ifitbeyourwill Podcast #170 • The New Cut

Bristol's The New Cut have built their grungy, clunky, twangy world from the outside in — and frontman Henry Gerrard wouldn't have it any other way. On this episode, he sits down with ifitbeyourwill to trace the band's DNA: OCD, social anxiety, and the particular relief of finding your people in a room full of outsiders. They dig into the new EP, the strange paradox of performing your most vulnerable self to strangers, and why their live show hits hardest when there's nothing left to prove.

Transcript

Welcome To Fit Bear

colleyc 0:40

Hello everyone. We are back with another episode of the ifitbeyourwill podcast here. Kind of getting our legs back after a short break. And today I'm reaching around the world, really. It feels like over to Bristol. I have the new cut here with me. Henry Gerard, who is their front person and songwriter. Great band. Super. I found this description or these series of words put together that I thought was great. Grungy, clunky, twangy, and DIY. I thought that was like, yes, yes, yes. So Henry, thanks so much for joining me today and talking about the new cut.

The New Cut 1:25

Oh, thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here, Chris. Well, thanks, Henry.

colleyc 1:30

Henry, I I was reading, like kind of getting ready for for talking with you about your earlier years and kind of you know, maybe social anxiety, or you know, like that you you had some of that as you were growing into yourself. Um how did how did how did that influence you wanting to write music and and perform it in front of people? How do you what happened that that you were able to tame that anxiety to actually go and do like be a performer?

The New Cut 2:05

Yeah. Um what happened is a good question. I think taming anxiety, I think that's probably as it's something that you sort of kind of always always live with. I think uh I uh I have OCD, which is seemingly very uh very frequent with um people who front bands. A lot of people I know also have OCD who are in this who are in a similar position. And I never really knew it until I was sort of 19, 20, so I spent quite a lot of my formative years uh grappling with that and not really understanding it. And I think because of that um there's a big feeling of I don't really know what the right word would be, I guess, feeling other or sort of separate socially from from from the other kids at school. I think that that might be a slightly running theme within my bandmates. I don't want to speak for them or disrespect them in any way, but I think that it is a bit of a band of I guess outsiders for want of a better word, where we we we haven't necessarily felt completely streamlined socially. And I think it's it's it's quite difficult when you're younger because there's there's um there's a a desire to want to be sort of understood whilst you don't even understand yourself. And I think songwriting was a massive tool for me when I was younger to be able to tell people the way that I felt without having to go through the social norm of like small talk, which I've found which I find incredibly difficult.

colleyc 3:39

Right, right, right. Well, I love too that you're saying that it's kind of like a support group at the same time as the music group, right? Like being able to support one another and kind of identifying with, you know, other people that might have similar anxieties or you know, social misgivings or whatever, you know, however we want to classify it. And when you were starting to write songs, I love the idea too, and I've heard that from many artists, is that they it's a way for them to deal and kind of figure out themselves and how how things all fit together. When you were going through those original first, you know, adventures into writing your own music, your own songs, what were the themes that you felt were coming out a lot? What were the um you know, the the tensions that you were were having to grapple with when you finally started to to put pen to paper?

Songwriting Without Small Talk

The New Cut 4:34

I think that's a very interesting question. I think what I find a bit of a running theme with a lot of artists and a lot of songwriters, definitely with myself, is when I started writing songs for the first time, it's it's it's quite uh intimidating and scary place to be vulnerable immediately off the bat. I think a lot of people when they start writing songs, like I said, I think I include myself in this. You put up a bit of a persona, almost like a caricature of someone that you're not. I think it's quite rare to have somebody immediately express themselves in a in a vulnerable and and an open way. I feel like when I started writing songs when I was younger, um I was writing from a perspective of somebody that I I kind of wanted to be instead of someone, someone that I was. Um and it's a lot of incredibly embarrassing stuff that I've spent quite a while wiping off the internet, you know. A lot of songs around the concept of I'm 14, I don't have a girlfriend yet, and that's everybody else's fault but mine. No, not not not quite, not not as harsh as that, but it's um but yeah, I think finding finding um the the the the new cut, the the group I'm in now, um it's been journey for all of us, but uh as the more we write, the more open the space becomes for us to uh um be more honest with ourselves. And I think that the more honest and the like more vulnerable that we are, the more interesting things, things that we write. And I think that's a journey that a lot of people go on when they not only write songs but sort of do any sort of art, whether it be visual or audio auditorial.

colleyc 6:14

Well, I want to shout out too to Rachel, Felicity, and Morgan, your the the other parts of the New Cut. How do you guys like how do you Henry bring a song to New Cut? Um like what's your process like of actually penning the song? Like, do you have a ritual or a way that you approach songwriting? And when do you know that that song can then be transferred to the band or you know, thrown, you know, shelved? How do you get to that determination of this is good, here's new cut? To I'll put this, you know, aside maybe for another, you know, let it breathe a little bit more. Are there like can you talk to us a little bit about your songwriting process and and when you know you're on to something that's gonna be a newcut track?

The New Cut 7:04

Yeah, it's it's interesting. I think it comes in different ways. Obviously, yeah, it's just me here today. The the rest of the band would love to be here, but they're all very busy working and stuff. I've never worked an honest day in my life, so I get to do a lot of the fun. Podcasts and interviews. But yeah, I mean, I'll try and speak on their behalf as much as possible. I think what they'd love to say is how much of a great frontman I am, how much how much I'm both the talent and the looks. I think that's the sort of the things that they'd bring up.

colleyc 7:32

Yes.

From Persona To Real Vulnerability

The New Cut 7:33

Um as they should, as they Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's their words, not mine. But no, that I mean they're all they're all really fantastic musicians, all brilliant creatives as well. Um what's great with the other three is that it's sort of I mean they're don't get me wrong, they're they're brilliant professionals, but it doesn't necessarily feel like I'm working with session musicians or anything. The creativity that they have sort of flows out of them throughout the whole of their life and and and they're really brilliant to work with. And I think when it comes to writing songs, some of the time like I'll have like an initial idea that will it'll it'll just be like maybe like a riff or like an idea for a chorus. I try to keep things as undeveloped as possible before I show the band any ideas. Whenever I like write something and I'm like, ah, this is just sort of flowing, and then I kind of finish the song. For one thing, I don't think it it gives it enough space to breathe when we when we um sort of look at it all together. And also for another thing, I think collaboration is really important for the for the creativity and the journey that a that a song goes on. So yeah, sometimes like one of us will come in with with with a small idea, like valuable customer, I'll most like listen to song. I think I came in with the riff, and I I remember coming into the into the rehearsal room and being like, I have this really stupid idea for a chorus, which is the CCTV line. Um, and I was like, that's stupid, isn't it? And then they were all like, no, no, no, it's good, let's do let's do it. And it's great, like I said, I think that collaboration I think all of the all of my favourite things that I've ever done has always come from like if if if the initial idea is from me, then it's just an initial idea, and then the the the brilliance of it comes from the pulling it apart from with with with other people as well. Yeah, yeah, I like that.

colleyc 9:36

Um and it seems too like there's a real camaraderie. You guys have been together now since 2021, um playing together, and you're really getting this this I was looking like your first releases to to the one that just came out in March, uh Sleepers and Mourners, and it the band seems like it's getting really tight, like almost like words aren't needed anymore. It's just like you guys starting to understand one another and what each component brings to you know the overall sound, which I really appreciate. And it's such a great new EP that you put out. I just want to um people will all I'll tell you a little bit more about and we'll talk about it in a minute. Um what is it though that do you find that because you're from Bristol and I wanted to see if there was a an influence, and I guess I mean it's a pretty evident question, but can you tell us a little bit about the Bristol scene and and how how you find that uh helping you guys kind of develop? Because you're kind of like um it like the attention that you guys are are gathering is really impressive. Um it's not only locally, it's like here I am over in Canada and I'm you know heard about you and like follow you and your music. Um how does how did that Bristol scene uh influence and it continues to support what you guys do as as a band?

How The Band Builds Songs

The New Cut 10:58

Yeah, I mean Bristol's been really important to us. I think for one thing, I think the Bristol scene's quite um it's quite uh supportive. I think that there's quite a lot of people here that want you to do well. We play quite countless shows now in the city, and every single time there's a lot of people, you know, revisiting our gigs and and coming back and just being really, really supportive, and a lot of people that just want to watch us succeed, which is really nice, because uh whenever it's our turn, we're bitter and and horrible to everyone else. So I don't know what I do. No, no, it's really supportive in that it it does feel very community led. Everybody sort of knows everyone within the music scene as well, and it's it it it's nice. You you're only sort of like one degree of separation from somebody else within the within the music scene. I think it's really interesting. Sorry, I've got a really squeaky chair. Can you hear it? Is it okay good? That's adding to the overall I don't want to put anyone off in your podcast. Uh yeah, I think that it's it's interesting within the modern day because you you live sort of two lives. You've got the your online persona and then sort of what you like in the real world, and um it's it's it's strange. I mean, it is weird knowing that there's like people in the in the US and in Canada and and Germany and and the Netherlands and stuff that are really interested in our music. I sent a t-shirt to a guy in Japan a couple months ago, and that's just amazing to think that there's people around the world um uh listening to us. And I think we have a different relationship with them um than we do with the people in the city. Uh and I'm not even really sure what it is. I think that I think that it's I think that within Bristol it's so trying to put my finger on it live. I think for one thing, it's quite a hub of the west of England. Like it is connected to London, there's people at the commute, I guess. But it is such a hub. You've got people from all around sort of like the west of the UK, you've got people from Wales, from Devon, from like Gloucestershire and and Somerset. Um, and I think that it does have this sort of pull to it, this draw to it that people are really interested in. And I think that it creates uh uh an eclectic range of genres. Um and um and we've done quite a lot of shows as well, which haven't been just sort of post-punk or alternative rock, we've done like a mixture of things, and I think that sort of melting pot yeah leads to a lot of uh different ideas, a lot of creativity, and also with things like Banksy, and you know, there's there's a there's a big post-punk scene, there's quite a lot of like DIY elements as well, which I think that we really really love, and I think that's so um crucial to the sort of music that we make and creativity in general. I think it all always kind of comes from the streets first, yeah.

Bristol Scene And DIY Roots

colleyc 13:58

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that aesthetic too that you're you're describing for bands. Like I just it's that's my that's my lane. I love DIY and um coming from a place of truth and sometimes struggle and figuring all of that out through the craft and the creativity that you guys embody. Speaking of shows, so I was you know, again, as I was doing research for this, I ran across this story that was I guess it came became a bit viral a bit. You were at a show and then your sound system went kapoof. Um can you can you tell us that story? Because there was it was kind of vague, but it it it was alluding to that that was like a a foundational experience for you guys as a band because of how you were able to pivot. Um can you can you tell us that story? I'm I'm I'm really quite interested in this, Henry.

Debunking The Fake Viral Story

The New Cut 14:58

Unfortunately, it's a it's a it's um it's a very modern issue that we've run into. This was completely made up. It was complete. Yeah, it was made up by an AI, and then it was reported on by a genuine source, which was then reported on by a genuine source, and then reported on by a genuine source. We did an acoustic set like once, and that was it, that was it. And we was intentional. Yeah, yeah, it was completely intentional. We we you know, we didn't want to and we we're not the kind of we we don't think on our feet, we're not we're we don't have that sort of ingenuity. It's nice, it's a nice thing to think, but yeah, we get asked this sometimes, they're like, oh what happened? What show is that?

Breakthrough Gigs And New Fans

colleyc 15:41

And that not it's not true, just all internet garbage, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So um I'm I'm very sorry to to no no, it's good to I mean, this is the world we live in nowadays, right? Like you gotta verify your stuff. That's why I wanted to ask you about it because I thought it was so I guess I'll shift my question a little bit. What were some or a moment or two that you remember where the new cut upped it, up its exposure, upped its game? Like, do you have some of those like where you felt like holy crap, like people in the US and I'm sending t-shirts to Japan? Like, what were some of those moments that you guys felt as a group that kind of you were beginning to come established? And you know, it wasn't just your friends showing up at shows anymore. Like, do you remember some of those experiences that you've had with the band that kind of you felt like okay, there's some recognition now of what we're doing?

The New Cut 16:37

Yeah, absolutely. I think the some of the some of the sort of like um biggest uh points in our in our early career. I think one of them was definitely um supporting Buzzcocks, um, which was cra I mean, you know, such a fundamental band when it comes to punk and and post punk and and British music. And we couldn't quite believe it because somebody um we barely established ourselves. We've been going for about less than a year, I think. And someone messaged us on Facebook of all places saying, Do you want to support Buzzcocks next week? And we said, Yes, please. And then mate, and then they didn't get back to us. And we were like, is this happening or not? And also we were like googling, like, is it a cover band that was supporting? Like, what what are they talking about? And then on the day they were like, Okay, cool, be here at like three, and we were like, okay, and we and we turned up and they're like, Yeah, here's Buzzcocks, and we met them, and I was like, Oh my god, oh my god. And we played that show, and that was that was amazing, and that really like that was our first taste of like uh quite a big show because there was there was a lot of people there, and then we had quite quite a few people from then going, Oh yeah, I saw you guys support when you supported Buzzcooks, and that was that was really nice. And then a couple years later, kind of a similar thing happened where we went into a studio to record a bunch of demos uh because we wanted to send send our music around. It was demos for our EP that's just come out sleepers mourners. And uh we got a call towards the end of our session with someone being like, There's a there's a band called Sprints, they're from they're from Ireland, they're on tour, they've got a sold-out show at Thetcler tonight, and their support act has pulled out due to sickness. Can you guys all be at Fetcler in about half an hour? We were like, Yeah, we'll do it, we'll do it. And we turned up to Thecler. We met this band, Sprints. We had I I well, the rest of the band had heard of them before. I've got to be honest, I I hadn't until this show, but we we met them, they were so nice to us, they were really, really nice. The tool manager was like, Anthony, thank you guys so much. I was like, Thank, thank you to us. Are you joking? And we played this just amazing gig out of nowhere. My friend Alex had just got into photography, and I was like, Oh, you you know, come come take some you know, snaps of us during the day. And he's like, Okay, cool, thanks. It was one of like the first thing, first ventures that he did into photography. And then I called him up later. I was like, Do you want to do you wanna take photos for us at this show? And he's and yeah, so he was there as well. We were all just a bit like, we can't believe that this has happened just out of out of out of nowhere. And then after that, it was there was a few just like really great gigs. We we played Thecla again um for Dr. Dot last year, and that was great. We were first on, and we were expect because it's quite a it's a relatively big for people who don't know what Thetra is, it's like it's a boat in Bristol. It's probably about a 400 cap venue, maybe a bit more than that. It's a really great venue, it turns into a club as well. And yeah, and we we we were on first for Dr. Dot uh the city festival, and we were expecting about 20 people to to show up at this at the this massive venue. And I unfortunately got really ill that morning, and I was feeling I was feeling rough. I was feeling really, really rough, and we were all sitting backstage, and I was like, oh, let's just let's just play and then get out of here. I need to go to bed. Um and we me and Flick, the guitarist, we peeked our head around the around the corner of the green room, and there was about 20 people there with about 10 minutes to go, and we're like, Yeah, that's fine. We were all like, we can relax, everybody. It's fine, it's fine. And then we walk out on stage and it's full. It's on video somewhere. Me and I've turned around to Flick and I go, Oh, Jesus Christ. She goes, I wasn't expecting this. But that was that was fantastic. And then we and then we went to play first headline show in London. This was all last year. First headline show in London, that was amazing, that was sold out, which was crazy. And it's those sort of instances where you get people that you've never met before like singing along and stuff like that. I mean, we're grateful for like one person in the audience. I mean, I used to I used to play I when I was a teenager, I used to go around Brighton with an acoustic guitar. I'm pretty sure I played one gig to a man and his dog, and halfway through my set his dog left. So whenever we play shows, to see like people we don't know sing a lot, it's just crazy. It's so it's so it's so mind-blowing to us. I'd say those those three are probably the biggest.

Sleepers And Mourners Plus Touring

colleyc 21:01

That's cool. You know, yeah. I many many people that I talk to on this cast will say that success was when you know it wasn't just our friends that showed up to every show, you know, like and people like singing along to our songs. Like, we're like, how do you like what like it like those little things just seem to like really are powerful markers that something's happening with our music out there? And I guess Henry, to just kind of close out again, thanks so much for your it's been a real fun chat with you and the experiences of the the new cut as you guys are growing into yourselves. Um the latest EP that came out, uh, sleepers and mourners. How are you finding it's being received by uh by the world? Has it like did you know that this EP was that people would connect to it, that there was something to it that would give it legs and that has uh has

The New Cut 22:08

Uh it's been quite a long time coming, I think, for us because we've had these songs written for for for ages now. I think it's quite a transitional EP for us, which is quite important, and I think a lot of us are quite excited to for people to listen to it and sort of see the potential and the direction of where we're going. Um it's come hand in hand. We we're we're going on tour for the first time in April, um, a UK tour. Uh we've never done that before. So it's been a really interesting sort of um insight into into into where we're going. It's kind of scary as well, releasing this sort of music and and putting ourselves out there on on on tour. But like I said, yeah, I think the EP's very transitional because it's it's been it's it's been songs that we've had written for so long. Um we're really excited to for for people to sort of discover us through that and want to hear more and we're really excited to sort of do more, mm move on to our next project, you know, get get more things out, sort of evolve, create. Um and it yeah, it's just it's it's been a it's been a fantastic journey and you know there's still work to do afterwards.

colleyc 23:18

I mean the songwriting continues, I imagine Henry. Like Yeah, and the doctors are continuously flowing from the group.

The New Cut 23:25

Yeah, absolutely. The songwriting continues, the the the promotion for the EP continues as well. Like there's other things we we we um work with a guy called Nathaniel for our music videos, but we're already involved in the music videos. There's there's you know things like that to come out. There's the never-ending stream of content creation as well, which all musicians love doing.

colleyc 23:46

Yes. You have a great song off the EP talking about all that social media. Instagram off, Instagram on, like I love your references and 'cause it's so apropos, you know, like I just find that you guys have the pulse of what's going on around you. Um and you're so well it's uh explained so well through the songs, through the sonic and also the lyrical parts. It's such a great EP. I'm really happy for you guys that you got that out there. And I mean your live show must be bangin', because if you've been playing these songs together for so long, there must be like a magic up there on stage when you're like again, similar to what I was saying at the start, where you don't need to there's no language anymore. It's just all through the music that you guys are producing that um that this sound just explodes out of the speakers.

The New Cut 24:35

Yeah, well, we uh a lot of people sort of refer to us as a live band. I think uh I've heard that quite a lot. We we really like we we I mean we love playing live and we we work really hard at sort of making uh the the sets as tight as possible so it leaves room for you know, our minds aren't focused on like remembering the the chords and the lyrics and stuff. And that any sort of experimentation or any sort of looseness can come from the performance rather than the the playing of the music if that if that makes sense. So yeah, we we love we love playing live, it's probably our our our main aspect and yeah, and and tickets are still on sale, brother.

Anxiety In Crowds Versus Onstage

colleyc 25:16

If anybody wants to check these guys out and social anxiety be damned, Henry. I mean look at what's happened. Like I guess we're coming full circle to our conversation, but we started this with that. Um and now you're up on stage banging out tunes, alive, you know, quote, a live band. The show must be amazing. So I mean, kudos to you for and the band, you know, apart from what you were saying that you guys came together and you know conquered this well, maybe not conquered yet, but you're working on conquering these these feelings of you know social anxiety and and trying to find your your spot, I guess, or your place. I think you're getting there really closely now. So congrats on that and the persistence that you had as a youngster to say, I'm gonna stand up in front of people and perform. So it's that's it's a big it's a big step and probably sometimes isn't acknowledged as the as much as it should be. Because I think a lot of people out there are like are identifying what you with what you're saying as a youngster feeling kind of you know that anxiety and not kind of fitting or not connecting or um and you've shown that keep trying.

The New Cut 26:32

Like you know, well uh it's it's it's interesting. I think I get more anxious going to shows than I do performing. I feel like whenever I'm in a crowd of people watching a gig, I I think, oh everybody's looking at me. And then when I'm on stage, I'll go, oh no one's looking at me. So I don't know, it's it's it's an interesting it's an interesting duality. But like I said, I mean working with the other three, they're all like fantastic musicians and really really great people as well. So there's a camaraderie, there's a there's a there's a sort of safe space, I guess, within within within that group, and it's it's just it's really I'm very privileged to be able to work with people like that. Which is uh great. And it's thank you very much for having me on as well, Chris. Uh yeah.

colleyc 27:15

It's been a real pleasure, Henry. And if you ever head this way to uh Canada, you'll eventually make it over here in a few years, I'm sure. But go and check out uh the new cut if you can live people April. They'll be at a place near you. And we anticipate your hop over the pond to come and visit us one day, Henry. So thank you so much for your time and all the best with 2026 and uh your music and um you know, laying down the track. So keep it up, man.

The New Cut 27:47

Thank you very much, Chris. It's lovely to meet you.

colleyc 27:49

Cheers.