JOE MONTAGUE speaks with Kutless drummer Jeffrey Gilbert…
It’s difficult to get a word in edgewise. Kutless drummer Jeffrey Gilbert is so pumped up about the band’s music, message and mission that he seldom pauses to catch his breath as he talks about, among other things, the band’s desire to appeal to as broad an audience as possible.
“We want kids to walk into a Wal-Mart or a Best Buy, pick up our record and say, ‘This record is awesome!’ We want those kids that don’t know the Lord to pick up our record and say, ‘This is a hot track.’ We don’t want to be limited to the Christian community in the sense that we are only going to play to Christians,” says Gilbert, who joined Kutless with bassist Dave Luetkenhoelter in 2005 after Kyle Mitchell and Kyle Zeigler left the band to pursue other interests in the recording industry.
KUTLESS: The band (not in any particular order) features Jon Micah Sumrall on vocals, James Mead and Ryan Shrout on guitars, Jeffrey Gilbert on drums and Dave Leutkenhoelter on bass.
“We don’t want to be second best and there is no reason to be second best,” says Kutless drummer Jeffrey Gilbert. “I don’t think as craftsmen for the Lord that we should be second best in any way.”
To accomplish that, Kutless believe their music has to be as good as or better than anyone else’s. Gilbert believes that often the Christian music industry have done a disservice to artists who happen to be Christians in their attempts to broaden the fan base. He believes, for example, that by continually drawing comparisons to general market audiences – inferring that if you like a certain band, you will probably enjoy this artist’s music – those within the industry are suggesting that the Christian group of artists is somehow inferior.
As a result, says Gilbert, there are kids out there who are posing the question: “Why is Christian music always second best to secular music?”
“We don’t want to be second best and there is no reason to be second best,” he says. “I don’t think as craftsmen for the Lord that we should be second best in any way.”
Gilbert says the goal of Kutless is to hook kids in on quality music and have them dig deeper into the words and message of the song delivered. He sums it up this way: “We feel our ministry is to be in the church, to be uplifted by the church and to invite those that don’t know the Lord just to be in love with the Lord because He first loved us.”
Gilbert grew up with Kutless founding member and primary songwriter Jon Micah Sumrall. While Kutless was establishing itself as a formidable rock band at the start of the century, Gilbert and Luetkenhoelter were playing riffs and keeping beat for Seven Places, a band signed by Tooth and Nail Records which released two CDs – Hear Us Say Jesus (2004) and Lonely For The Last Time (2003).
Although Kutless has created many great tunes, three songs perhaps best define the band – Run, Strong Tower and Shut Me Out. Run, released in 2002, was the band’s breakthrough song and went to number one in America. It’s a song about a God who pursues us out of love and asks us to meet Him anywhere at anytime. Strong Tower, from the album of the same name, is a rock ballad that has become a concert favorite. The lyrics recall God’s protective care.
The newest Kutless chart topper is Shut Me Out, from the 2006 album Hearts of the Innocent. A “renaissance metal” tune, it boasts thundering guitar riffs by Ryan Shrout and James Mead and its heavy beats, lots of bass and protest lyrics contribute to the trademarks of heavier metal.
“Some of the best metal out there is Christian metal,” notes Gilbert. He adds that the band comes by their love for metal naturally with some of the group’s members claiming fan status for older bands such as Guardian and Quicksand as well as newer groups like Demon Hunter.
Gilbert describes the songs on the Hearts of the Innocent album as possessing a common thread – that Christians cannot be content to wait for people to wander into their churches before they reach out to them in love. He says more and more youth outside of the church view the Christian community as cultish or a subculture that will not approach them first.
That Kutless cannot be defined as a one-dimensional rock band is as much a testament to the songwriting skill of Sumrall as well as it is to the band’s eclectic taste in music.
“It is funny the different backgrounds that we have and the different music that we like to listen to,” says Gilbert.
“I love listening to old jazz music. Dave (Luetkenhoelter) likes listening to different (styles of) jazz.
It makes for an interesting writing process.
“There is a time and place for rock and roll, there is a time and place for a power ballad and a time and place for an acoustic track. We want to make sure our records have a cool flow.”
“We love heavy guitar riffs and big drum beats but at the same time we like to bring it down,” notes Gilbert. “Honestly it (softer songs) diversifies our music. If you listen to an album that has heavy rock riffs for the whole record from track one to 12, it can get mundane. There isn’t a whole lot of color to the record.”
Instead, he says, Kutless aim to make their albums “interesting all the way”. He says instead of creating CDs that people “track surf” Kutless would “much rather have a person hit play and let it ride”.
“There is a time and place for rock and roll, there is a time and place for a power ballad and a time and place for an acoustic track. We want to make sure our records have a cool flow.”
Gilbert believes that some of the band’s softer songs are their best work.
“It really shows at our concerts too. Kids like to go to the mosh when we play Let You In, Tonight or Hearts of the Innocent. They (also) like to worship to Run, Strong Tower and Sea of Faces.”
With their no holds barred approach to music, Kutless’ play a range of venues – including stadiums, concert halls, clubs and churches, places which see their attract people who would not normally turn out to listen to a band playing music accompanied by Christian lyrics.
“It is so cool to see these kids in the front row with slip-knot shirts or Marilyn Manson shirts,” observes Gilbert. “At the beginning of the show, they are scowling and have their arms crossed. (They are probably) thinking, ‘Why am I here at a Christian concert?’ By the end of the night they are jumping and moshing harder than anybody else.”
The drummer paraphrases a piece of fan mail Kutless has received – “All rock and roll used to be to me was a way to get angst out or to mess with my anger. Now I have this true feeling of love knowing I don’t have to be angry.”
He also mentions an email the band received from a girl who had attended one of their concerts with a friend. The girl got as far as putting a gun in her mouth.
“She started thinking about the words to the music she heard at the concert. She broke down in tears and went straight to her friend. The friend led her to the Lord. Now she is living for the Lord.”
Gilbert pauses – almost miraculously – for just a moment before continuing.
“Our prayer every night is that the Lord would be invited into the place and that He would truly move within it. It’s insane seeing what the Lord is doing right now.”
“This is what keeps us rolling on the road,” he says. “This is what keeps us doing what we are doing. It’s not about selling out shows or having a number one record. It’s hearing about kids who drop everything to truly live for the Lord. We are so excited seeing what the Lord is doing. We are getting just as many non Christian kids as Christians coming to our shows.
“Our prayer every night is that the Lord would be invited into the place and that He would truly move within it. It’s insane seeing what the Lord is doing right now. I would never have expected him to be moving in such intense ways. It is what keeps the energy alive and keeps us going. We are going into the third month of our tour and it is getting tiring but knowing that kids are being touched is what keeps us on the road.”
