Gatsbys American Dream is a Seattle-based rock band. Since their founding i… Read Full Bio ↴Gatsbys American Dream is a Seattle-based rock band. Since their founding in 2001, they have written four albums, and one EP. They have also appeared on a few compilations with original songs and covers. Gatsbys American Dream gets their name from The Great Gatsby, a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although it's widely agreed the band is hard to classify into one subgenre, it can be said they draw influence from alternative pop/rock, indie pop, indie rock, post-hardcore, and pop punk.

Gatsbys began with the disbanding of two bands called One Point Two and Good For Nothing. Bobby Darling was a guitarist for One Point Two and met up with Nic Newsham and Ryan Van Wieringen who were the lead singer and guitarist from Good For Nothing. The completion of Gatsbys didn't come until they recruited Kirk Huffman (formerly of K Through Six) to play bass and Dustin McGhye as their drummer, to make them a five piece band.

When Kaylan Cloyd from the band Acceptance got his hands on a Gatsbys demo, he handed it off to record label Rocketstar Recordings owner Darrick Bourgeois. Shortly after this, they were signed by the local record label and worked with producer Aaron Sprinkle to record their 2002 debut album Why We Fight. Their first show after being signed drew in a crowd of 500+, which was largely due in part to the extensive promoting by Rocketstar.

After Why We Fight came out, the band regrouped dropping drummer McGhye and picked up the Waxwing and Bugs in Amber drummer Rudy Gajadhar. Then in 2003, the band released their second album titled Ribbons & Sugar. Ribbons & Sugar was a concept album loosely based around George Orwell's fable Animal Farm. It became apparent to critics and fans alike after this release of Ribbons & Sugar that literary references in their lyrics were a thing to be expected. It also found them exploring ambitious experimental pop, opting for strange time signatures and tempo changes.

Gatsbys signed a two record deal with Rocketstar, and with Ribbons & Sugar being their second album, their Rocketstar contract ended and both parties decided that neither wanted to renew the contract, and both decided to go their separate ways.

Following its release, the band started to field numerous offers from other, bigger record labels. Slightly embittered by the receiving, the band signed a one-record deal with Chicago-based LLR Records (formerly Little League Records) in 2004. Their contractual record, the more mellow and subdued In the Land of Lost Monsters EP, was in part a response to the post-Ribbons record label attention the band received. Just about all of the labels that approached them thought they were excellent musicians, but wanted the band to write choruses for the next record, a normal songwriting technique the band had up to that point, seemed to avoid. Gatsbys, feeling uncomfortable about forgoing their integrity in order to get a record contract, continued writing music that they liked and in the way they wanted to write it. Doing so simply brought them more acclaim as a progressive rock band.

Several months after the EP's release, the band settled on Fearless Records, home of such acts as the now-defunct post-hardcore/indie rock legends At The Drive-In. With their 2005 album Volcano, it became clear that, as a band, the group had progressed to further musical heights, and was highly capable of writing music that is different from other bands that are usually clumped into the same category as Gatsbys.

Volcano having its central theme revolving around, what else but a volcano (particularly Pompeii, which becomes clear after seeing the title of the second song on the album) had yet once again literary references through out it, ranging from Pee Wee's Big Adventure, to Lord of the Flies, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Enders Game, and Speaker for the Dead.

During the touring that followed the release of Volcano, Gatsby's added a new member, Kyle O'Quin who is also a member of the band Surrounded By Lions.

During the tour that followed the release of Volcano, Gatsbys added Kyle O'Quin (also a member of the band Surrounded By Lions). A few months after O'Quin was added to the band, Ryan Van Wieringen met up with the band in Arizona while they were on tour there and rejoined the line up. Since then, he has been touring and performing live as part of the band.

Van Wieringen did not, however, participate in writing any guitar parts for their self-titled fourth full-length album, released August 8th, 2006. The album bears all the hallmarks of a Gatsbys record: an album of musical experimentation in a pop context, peppered with numerous pop culture and literary references, which appear in both the lyrics and song titles, ranging from works by Philip K. Dick to the television show Lost. The album is, however, noticeably bitter towards the music industry, even compared to previous Gatsbys releases, scalding both current "trend" bands and greedy record labels.

The band has been relatively inactive since the release of the self-titled album. The band has played a handful of shows in and around the Seattle area, and on April 27, 2007, they played their first out-of-state show since the self-titled album's release at Colgate University. In a forum post at Gatsbys fansite Snicker At The Swine, Bobby stated the following on the band's decision to ever go on tour again or write another album:

“ If i find I have more to say with Gatsbys I will write more music. We're not gonna just play to play. The only way I'll do more Gatsbys is if we are making new music. Which I am totally open to. I really have been working on new Gatsbys music. I'll probably lay down some demo shit the next time I'm at Casey's.”

During the hiatus, most of the members have started side projects.
Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground.
Wild Orchid Children.
Redredblue.
Keith Ledger.
Search/Rescue.
Zero Cool.
Rudy also played all of the drum parts for Forgive Durden's release "Razia's Shadow".

Cut the Strings
Gatsby's American Dream Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

this is frustration
this is me using the same tricks and getting sick of it
this is me throwing pieces against the wall hoping something will stick
this is awful
awful to think who decides what we should or should not say
what ends up on the cutting room floor
apparently it's not my choice to make
so here's another one

is it good enough
please do accept
i need this
if it's not up to par i just can't think of what i might do next
i'll just appease and conform to your tastes
let's not forget about who we are
it gets in the way

let's not forget who we used to be
it will never be the same

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Gatsby's American Dream's song Cut the Strings depicts frustration and disappointment with the creative process, and the pressure to conform to the expectations of society. The opening line "this is frustration" sets the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer expresses their dissatisfaction with their own artistic abilities, and their reliance on the same tricks they have used in the past. The line "this is me throwing pieces against the wall hoping something will stick" suggests that the singer is struggling to create something new and original and is becoming increasingly desperate in their attempts.

The song also highlights the power dynamic between artists and those who hold the decision-making authority, the line "who decides what we should or should not say" speaks to this tension. The lyrics suggest that the artist's creative control is limited, as decisions about what ultimately ends up on the "cutting room floor" are out of their hands. The song implies that this is frustrating and debilitating to the artist's sense of self.

Overall, Cut the Strings is a commentary on the intersection between creativity and societal conformity, highlighting the struggle many artists face to balance their own creative impulses with the expectations and opinions of others.

Line by Line Meaning

this is frustration
This situation is causing me to feel irritated.

this is me using the same tricks and getting sick of it
I am attempting to employ my usual methods, but I am becoming weary of the repetition.

this is me throwing pieces against the wall hoping something will stick
I am trying various approaches with the hope that one of them will be successful.

this is awful
This is an unpleasant circumstance.

awful to think who decides what we should or should not say
It is distressing to consider who has control over our expression.

what ends up on the cutting room floor
What is ultimately excluded from the final product.

apparently it's not my choice to make
Regrettably, I do not have control in this situation.

so here's another one
I am presenting an additional attempt.

is it good enough
Is my effort satisfactory?

please do accept
Kindly accept my offering.

i need this
This is imperative for me.

if it's not up to par i just can't think of what i might do next
If this is deemed unsatisfactory, I am uncertain of my next course of action.

i'll just appease and conform to your tastes
I will submit to your preferences and attempt to satisfy them.

let's not forget about who we are
It is important to remember our identities.

it gets in the way
This can create issues and obstacles.