In early 2010, it was announced that the band will continue with frontman Shaant Hacikyan as the only original member to continue, joining with former members of Mandy K.
Michael Brady, Patrick MacLean, Kevin Scoma , and Mike Novak have joined Hacikyan to release Cute's single, "Harbour" which is available free for download on Shaant Hacikyan's Twitter account and here.
Pre-2010...
Having paired off in other local combos – singer Shaant Hacikyan and guitarist Jeff Czum in one, old bassist Fred Cimato and drummer Tom Falcone in another – Cute Is What We Aim For came together in January 2005 in Buffalo, New York, driven by the four members' desire to cast their own upbeat spin onto modern pop.
The Cute Is What We Aim For moniker was adopted as a 'homage to a friend'. It is also said that the term "cute" was used by Shaant in high school as another word for "gay", and in a phone conversation between himself and guitarist Jeff, Shaant stated "Cute is what we aim for." in reference to picking a name, and the band decided to use that phrase. The band was productive from the get-go, cranking out a series of bedroom demo recordings just moments after uniting. They posted the tracks on MySpace and PureVolume and quickly captured the attention of the blogosphere. From the start, there was a genuine connection between Cute and the kids.
Cute's online presence allowed for widespread national exposure that once upon a time could only be garnered through full-steam-ahead touring. With songs like "Lyrical Lies" and "Finger Twist and Split" lighting up broadband connections coast-to-coast, the band were eager to establish themselves as an equally poptastic live act. In the spring of 2005, mere months after getting started, Cute won PureVolume's online Battle of the Bands competition, securing a high-profile spot at that year's Bamboozle. They spent the following months recording and playing more shows, building upon their new fanbase while simultaneously fending off the many record companies that were vying for their services. But when the call came from Fueled By Ramen, they knew that they'd found the right home.
The band signed onto the Fueled By Ramen roster in November and quickly began getting ready to record their debut album. In February 2006, they packed their gear into the van and headed down to Beltsville, Maryland to work with producer Matt Squire. Squire, known for his work with such bands as Panic! At the Disco and Thrice, helped the band focus their energies, direct their efforts, and encourage them to fully find their own voice in the studio.
The resulting The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch more than fulfills Cute's mission to mesh jubilant tunefulness with savvy verbal gymnastics. Among the album's many highlights is the first single, "There's a Class for This," which features guest vocals from William Beckett from The Academy Is.. and on stage Martin Johnson from Boys Like Girls.
Since finishing the record, Cute has begun playing more and more live shows, including headline dates and tours alongside such artists as Punchline and Jack's Mannequin.
Bassist Fred Cimato left the band in October 2006. He was replaced by former October Fall member Jack Marin. However, in April 2007, it was revealed that Marin had left the band and Cimato had returned in order to replace him.
In early 2008, Cimato once again left the band, and solo artist and old Dave Melillo officially joined as his replacement. Melillo had been playing with the band for a while as an extra rhythm guitarist, but is now an official member.
On September 2nd 2008, drummer, Tom Falcone, anounced that he would be leaving the band. Many speculated because the band was on tour and Falcone had been missing for a few shows. Falcone released an offical statement via ap.net stating that "I simply left the band because the personality conflicts and daily drama made it impossible for me to live a peaceful, happy life." Also adding that "I assure you that no one came looking for me." Shaant nor any of the other members have commented on the situation. Former Roses Are Red drummer Michael Lasaponara is currently filling in on drums.
The band split ways August 18th, 2009. Dave Melillo told Alternative Press Magazine in an online interview "The story pretty much is we got off [the] Take Action! [tour], and the idea was to write a record. We didn't have any type of management, we didn't have anyone that we were really working with, so we didn't have a direction, we didn't have any type of game plan. But we were really trying."
In recent news (2010) Jeff Czum was seen filling in for a guitarist during a show in Australia.
There's A Class For This
Cute Is What We Aim For Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What ya got now, gotta gotta give up
What ya got now
What ya got now
We keep ourselves a mystery
But we provide, provide the clues
So the rest is up to you
We are so serious
So I guess it comes down to how curious you can be
What ya got now, gotta gotta give up
What ya got now, gotta gotta give up
What ya got now
What ya got now
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I may be ugly, but they sure love to stare
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I may be ugly, but they sure, but they sure,
Love to stare
And you check labels more than the FCC
And these calories are, are killing me
But this is a sticky situation
So keep your chest in the game
And drop your jaw and coax me
What ya got now, gotta gotta give up
What ya got now, gotta gotta give up
What ya got now
What ya got now
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I may be ugly, but they sure love to stare
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I may be ugly, but they sure, but they sure
This is a party without the people
This is a show without the sound
This is a dance without the steps
Now I gave you the clues so find what I found
This is a party without the people
This is a show without the sound
So I gave you the clues
So find what I found
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I may be ugly, but they sure love to stare
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I may be ugly, but they sure love to stare
In Cute is What We Aim For's song There's A Class For This, the lyrics suggest that the band is providing clues to their personality and character, but the rest is up to the listener to decode. The lyrics are not straightforward and it takes a curious and inquisitive listener to really understand the meaning behind them. The performer talks about drama not following them, but still being present in their lives, and how they may not be physically attractive, but people still can't help but stare. The song ends with the lines "This is a party without the people, this is a show without the sound, so I gave you the clues, so find what I found." This refers to the idea that the listener has been given the material to work with, but it's up to them to make sense of it.
The message of this song is about figuring out who you truly are, and how to present that to the world. It's about not being afraid to be yourself, even when it's not what everyone else expects from you. Cute Is What We Aim For uses metaphors, wordplay and a captivating melody to convey this message.
Line by Line Meaning
What ya got now, gotta gotta give up
Let go of what you have now
We keep ourselves a mystery
We are secretive
But we provide, provide the clues
However, we give hints
So the rest is up to you
It's up to you to figure it out
And don't forget to check the obvious
Don't overlook the obvious
We are so serious
We take ourselves seriously
So I guess it comes down to how curious you can be
It depends on how inquisitive you are
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I don't attract drama, it follows me
I may be ugly, but they sure love to stare
Despite my appearance, people still stare at me
And you check labels more than the FCC
You inspect things thoroughly
And these calories are, are killing me
Eating too much is affecting me badly
But this is a sticky situation
This is a difficult problem
So keep your chest in the game
Stay invested in the situation
And drop your jaw and coax me
Be amazed and try to convince me
This is a party without the people
This lacks excitement
This is a show without the sound
This is dull
This is a dance without the steps
This is uncoordinated
Now I gave you the clues so find what I found
I shared hints, it's up to you to solve it
Drama doesn't follow me, it rides on my back
I don't attract drama, it follows me
I may be ugly, but they sure love to stare
Regardless of my appearance, people stare at me
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FERNANDO CIMATO, JEFF CZUM, JEFFREY MARTIN CZUM, SHAANT HACIKYAN, SHAANT TIMOTHY HACIKYAN, TOM FALCONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mireyacaiza1649
What you got now gotta, gotta give it up
What you got now gotta, gotta give it up
What you got now, what you got no
We keep ourselves a mystery
But we provide, provide the clues
So the rest is up to you
and don't forget to check the obvious
We are so serious
So I guess it all comes down to how curious you can be
What you got now gotta, gotta give it up
What you got now gotta, gotta give it up
What you got now, what you got now
Drama doesn't follow me it rides on my back
I may be ugly but they sure love to stare
Drama doesn't follow me it rides on my back
I may be ugly but they sure ,they sure, love to stare
And you check labels more than the FCC
and these calories are, are killing me
This is a sticky situation
So keep your chest in the game
And drop your jaw and coax me
(just coax me, just coax me)
What you got now gotta, gotta give it up
What you got now gotta, gotta give it up
What you got now, what you got now
Drama doesn't follow me it rides on my back
I may be ugly but they sure love to stare
Drama doesn't follow me it rides on my back
I may be ugly but they sure (they sure) they sure
This is a party without the people
This is a show without the sounds
this is a dance without the steps
Now I gave you the clues, so find what I've found
This is a party without the people
This is a show without the sounds
So I gave you the clues, so find what I've found
Drama doesn't follow me it rides on my back
I may be ugly but they sure love to stare
Drama doesn't follow me it rides on my back
I may be ugly but they sure love to stare
@domesticcat1725
There's still a lot of good music! And even more so back when you commented this!
Pierce the Veil dropped Misadventures in '16 and Sleeping With Sirens gave us Madness in '15 and both of these albums are both good and heavily inspired by noughties emo!
And you can still find sooo many of these influences in pop too. TOP are MCR fans, even covered Cancer, and their original lyrics criticise the govts in a similar way to Green Day; Billie Eilish sings in a style that Brand New and P!aTD used really well at certain points, etc
Aaaand around 2016 P!aTD, FOB, and Gerard dropped some good bops too. Not the same style as when they were young, but still quite damn good
And now MCR is back too, like we could ask for more. And for those who don't like MCR, American Football are back too.
Aaaaaand let's not forget that this is the only age when 10-to-30-year-old music is still relevant, the only age when bands both as young as Green Day or even Guns'n'Roses are still touring with their decades old hits.
Sure, maybe more good music was made 14 years ago, but why fret? Between Youtube, Spotify, and Soundcloud, there's literally nothing stopping you from enjoying millions of songs from any year between 500bc and 2020
@jalyssarenee1855
15 years ago I was 14 and now I’m 29 and this song still jams ❤️
@BradyRowland
15 years ago i was 3 listening to this with my cool teenager cousins at the family reunion 😂
@melissawinn3295
I was 7 in 2006 I'm almost 23 now
@ChrisMacal
Same I'm 29 turning 30 this auguAugust. Time flies
@brookedavis4946
this ^ lmao SAME.
@exsashank2
I was 12 then, now I'm 27. Such good times back then and I didn't even realize it.
Btw, this remains one of the oldest videos on YouTube still. 2006 was when youtube was still in its infancy
@dannyf21
15 years after NHL 07 and I still love this song
The days of creating my Under 21 Leagues with this soundtrack, God damn take me back to those simulation days 😪
@CazCrayGaming
It's crazy b/c I heard this song in NHL 07 and a decade and a half later its STILL a bop.
@joec4546
This was the song In NHL 07 haha Ovie cover I was like 10 it was awesome
@rogerpunk8132
This band’s second album ROTATION was a total masterpiece. Every song is good. Never understood why they didn’t become bigger