Kutless

Kutless

I’m visiting the editor of this magazine in Austin when he throws out the idea to me: fly out and spend a day with Kutless. They’ll be on the cover, and they want to get a writer out to meet the band, hang out with them for a day. “Cool,” I say. “Sign me up.”

A couple weeks later, there’s an e-mail waiting for me with a list of dates in later April. Two of them I cannot do, two of them I can: Murfreesboro, TN and Morgan City, LA. The band picks Morgan City. Murfreesboro is a little tougher to swing, since they have a show one night and then the Gospel Music Awards the next, where they’re nominated for Long Form Music Video of the Year, against bands like Underoath and (eventual winner) Audio Adrenaline. It wouldn’t be as intimate of a portrait. Morgan City it is.

Soon after the city is picked, I get another e-mail with my flight confirmation and times. It ends up being almost literally one day with the band:

7:24 a.m. into New Orleans, 9:10 back into Houston the next morning. It was my crash course in Kutless:

I meet three of the five guys in their dressing room, the first place I’m led when I arrive. James Mead and Nick Departee, guitarists, and Dave Luetkenhoelter (whom we’ll just call Dave), bassist. They’re all in their boxers. They’ve just showered. Showering is a mild luxury, according to their road manager and sound guy, Cliff Skinner; everyone takes advantage of them whenever they’re available.

Jeff Gilbert wandered in about 30 minutes later in camo shorts and a wife beater. He’s literally got the tallest cup of coffee ever. He had showered and been out brewing coffee before anyone else had finished. Priorities. This would be the first cup of coffee of what would be many throughout the entire day.

The band is currently on an acoustic tour with Esterlyn and Chris Taylor. It’s a fairly large departure from the band’s typical show; the shows are smaller and intended to have more of a “Storytellers” kind of feel. While the band loves performing for the acoustic crowd, they’re dying to get back out and kick things up. This is painfully evident when we start to listen to their new record together.

Morgan City Municipal Auditorium has an old feel, like you’re in an auditorium for your 40-year-old high school. All the chairs creak. It’s on a road behind a Wendy’s. But Kutless and their crew have transformed the stage into a welcoming, approachable venue. It’s the type of place that if Kutless were doing a full show, you’d think it would fall apart as soon as the show started.

Lunch is straight barbecue: brisket, sausage, chicken, salad, you name it. It turns out to be outstanding. Apparently, someone from the sponsoring church makes the sauce from scratch.

Kutless - Finish this feature by David Stagg in the new HM Magazine. Available now, Issue 132 can be found at select stores or for a reduced subscription rate.

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