The Cutthroat Brothers Detail Their Collaboration with Mike Watt and Unveil Video for First Single
The Cutthroat Brothers are a garage punk duo formed by two barbers – Big Island’s Jason Cutthroat (guitar/vocals) and drummer Donny Paycheck. They’ve now teamed with punk legend Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges, etc.) for a collaborative album, The King Is Dead, due June 12 via Hound Gawd Records (one of the two upcoming Record Store Day drops).
The album was produced by grunge veteran Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, etc) and it features artwork by Raymond Pettibon, who designed the iconic Black Flag logo, Sonic Youth’s Goo album art, and more.
The opening track ‘Killing Time’ snarls out a battle cry and sets the scene. Jason Cutthroat’s guitar slashes and slides like a straight razor. Donny Paycheck’s (ex Zeke) drums land harder than a barber chair thrown off a 13-story building, while under it all the mighty and unmistakable bass thunder of Mike Watt (Stooges, Minutemen) sticks everything together like blood to the scene of a crime.
This collaboration began when Mike Watt interviewed Jason and Donny on The Watt from Pedro Show. When the real-life barbers casually asked Watt to play bass on their next album, they didn’t expect to hear, “Yes.”
Mike Watt added his magic and is now an honorary Cutthroat Brother barber. Watt’s gritty, powerful playing will blow your greasy black pompadour back like a jet engine. World-renowned visual artist Raymond Pettibon (Black Flag, Sonic Youth) contributed the cover art, making The King is Dead packaging hotter than a wet shave and twice as slick.
The third and title track ‘The King is Dead,” is a spooky blues burner. The rest of the album pummels forward in the gritty, grimy, grinning fashion that leaves the listener twisting on the barbershop floor wanting more.
Connect with The Cutthroat Brothers here: https://www.cutthroatbrothers.com
Photos by Anna Pacheco Photography.