Photo by Elio Marini
Soft Cuff, which plays VFW Post 39 in St. Petersburg, Florida on Aug. 17, 2024.
The new St. Petersburg band was borne of 2023 sessions between bassist Brian Schanck and multi-instrumentalist Michael Bostinto who were working on another project, Soda Die. Bostinto started to put break beats on top of riffs from Schanck. One song snowballed into another, and soon the duo had a full EP recorded. They never intended to do anything with it, but Bostinto—who played in St. Pete rock export Trés Bien and currently gigs solo as Mike Tony—felt an urge to get the music into the real world.
“Brian’s like, ‘Well, let me reach out to a couple legends in the game, and we can see if they’d be interested,” Bostinto told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Sanchez—who played in revered rock outfits like Veiny Hands and Fake Nudes—had other plans.
“I was never gonna play live music again, ever in my life,” she told CL.
But she heard the early demos, and as someone who almost exclusively listens to instrumental music and hip-hop, was drawn to a sound driven by bass lines reminiscent of Menahan Street Band and the soul racket of the Dap-Kings, plus crunchy, punchy, pronounced drums that could go on a rap record.
Still, she had about 1,000 other things that needed her attention.
“Then they were like, ‘It’s gonna be super chill. We’re actually just gonna play these two shows, and we’re just gonna party,’” Sanchez added. Finding out that Shane Schuch—a guitarist and songwriter who rose to prominence with Lujo Records signee Mouse Fire and then with his production under the Pajamas moniker—was on board was icing on the cake.
“Shane is a legend that I always wanted to be friends with. I don’t know how you say ‘no’ to that, so I couldn’t, and I just didn’t,” Sanchez said.
Soft Cuff made its live debut at The Bends in St. Petersburg last January then opened for psych-rock band Levitation Room in Ybor City five months later; next month, the band plays an EP release show at the VFW Post 39 just a short drive away from the garage studio where Soft Cuff was born.
Tickets to see Soft Cuff play St. Petersburg's VFW Post 39 on Saturday, Aug. 17 are still available and start at $12.
Maybe it’s because they’re all adults now, but inside the video squares of a virtual meeting, Schanck, Schuch, Sanchez and Bostinto look like four of the happiest people ever, complementing Shane’s new vacation hat, and just generally being content to be in the same room—even chat room—together. The chemistry translates to Soft Cuff’s weekly practice, too.
“This is next level. The way we write, the way we play together, and what Mikey and Brian came up with in the beginning is such a great foundation for us,” Schuch said. The earliest iterations of Mouse Fire were vocal-less, and the pressure of not having to think about lyrics—and just work off seeds of ideas—means Schuch is on a pure expedition to compose.
He learned the psychedelic and wah-wah-ed guitar riffs, and Sanchez leaned into the keyboard tones, which come from a 1967 Farfisa Combo Deluxe Compact Organ heard on songs like “96 Tears” by Midwestern Mexican-American garage rock band Question Mark & The Mysterians.
“We can get cinematic. We can get direct. We can get loud and get big. We can get soft. We can do anything we want,” Schuch added. “Instrumental music has been around forever. There’s so much of it that we forget that pop music has made vocals so normal that you kind of forget, ‘Oh, you can listen to music without lyrics.’”
While members’ influences range from soul voyagers Surprise Chef to Adrian Younge, Badbadnotgood, or King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, inspiration for tones and texture also comes from Booker T. & the M.G.’s and even harpist Dorothy Ashby. In a video for “TuPay” recorded at Bananas Records, Soft Cuff feels like a band that could fill up clubs across the U.S.
Still, the local release show, a New York City debut set for September at Brooklyn’s Sultan Room, the possibility of collaborating with rappers, and picking up TV and movie placements are what’s on the immediate horizon for the gang.
If it wanted to, Bostinto said, the band could release another EP next month. “And that’s not to mention the 20-something other ideas that we have to just iron out and flesh out at this point.”
All Soft Cuff really needs for now, however, is each other.
“Times are really hard right now for different people and for different reasons. And going into this, the priorities have been to just have fun,” Schanck said. “I’ve loved all bands I’ve been in for different reasons, but I can definitely say that this is my favorite thing I’ve ever done, hands down.” See a list of the best Tampa Bay instrumental bands you can listen to right now.
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UPDATED: 07/25/24 12:37 p.m. Updated to make clear that Soft Cuff music was born in 2023.
