Rough Cutt is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles who released two studio albums on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of th ...

in the mid-1980s. Rough Cutt never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by many other Los Angeles bands of that time but various members went on to success in other groups, including

Jake E. Lee Jake E. Lee (born Jakey Lou Williams, February 15, 1957) is an American musician best known as lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne between 1982 and 1987 and later as a member of the band Badlands with Ray Gillen. He formed the band Red Dragon Car ...

with

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, Amir Derakh with

Orgy In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex. Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swing ...

, Paul Shortino with

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew Forsyth, though th ...

, and Craig Goldy and Claude Schnell with Dio. The current line-up of Rough Cutt, which debuted on November 29, 2019, at the Bossanova Ballroom in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

is drummer

Dave Alford Dave Alford also known as Rockin Dave is an American Heavy Metal Rock drummer, singer, songwriter and producer who has played in the bands Max Havoc, Ratt, Jailhouse, Mod Ev, Kryme and Rough Cutt, whom he rejoined in 2016 upon their reformatio ...

, first guitarist Chris Hager, second guitarist Darren Housholder (

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label founded in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. History Guitarist Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth and Cacophony), one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album ''Uns ...

recording artist, Love/Hate, War & Peace), bassist Jeff Buehner (The Loyal Order), and lead vocalist Steven St. James.

History

The first Rough Cutt line-up featured vocalist Paul Shortino, drummer

, guitarist

, keyboardist Claude Schnell, and bassist Joey Cristofanilli. Both Lee and Alford had also previously been in another Los Angeles band,

Ratt Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

. Both Schnell and Cristofanilli had previously been in the band Magic. Two other former Ratt members and bandmates in Sarge, guitarist Chris Hager and bassist

Matt Thorne Matthew "Matt" Thorne (born 1974) is an English novelist, writer, and journalist. Life and career Thorne grew up in Bristol, England, and was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Thorne's first book, ''Tourist'', was published in 199 ...

a.k.a.

Matt Thorr Matt Thorne, also known as Matt Thorr, is a bassist who has played in the glam metal band Ratt, Rough Cutt, and Jailhouse. He co-wrote the song "Back For More" with Stephen Pearcy on Ratt's album '' Out of the Cellar''. He currently owns MT Studi ...

(who replaced Cristofanilli) would also soon join Rough Cutt. After his departure, Cristofanilli temporarily joined Ratt himself, later joining forces with members of the band Sin who went on to release the album ''Made In Heaven'' under the name Jag Wire in 1985. Lee left Rough Cutt in 1982, auditioned for, and was hired briefly by the band Dio, and then replaced the deceased

Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo alb ...

's guitarist. Lee in turn was replaced by Craig Goldy, formerly of the San Diego band Vengeance.

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

greatly influenced the development of the band. Dio's wife Wendy Dio was the group's manager, and Dio himself helped write one of the band's songs. Rough Cutt contributed two tracks, "A Little Kindness" and "Used & Abused", both produced by Dio and featuring Jake E Lee on guitar, to the compilation album ''L.A's Hottest Unsigned Bands'', issued in 1983. Another Dio-produced track, "Try A Little Harder", with Goldy on guitar featured on the ''

KLOS Klos or KLOS may refer to: *Klos (surname) *Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër *Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central Alb ...

95 1/2: Rock to Riches'' compilation, along with another Wendy Dio project NuHaven, released later on in 1983. Goldy soon left the band, and went on to play in Giuffria, and later in Dio's band. Goldy was replaced by Amir Derakh, another San Diego band alumnus. With the line-up solidified with Shortino, Alford, Derakh, Hager, and Thorne, Rough Cutt was signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1984. The band gained national exposure when they appeared on the 'Rock Palace' TV show performing the songs "Crank It Up", "Dreamin' Again", "Street Gang Livin'", and "Try A Little Harder." Hosted by comedian

Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. I ...

, the recording took place on January 1, 1984, at the Hollywood Palace, now the

Avalon Hollywood Avalon (or Avalon Hollywood) is a historic nightclub in Hollywood, California, located near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, at 1735 N. Vine Street. It has previously been known as The Hollywood Playhouse, The WPA Federal Theatre, El Capi ...

. Rough Cutt also made their way to Europe showcasing at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

's famed

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

on April 13, 1984, and playing a badly promoted show at the Fabrik in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany, both well in advance of recording their first studio album. After waiting around for a year to work with producer

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...

, who had signed the band to Warner Bros. but was busy with

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

, Eric Clapton and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues-ba ...

at the time, Rough Cutt decided to record their debut album, ''

Rough Cutt Rough Cutt is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles who released two studio albums on Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1980s. Rough Cutt never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by many other Los Angeles bands of that time but var ...

'' (1985), with

Tom Allom Thomas James Allom is an English record producer and sound engineer. His best-known work was in the 1970s and 1980s, working with artists such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Krokus, Loverboy, Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock ...

instead. The band toured extensively in the United States as an opening act supporting Krokus on their ''

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

'' tour, alongside Accept, followed by an extensive trek with Dio on their ''

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

'' tour, which lasted from August through December 1985. Rough Cutt were also part of the Super Rock '85 festival bill on August 10, 1985, at Odaiba-Undohiroba in Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan, sharing the stage with headliners Dio, Foreigner,

Mama's Boys Mama's Boys were a 1980s hard rock/ heavy metal group from County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The band includes the three McManus brothers Pat, a.k.a. "The Professor", (guitar, fiddle), John (bass, vocals), and Tommy (drums). Later in thei ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

, and Japanese act, Earthshaker. The show was commemorated with a VHS release titled ''Super Rock In Japan '85''; Rough Cutt was featured with four songs from their debut album, "Black Widow", "Take Her", "Dreamin' Again", and "Piece of My Heart." Veteran producer Jack Douglas of

fame guided the band's follow-up effort '' Wants You!'' (1986). Rough Cutt joined Dio on the last date of their ''Sacred Heart'' tour at the R.C. Coliseum in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

on October 10, 1986, and once again made their way to Japan. While in Japan, Shortino made the decision to leave the band due to internal differences about what direction their music should take, Rough Cutt's manager

Wendy Dio Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...

introduced Shortino to

and engineered a deal for him to step in as their new lead singer in place of

Kevin DuBrow Kevin Mark DuBrow (October 29, 1955 – November 19, 2007) was an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot from 1975 until 1987, and again from 1993 until his death in 2007. Early life, photography ...

who had been fired. Shortino was briefly replaced by Parramore McCarty of

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been ...

before Rough Cutt called it quits. Derakh, Thorne and Alford re-grouped with singer Danny Simon and guitarist Michael Raphael to form Jailhouse, releasing a live EP, ''Alive in a Mad World'', in 1989; while Hager would team up with Jeff Warner of

Black 'N Blue Black 'N Blue is an American heavy metal band from Portland, Oregon, United States. The current members are lead vocalist Jaime St. James, bassist Patrick Young, drummer Pete Holmes, and guitarists Brandon Cook and Doug Rappoport . The band i ...

in Woop & the Count. Thorne was also briefly a member of L.A. Rocks, renamed

Eyes Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conve ...

once vocalist James Christian entered the fray, while Derakh found major success with self-proclaimed death pop band

in the late 1990s. In 1996, DeRock Records released '' Rough Cutt Live'' which contained three new studio cuts, "House of Pain", "Prowler", and "Peyote", as bonus tracks. The same label would also issue a full-length studio album by Rough Cutt offshoot Jailhouse in 1998, with all five songs from the 1989 ''Alive in a Mad World'' EP added as bonus tracks. Shortino reformed Rough Cutt in 2000 with an all-new lineup that included former Aerosmith guitarist

Jimmy Crespo Jimmy Crespo (born July 5, 1954) is an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for Aerosmith from 1979 until 1984. He co-wrote " Rock in a Hard Place" with Steven Tyler, and has performed or recorded with Rod Stewart, Billy Squier, Meat Lo ...

, keyboardist James 'J.T.' Garrett, Shortino's former Quiet Riot bandmate bassist

Sean McNabb Sean McNabb (born September 24, 1965) is an American actor and bassist. While still on tour with rock bands, he is also acting and writing, composing, and singing music for TV and film. In 2015, he released his first solo music as a lead singer, ...

, and Magnitude 9 drummer John Homan. The band announced the release of an EP, titled ''Sneak Peek'', in 2000 but it was canceled and expanded into a full length-album instead. ''Sacred Place'' was released in 2002 under the name Paul Shortino's The Cutt on Shortino's own MusicWorks Entertainment label and featured additional contributions by guitarists

Brad Gillis Bradley Frank Gillis (born 15 June 1957) is a guitarist most famous for playing with the band Night Ranger. He was in the band Rubicon during the 1970s before Night Ranger. Since forming in 1979, Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy are the only memb ...

Carlos Cavazo Carlos Cavazo (born July 8, 1957) is an American guitarist best known as the guitarist for Quiet Riot during their commercial peak. He has also played with Snow, 3 Legged Dogg, Hollywood Allstarz, and Ratt. Biography Cavazo was born in Atlanta, ...

Howard Leese Howard M. Leese (born June 13, 1951, in Hollywood, California, United States) is an American guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart as guitarist and keyboardist for 23 years (1975 through 1998). He continues to rec ...

, and Dave Whiston as well as bassists Chuck Wright and Jason Boyleston. The classic Warner Bros. era line-up of Rough Cutt reformed for a one-off reunion show in October 2002 at the

Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established as The Viper Room in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other part owner was Sal J ...

in Hollywood with Shortino, Alford, Derakh, Hager, and Thorne performing together once again. In late 2005,

Wounded Bird Records Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists, including Paul Butterfield, Cactus, Herbie ...

re-issued both Rough Cutt Warner Bros. studio albums as a two-for-one single disc, ''Rough Cutt/Rough Cutt Wants You''. British label

Rock Candy Rock candy or sugar candy, also called rock sugar, or crystal sugar, is a type of confection composed of relatively large sugar crystals. This candy is formed by allowing a supersaturated solution of sugar and water to crystallize onto a su ...

re-issued remastered versions of both albums in 2016, complete with 16-page full color booklets, 3500 word essays about the making of the album with new band member interviews, and enhanced artwork. In 2008, Deadline Records issued the double disc ''Anthology'' consisting of pre- and post-Warner Bros. era demos and a live set recorded in Syracuse, New York in 1985. In October 2019, 10 songs from the Fiddler's Studio Sessions portion of the ''Anthology'' were released as ''The Fiddler Sessions '84'' on limited edition red vinyl, with only 300 copies made. In 2016, the classic lineup of Shortino, Alford, Derakh, Hager, and Thorne reunited again. They played on the Monsters of Rock cruise in 2018. 2019 saw Shortino singing and playing lead guitar for

's Rough Riot and Alford and Hager began auditioning to complete the Rough Cutt line-up. During this time they signed on with David Adkins and Integrity Music Management. After hiring vocalist Steven St. James, whom Hager had previously played with in Sarge in his pre-Rough Cutt days, the band added Buehner and then Housholder. After three rehearsals, the new Rough Cutt played its first live show as a band opening for

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vo ...

featuring

Tracii Guns Tracy Richard Irving Ulrich (born January 20, 1966), known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the supergroups named Brides of Destruction and Contrab ...

and Phil Lewis in Portland, Oregon at the Bossanova Ballroom on Black Friday, November 29, 2019. Rough Cutt closed its 10-song set by playing "You Wanna Be A Star," a song written by Hager, St. James, and Alford. According to Alford in an interview after the performance, the song aired on an episode of the 1980s television series Fame, and has not been played live by Rough Cutt since the 1980s when arena audiences of the time failed to appreciate it. Rough Cutt is currently writing and recording new music and is in negotiations with an unnamed record label. Former Rough Cutt bassist Matt Thorne most recently played rhythm guitar with the band Platinum Overdose whose debut album, ''Murder In High Heels'', was released on the Demon Doll label in August 2019.

Line-ups

Mk. 1 (1982–1983)

* Paul Shortino: lead vocals * Jake E. Lee: guitar * Claude Schnell: keyboards * Joey Cristofanilli: bass * Dave Alford: drums, backing vocals

Mk. 2 (1983–1984)

* Paul Shortino: lead vocals * Craig Goldy: guitar * Chris Hager: guitar * Matt Thorr: bass, backing vocals * Dave Alford: drums, backing vocals

Mk. 3 (1984–1987) (2016–2019)

* Paul Shortino: lead vocals * Amir Derakh: guitar, synthesizers * Chris Hager: guitar * Matt Thorr: bass, backing vocals * Dave Alford: drums, backing vocals

Mk. 4 (1987)

* Parramore McCarty: Lead vocals * Amir Derakh: Guitar * Chris Hager: Guitar * Matt Thorr: Bass, backing vocals * Dave Alford: drums, backing vocals

Mk. 5 (2000)

* Paul Shortino: lead vocals * Jimmy Crespo: guitar * J.T. Garrett: keyboards * Sean McNabb: bass * John Homan: drums

Mk. 6 (2019)

* Dave Alford: drums * Chris Hager: guitar * Steven St. James: lead vocals * Jeff Buehner: bass * Darren Housholder: guitar

Mk. 7 (2021)

* Paul Shortino: lead vocals * Amir Derakh: guitar, synthesizers * Matt Thorne: bass * Carlos Cavazo: guest guitar solos on three tracks

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1985) * '' Wants You!'' (1986) * ''Rough Cutt 3'' (2021)

Live albums

* '' Rough Cutt Live'' (1996)

Compilation albums

* ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...

'' (2008) * ''The Fiddler Sessions '84'' (2019)

Guest appearances

* "A Little Kindness", "Used & Abused" (from the compilation album, ''LA's Hottest Unsigned Rock Bands'') (1983) * "Try a Little Harder" (from the compilation album, ''KLOS 95 1/2: Rock to Riches'') (1983) * '' Super Rock '85 in Japan'' VHS (1985)

References

External links

Rough Cutt official website

Paul Shortino official website

Matt Thorne's MT Studios website

Amir Derakh official website

Chris Hager official website

Rough Cutt Rock Detector page
{{Authority control Glam metal musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 Musical groups reestablished in 2000 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups from Los Angeles