Cut N Run doing it for the love | PHOTO GALLERY

ALBANY — Within a few minutes of meeting the guys in Albany’s Cut N Run, it’s easy to see why the quartet was recently voted Albany’s favorite band in The Albany Herald’s musical favorites poll. To a man, they’re down-to-earth, regular guys just doing what they love most — playing good tunes for good-time crowds.

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While it’s easy to instantly like the four members of Cut N Run — singer Mark Bullard, guitarist Kenny Spivey, drummer Floyd Faulk and bassist Kevin Dawkins — it’s harder to trace the band’s evolution. As they explained during a recent sit-down at Albany’s El Rancho restaurant, the current incarnation of Cut N Run has been in place for roughly three years. But the roots of the crew go back much farther.

Over the years, members of the group have played in numerous outfits and have known each other in different capacities. Bullard and Faulk played together in a different band, while Bullard, Spivey and Dawkins have been playing together for more than 10 years. On top of that, Spivey and Dawkins have been playing together for more than two decades, basically not long after each of them first picked up an instrument.

“We’ve been playing together over 20 years,” said Dawkins. “Me and Ken have been through it all together, thick and thin.”

In fact the two have been hanging and playing together for so long they are prone to finishing each other’s thoughts and almost speak their own language.

When talking about first meeting through a mutual friend, the pair said they clicked instantly over a shared love of music and over a desire to get better as players.

“We probably connected because we didn’t know how to play a whole song,” laughed Dawkins.

“I think I knew the opening riff to a Robin Trower song,” adds Spivey.

“That was it, he loved Robin Trower,” Dawkins says. “After that, I said, ‘It’s on now.’ Really, though, he was willing to learn and I was willing to learn, so we basically learned to play together.”

The pair continued to play together and learned countless new songs over the years, while also writing their own material. They eventually connected with Bullard, himself a kindred spirit, and that trio began working together. Once Faulk joined the fray, things really seemed to fall together and the group began picking up as many shows as it could find.

“The chemistry has been there from the get-go,” Bullard says.

Although chemistry was important, what have really become the most important elements of Cut N Run are the band’s desire to play as often as possible and the extensive list of songs the group continually reshuffles to keep things fresh.

“We play stuff we like to play, and we try to play stuff that’s going to get folks into it,” Dawkins says. “That gives us the opportunity to play more venues and for more people. The more songs we’ve got, the more we can kind of cater to what venue we’re playing. At least that’s what we try to do.”

“We can play metal gigs down at the (State) theater, then we can go and play covers at the Harvest Moon, you know,” adds Spivey. “It’s good to have a wide range. We can even do country.”

While the group strives to have a diverse catalog of songs with a wide appeal, the members also try to play things that crowds don’t hear on a regular basis.

“We do try to stay away from the top hits and do more B-side stuff,” says Bullard. “We’re kind of a B-side band.”

Currently the group rehearses multiple sets that include diverse songs like “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms, “Born on the Bayou” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, “The One I Love” by R.E.M., “I Wanna Be Sedated,” by The Ramones, “Talking in Your Sleep” by the Romantics, “You May be Right” by Billy Joel, “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars, “Veritgo” by U2, “Make it Wit Chu” by Queens of the Stone Age and “Hash Pipe” by Weever.

“We do a lot of songs,” says Faulk. “These guys know tons of songs, but everybody’s really fair about the set list. We’ve got maybe 80 songs that we do.”

The rest agree for the most part although Spivey and Dawkins disagree on one point.

“We’ve got a ton of songs,” corrects Dawkins playfully. “Me and Ken, we’ve learned over 300 songs together. I’ve forgotten more songs than we’re playing right now. You name a song and I’m usually like, ‘Yeah I know that song. I haven’t played it in 10 years, but we used to play that one.’”

In addition to playing a variety of covers, Cut N Run have plans to continue writing original music. The band agrees their originals will likely be primarily rock music, which is what all the members love. It’s also the type of music they think will resonate most with fans.

“It’s definitely hard rock,” said Spivey. “We’ve got to go rock. Plus, you can’t really go play pop originals somewhere. You’ve got to rock. Think about it, a lot of the original bands around here are rock, heavy metal.”

While writing and recording original material is certainly on the band’s to-do list, an even more pressing matter is trying to expand the band’s territory by playing more gigs outside of Albany. Following on the heels of Dawkins’ recent move to Crawfordville, Fla., the band has begun booking shows throughout Florida and recently played a well-received gig on St. George Island.

The band also feels the upcoming out-of-town shows will go a long way toward keeping local fans from burning out on hearing them too often.

“We’re just really looking forward to getting out of town a little,” said Dawkins. “Not that there’s anything wrong with Albany, we love this place. But we’ve played it so much lately.”

Even though their focus is shifting toward playing outside of Albany, it is abundantly clear that the guys in Cut N Run are extremely thankful for their fans in Albany and for the different venues that have helped them along the way.

“Our fans are awesome, and we are so thankful that they come out to see us,” Dawkins said. “We also really want to give a shout-out to some bars that didn’t get mentioned (in the polls), like Bayou’s, Whiskey River in East Albany, and the POB (Putney Oyster Bar.) Mr. Kinney that owns Little Whiskey River and Bayou’s, he’s done a lot for us. He really takes care of the bands. He is a straight up great guy.

“We also love the Oglethorpe Lounge, and Harvest Moon is becoming one of our favorite places to play.”

The guys in the band are also very appreciative of other local artists, who they feel are doing a lot to help the local music scene thrive. In fact, that sentiment of camaraderie caused some mixed feelings when it came to being named in the Friday JAM poll.

“That’s one of the hard things about being involved in a poll like that,” said Dawkins. “You know just about everybody on there, you’re friends with them, you know. It’s like, ‘I don’t want to be in competition with these guys.’ Music’s an art. Somebody might love a picture and somebody else might think it’s the ugliest thing they’ve ever seen. That’s how I feel about music. I don’t judge. If you play music, man, you’re great with me, brother. It takes a lot of time and effort to play an instrument; it’s hard. We’re friends with a lot of bands around here.”

Despite those reservations about being involved in a quasi-competition through the JAM polls the guys in the band say they are thrilled that fans cared enough to vote for them, and they intend to continue playing as long as there’s a crowd to play, regardless of prestige or monetary gain.

“It’s amazing to know that there’s that many people that are paying attention to what we’re doing,” said Dawkins of the poll. “Sometimes you don’t realize it. At some venues, you’re playing and some people are digging it and a lot of other people they have their backs turned, just drinking. So it’s nice to be noticed every now and then. As long as we’ve been doing this, this is the first time anything’s ever happened like this for us. It’s really special.”

To learn more about Cut N Run and to keep an eye out for upcoming shows, visit the band’s Cut N Run Facebook page or website, www.cutnrunband.com.