcore groove and it rules.

You guys are hardcore veterans separately, so how did Cutthroat come about?

In 2013 Cutthroat LA formed with a few members of Downset, Jonathan Manhart and myself as a hardcore band. It was quite the concoction of musical talent in the first few years. Chris Lee (drummer) one of the original members , helped create the groove sound we still have. Roy Lozano also helped pioneer the sound. Obviously, Roy and Chris are OG members of Downset. Pitbull Dan and his brother Art were heavy contributors in the early stages bringing some hard riffs and beat down to the song writing. 

Fast forward to now, the team has been refined and together for a few years. Bobby Blood, Jason Birmingham, Ben Levi, Rob Rozendaal, and myself. I’m still friends and have love and respect for everybody ever involved. 

Billy Graziadei (Biohazard) showed interest in the early days and is a brother and major influence on CT. 

Some (most) of the best hardcore came out in the 80's & 90's, and i hear a lot of that  era in Cutthroat. Who are your influences? 

Our influences are all over the place, for me it’s obviously Downset, Biohazard, Body Count. Although more 2000s. I hear a lot of hatebreed in our guitar player Ben Levi’s writing. 

Bobby Blood is one of the best hardcore drummers in the game. Great thrash and metal chops, machine gun double kick. He loves Suicidal but I believe he gets that from a lot of the bands that he played in. Which would also be our influences, like merauder and First Blood. 

On "Forgotten" George Lynch AND Sen Dog appear. How did that happen?!

Haha that’s crazy you bring that up. My sister is actually married to George Lynch, so he is family. Sen Dog and Roy Lozano are really tight. So Roy made that happen.

The last release was "Reflekt" , which came out earlier this year. I hear rumours of a new album. Is that something you can talk about or are you keeping it under wraps for now?

Yeah man, “reflekt”was pretty dope it was written during a darker emotional period of my life. I think it showed some true growth and it was the first record that the current lineup was able to actually feel and write.

Yes let’s talk about the new record, I don’t really have that much to say… However, at this point, we have eight songs written and recorded for pre-production. I am in process of finishing up a couple more tracks. At the same time We’re working on some really cool video concepts. Shit that hasn’t really been seen before, or at least I haven’t seen it.

I can tell you we have added a touch of metal and turned up the thrash for this one. I promise it will not be like anything we have done, but at the same time we will stay true to our roots. 

By the time all this Covid bullshit is over we will have a full record ready to be released On DRA with 2 to 3 videos. We have been very productive during this time and we are excited to show the world our continuous evolution. It’s exciting because we just keep evolving every album dramatically. 

COVID has basically fucked the entire music industry from promoters, to bands to indie record stores & labels. How hard has it been on you and what have you done to keep some sort of PMA?

Oh man, Especially with the bullshit political climate attached to it. Well I’ll tell you what my normal business hasn’t operated in five months, yet I still have an overhead to pay with employees to take care of. But I always roll positive, we have focused our efforts on residential construction for the meantime. Not necessarily doing great but we are getting by and are happy shit talking each other at work. It’s a true form of therapy and helps the day go by. 

I also do jujitsu 3 to 4 days a week and that is where I really release any negativity and keep more space for the PMA. I have two daughters, so I am keeping them close and making sure my fam is healthy. I just hope this fucking election comes sooner than later and we can get over this political flu. 

Anything else you'd like to add?

I just want to say thank you for having an ear for us and having me do the interview. It is always an honor when anybody is interested in what we do. That is the most beautiful part of this thing and the most gratifying. 

And I hope to see you at the show...

Photo Credit : Lad and Misfit Photography.