ENTERTAINMENT
He has an English literature degree. He worked as a bartender, elementary educator and a landscaper. But Theodore James Stevens never thought he’d be a rock star. And he still doesn’t.
Stevens is a guitarist and backup vocalist for Cursive, an internationally known indie band from Omaha, Neb. On March 23, the band’s tour, with headlining band Alkaline Trio, hit Revolution Live, a Fort Lauderdale venue. After their set, the UP got an exclusive interview with Stevens.
The band has toured for four weeks and has two more to go until the tour is over.
“The reaction here was one of the best ones we’ve ever had,” Stevens said, much like any other musician might say of their set in a given city. “No, I’m being serious. I wouldn’t bullshit you. But this is also our first show in South Florida in a very long time.”
As for what happens after the tour, Stevens said that “nothing else is planned as of now.” Tim Kasher, the band’s front man, will be recording a solo album and directing a movie. Stevens is also looking to spend some time on himself.
“I’m gonna start working on my own project. Cursive created in me a sense of self-employment, and I’d like to start my own business, though I don’t know what it’s going to be,” said Stevens. Before he was finished talking, however, a girl walked up and apologized for interrupting him.
Jessica Nagy, a sophomore nursing student from Barry University, explained that she had waited to see the band since 10th grade in high school. She apologized more than 10 times and then left, but not before saying, “Thank you so much for the show. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
When asked about stardom, Stevens shook his head, saying, “No, I am definitely not a rock star. I’m a guitarist. I have a wife. I live in Omaha. And I have to pay the mortgage, just like the rest.”
Some of Cursive’s songs are somewhat anti-religious, with titles like “Big Bang” and “Rise Up! Rise Up!” in which Kasher writes:
I wasted half my life on the thought
that I’d live forever!
I wasn’t raised, to seize the day, but to work and worship
’cause he that liveth and believeth supposedly never dies.
Stevens said the band has taken its share of flak for its lyrics, but “We’re gonna do what we feel is our musical vision. If we compromise, it’s amongst ourselves, not between us and the label. And, if we have to, we choose our little battles.”
The band has maintained its philosophy since the beginning.
“We all come from a background of Catholicism, and we have things to say about it. The band allows us to do so. In fact, Tim had a very powerful song about religion in our first album, so this really goes back to then,” said Stevens.
If he could send a message to students, it’d be to stay in school, but he elaborated.
“I wish I could have seen the connection between engineering and music when I was a student, what with music engineering on the rise. But I left engineering to pursue English,” said Stevens. “Study what you love. Take your idea of what life should be and look at what your life demands of you. Then, all you have to do is put them together.”
To learn more about Cursive, visit their Web site at www.cursivearmy.com.
