On the 4th Thursday in the month of November, Thanksgiving, that the President picked long ago, after years of dispute between which Thursday it should be, I gave Mr. Randy Randol, 26, from Cutie Said an interview via phone. Randy is a down to earth guy who takes everything in stride. He gets his disposition and his family values from growing up around 4 girls. Manners and chivalry were instilled in him at a young age, and he admits he is nothing without his family, all who are close to him, related or otherwise. Here's what else he had to say!:
When I asked Randy how he got to know the guys from Cutie Said, he told me:
Mainly it was Chuck. I worked with his sister a while ago, and him and his brother worked at Best Buy for a while. Chuck and I started many random projects, but none of them really got going. When the boys found out Joel was out of touch, they asked me [to be in the band].
When did you first discover your talent?
I wouldn't call it a talent, I've just always loved singing. Especially growing up in the 80's, jumping on couches singing and stuff. Once you were in Middle School [at Davison], you had to take choir. I immediately fell in love and I want to do it for the rest of my life.
When I told him something related to me about my singing career [or lack-there-of], he gave me some advice and told me, "You know, problem solving, that's what I do"
How do you handle your mistakes? How does the rest of the band?
Depending on if it's live, obviously you know people don't catch up quickly, they won't notice if you keep going like nothing happened. Don't shake your head, don't stop, it's not noticeable. If it happens in practice, we stop and try to get things right, we go through the set list a few times so I get a chance to make up for mistakes. And believe me it happens, singing the wrong parts at wrong times and stuff like that. But thankfully, our last performance went over well.
What kind of environment do you thrive in?
It really doesn't matter if we're playing for a few people or 100. Like, we played a show at Hazel Park and there were literally like 3 people there. It gives it a more practice-y feel, you don't try as hard. But in the future, it's gunna be like every show, 1 or 100 people, we give it our all. From now on, we don't hold back. Energy is our main thing.
Do you just sing, or do you have any other major skills?
I dabble everywhere, I've played bass since the 6th grade, I recently tried guitar and know a little keys, like the major and minor scales, stuff like that. Other than music, I play hockey, do some poetry and short stories. I draw too. A lot I do has to do with art, my favorite medium is oil pastels. It's a family thing, art runs in our blood. Like, one of my sisters does picture manipulations. Artisticness runs in the family.
Did anything throughout your schooling help you to get where you are now?
I would say one thing helped me as far as music, it's all about family. They have been supportive and let me be me. Mistakes happen and you learn from them. My family always backs me up and gives me good critique. My parents will always be at my shows and people who back you help out a lot.
In general, how is the pay?
In general, it's free. It's not about the money, it's about getting us out there. Some people like ride off of other people to get out there, but we just promote, promote, promote. That's just us, it's all about the music.
Is this your dream? Or do you see this career as a stepping stone?
It's definitely a dream, I've always wanted to pursue it. As far as a stepping stone, I'm going to college to be an art teacher. I will ride music as far as it will go, whether 100 dollars a week or in a tour van broke, I don't care if I'm famous or rich. So long as there's passion and I love the people around me, I'm fine. I'm in this for the long run, but I've told the boys, as soon as this starts feeling like a job, and the fun and passion is gone, I'm out.
What aspect do you enjoy most?
The whole round experience. The boys, the feeling on stage, the fans. Once I'm on stage, it's all about the fans and giving them what they came for. And the boys...I'm stuck in a confined area with 4 other people who are technically family. These guys are my family now, I'd do anything for them.
What's the most stressful thing about the job?
The most stressful thing...oh this is so hard. There is not much that stresses me out. But mainly, it's the preparation. Finding the time with everyone, with jobs and busyness, to practice. We practice 3 times a week, and 4 to 5 times if there's an upcoming show. Just getting everyone in the same mindset, in the same place, at the same time. That can be stressful and difficult.
If you could give advise to aspiring singers, what would you say?
Never give up. If you're gunna give effort, do it right, just put yourself out there. I mean, I've never had a vocal coach or anything, just choir, but it's all about the effort.
Can you give me a brief layout of every day tasks for you and the band?
We have a set practice scheduled, 3 times a week at 7 or 7:30, and we do our thing. As far as anything extra, they'll call and ask to get together, but it's tough with school. Sometimes me and Terry will just meet up randomly, or he'll burn a CD of what he's been working on and give a copy to us all. It's mainly getting a hold of each other, or at least a couple of us can get together and practice.
With school and work and hockey, how much downtime do you get?
Hmm...downtime...I have none. Personal life...none too. Between work, school, and hockey, I'm lucky if I am able to get a lot of sleep. I'm so busy, but I love it. At times, fatigue catches up though and I gotta stop for a few days. As soon as touring hits, we're aiming for March or April, it'll be better. We'll be on the road and it'll be more like a vacation than work. New places, new people, new venues. I'm looking forward to it, the more we're on the road the better.
What message do you and the boys try to convey with your music?
A little of everything. Obviously, the break-up/love type thing. But when I write music, I try to write the upside of things. I'm working on this song called "Sweet Nothing", about how guys use girls to get what they want. It's an unfortunate truth, and pretty immoral, but that's just how life is. It's unfortunate that a lot of people get hurt that way, too. I mean, I was raised by 4 girls and I believe in treating the girl with respect, and holding their emotions before me, they come first. I'm definitely the sweet, nice, finish-last kind of guy.
What's in the future for you guys, how long do you see this going?
Something like forever. [laughs] Joke! It's something we wanna keep going. My rule is, once it starts to feel like a job, I gotta pull out. This isn't a job based group of guys. We're doing what we love, for people to be able to put on our music and feel better, or say this has changed how they looked at things. We do what we love and wanna keep it going. There's gunna be snags and bumps, but I don't see us parting anytime soon. We're a bunch of guys who get along well. We can only hope it keeps going smoothly. Whether it's a big show, or a house party. If we get signed, cool, if not, whatever.
Why the name change? [Cutie Said to Something Like Forever]
Name change...um, one, it's Joel's name. This is no longer his band, so we thought we should no longer have his name. Two, when you think of Cutie Said, if you never listened to us, you would automatically think some poppy music. We don't wanna be just one style, we wanna be more than that.
What's so special about [the name] Something Like Forever?
Um, Something Like Forever is a band from a long time ago, and I used the name when I was gunna start my old acoustic project. Chuck suggested it because music is something I wanna do forever, so it's the name I came up with. They liked it, and we rolled with it. The transition is already starting. At our show on Sunday [with Vega Under Fire, etc], we actually introduced ourselves as Something Like Forever. We're gunna be completely different, new band photos, which were a blast shooting. Going to Matt's house and having someone that Terry knew do them. Really professional guy, he took out of his time and did the pics for free. They came out amazing and I can't wait to get them back.
After I ran out of questions, I asked Randy if there was anything else he wanted in the interview. He told me not really, I had covered everything well, but he threw in this about the boys and their compatibility:
I love them. They're my family. In other bands I was in, I would sit back and think "ehhh, I don't think I'd be able to tour with them." But when I sit back and look at the boys in Cutie Said, I have no doubt touring with them and doing this for a long time would be amazing. I never doubt them, we just click.
Randy, all in all, is a very driven guy, and he is completed by the boys in Cutie Said [soon to officially be Something Like Forever!]. Hopefully you'll still be hearing more about them from me for the next 12, 15, 20 years!
See: Randy Randol, Cutie Said
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