Deep Cuts
The first cut is the deepest—Houston’s Deep Cuts; photographed by Lauren Holshouser.
A new media event from our longtime friends Deep Cuts from Houston should be treated like something of a bank holiday. With that attitude in mind, we present the world premiere of Deep Cuts’ music video their 7″ “While the House Fills Up” directed by Adam Intrator (of Triathalon) & filmed by Christian Alexander at Houston locales from The Galleria mall & The Boulevardier (a bar that also is hosting the video debut tonight). A song inspired by the local floods experienced in 2015, Adam’s video portrays Chase Harris as a motivational-speaker-like mega-star equipped with a headband mic banding about with Chase DeMaster, Austin Garrison, Gabriel Lopez, Zach Alderman, & Jordan Brady all embracing their own inner-modern day Merry Pranksters.
Captured in classic, stunning VHS; Deep Cuts’ “we’ll be alright” sentiments fly high and care free to the top of the rafters in the video adventures for “While the House Fills Up”. The Cuts here are presented as something of a throwback supergroup from the slippery transition era of when the 80s became the 90s. Mastering the vintage modern radio pop guitar tones, thoughts left over from the great flood becomes inspirational fodder for the mall ice rink where Deep Cut carryon their show of exuberance . Adam Intrator’s video keeps with the group’s analog cues, providing anachronistic edits and effects that maintains the ’87-’93 aura. From the scenes and strolls about the mall like rockstars (getting escorted out of The Macy’s), Deep Cuts take the party to a local pub, before taking their jolly (and intoxicated) party back home. Though created out of the experience of a local natural catastrophe, Deep Cuts deliver a PMA approach with a shrug at the matters that stem outside of control reach as expressed in the infectious sing-along style chorus of, “we have another, and then one more, while the house fills up , through the windows, through the door…” We had a chance to catch up with Deep Cuts’ own Chase Harris in the following interview featured right after the following video debut for “While The House Fills Up”.
It’s been a while. Tell us all the latest happenings with Deep Cuts.
Lately we’ve been playing a ton of shows and releasing music exclusively to physical format… “While the House Fills Up” is seeing it’s online/ digital debut today but we released a 7″ single of the song in Houston back in August of last year. We also did physical only with a cassette we released called the Gulf Coast Companion, which goes online today too. The release shows for these were insane and it’s been cool seeing people respond, knowing they probably personally obtained the music from one of us rather than anonymously online.
Describe for us the making of the song “While the House Fills Up”.
There was a massive flood in Houston last year. Entire freeways were underwater. Our house was spared but I remember drunkenly airing up an air mattress and floating it halfway down our street with my girlfriend before capsizing. So, Zach had some serious Jumanji-style inspiration when he penned the words to this one. We tracked the drums at SugarHill Studios and the rest of the song we did in our home studio.
And then how did the video version from Triathalon’s Adam come about, and how did the whole Galleria and Boulevardier get involved into the planning and execution of this video?
Adam from Triathalon is our homie. He flew out to come hang for a few days and shoot the video. When I picked him up from the airport he only had a VHS camera and an all-white Marc Jacobs outfit that he wore the entire stay. We thought it’d be sick to go get some intense ice skating footage at the Galleria, but were convinced we’d get kicked out. However, we got there and the staff at the rink helped us out by bringing us an extension cord and encouraging us to shoot. Macy’s security escorted us out later. The bar in the video is a newish Houston spot called The Boulevardier that my friend Christian manages. They hooked us up by opening the bar on a closed night and letting us shoot.
What’s good in Houston right now?
Chase DeMaster, Deep Cuts’ guitarist, has a label called VeryJazzed, which is now a part of Frenchkiss label group. I think this is a huge boon for Houston, because we finally have a tie to something bigger than our scene. Hopefully this can propel some of the talent here beyond loop 610. Bands you should check out: United Waves, children of pop, The Lories, John Zambrano, Guess Genes, Ak’chamel…lots more.
What’s next for Deep Cuts?
Next up is the full-length record we’re currently working on, which we plan to release this summer. Touring. Conquering the entire gulf basin. That, and Dark Souls III.
Catch Deep Cuts’ video premiere in Houston tonight, February 19, for “While The House Fills Up” at the pub featured in the video, The Boulevardier. Check out the event page via Facebook.
Listen to more from Deep Cuts via Bandcamp.
Seeing double Deep Cuts from left, Chase Harris & Zach Alderman; photographed by Anthony Flores.
Deep Cuts along with the entire Very Jazzed imprint crew are onto some amazing things right now. Very Jazzed has continued to win us over with the recent output from PASTEL, Children of Pop, & now Houston’s Deep Cuts strikes further chords of endearment with their latest super sophisticated single “Take Me Back” b/w “Minimal Jungle”. Chase Harris and Zach Alderman continue to expound upon their sound while cementing & solidifying their own percussive latin elements with neon streaked synth obsessions designed to move you as Alderman described: “Growing up in Texas, and Houston in particular, you are inevitably exposed to Latino culture, and I like to think that bled into the music. A teacher of mine once told me that clave means key and that’s always stuck with me, like these rhythms are built to unlock people’s bodies and help them move.”
“Take Me Back” also stands as the first single featured off the upcoming album Deep Cuts are currently writing/sketching/drafting/practicing/recording/etc that has been bestowed the working title of Society Gig. Recollections of traumatic events & less than valiant or stellar behavior are recapitulated in a array of rich rhythms where Chase’s reiterations of I know, I know, I know I fucked up send daggers straight to the heart to everyone who has been there. The blunt honesty, tales of busted iPhones & pleas to be taken back unconditionally are channeled into a dance track like you have never heard before. Deep Cuts hits here at one of their deepest felt songs heard yet that ignites a wealth of anticipation for their new release where they provide a play-by-play of that frozen in time feeling when you recognize the moment where the bond breaks & that echoing/suffocating gasp keeps you grasping for what’s going to happen next. That sentiment of indescribable & sobering reckoning is delivered in something so illustrious & well arranged that it surpasses the Bryan Ferry schools of suave for Chase & Zach’s deepest cut yet.
Chase Harris provided us with the following introduction on the painful events & emotions that inspired “Take Me Back”:
“Take Me Back” is inspired by a pretty painful ending to a relationship and the mistakes that led it there. I would say it’s mostly based on true events—including a destroyed iPhone.
Several months after the relationship, I woke up on a sunny Friday morning, and laid by the pool at our saxophonist Josiah’s house. The hook popped in my head, and Zach and I proceeded to write the entire song that day.
Musically, we were influenced here by 80s soft rock and from house music. Several of our friends in Houston are DJs (Christian, Wane, Noah, Aiden—looking at you) and when we go out and see them we hear this stuff. So this song is a release of all the house shuffle that’s been seared into our brains over the past couple years.
