Enjoy this talk with my cool neighbor here in Santa Cruz. Check out her bands @strpwr, @trixierocks_, and @lovefield100 on Instagram.
https://strpwr.bandcamp.com/album/magic
What is your name? Where are you from? And what do you do?
My full name is Riley Cutler-Long. I’m from Riverside, California, and I currently work in a research laboratory—but I also play a lot of music.
What kind of research are you doing?
Cancer research, focusing on what controls the cell cycle.
How do you define what art is? And what makes someone an artist?
I feel like one of the most important things about art for me is storytelling. Being able to come up with a story from a piece of art is really important because that’s also what makes you human. I also think it should be evocative.
Reflection prompt – From the time that you have woken up to having this conversation right now, try to reflect on how much you have interacted with art today.
Lately, I’ve been getting really distracted by license plates and finding words or phrases in them—not vanity plates, just the regular ones you get when you register a car. I don’t know if that’s necessarily art, but it’s a fun moment when I’m walking and not thinking about my phone or work or anything. In that little game I play with myself, I find my mind wandering and have a creative moment. Today, I also played music, which was fun.
I know you are in a few different bands. Is it three?
Yes, it’s three now.
Could you tell me a little bit about them and how you balance being a part of all of them?
I never really thought I could be in a band until I came to college. I moved in with my current housemate and friend from back home, Nico. I always watched him play in bands in high school and thought it was really cool. In kind of an insecure teenager way, I was like, I could never do this—these boys just know how to play music, and this is something I wouldn’t be able to do.
Then I moved in with him, and he was always planning to start a band (Starpower) when he got to college. He asked me if I wanted to play bass for him. It turned into a real band, and it was my first time really playing music. It took me a while to feel like I could actually play, and I still don’t completely feel like I can—but last summer, I was invited to play with Henry from the band Ladders. I was flattered; it was kind of an ego boost. That’s how I started playing with him in my second band, Trixie.
That was last summer. Now, my very close friend Jackson has written a bunch of country songs that are really fun, so we started performing them live as Lovefield.
Honestly, I don’t know how I balance it all. I use a calendar and just schedule everything out. Sometimes it gets to be a bit much, but I always say yes to a lot of things—because they sound fun, but also because I feel a strong sense of commitment to all of them. Even if it got to be too much, I don’t think I could stop, because it’s just so fun. I don’t know—music is really fun.
When do you think your love for music started? Do you have any significant memories of when you first started playing?
I grew up with a cool Gen X dad—he introduced me to The Modern Lovers and Talking Heads. I don’t know anyone who loves David Bowie more than him. When I was figuring out what was cool and realized vinyl records were cool, I was so excited to look through my dad’s collection and steal all the good stuff—but it was basically all Bowie.
He was a cool music guy and took me to concerts. I had his electric guitar.
But I didn’t really fall in love with music until I started playing with other people. I didn’t feel like I could really play until I started collaborating. Especially with people who were better than me—and that truism is universal: the best way to get better is to do it with people who know more than you.
Do you remember the first show your dad took you to?
Yeah, it was actually the Avett Brothers. They were kind of a cringe Mumford & Sons-type band, but I was super into them when I was younger.
Also, very pivotal—my dad once said, “If I buy you this album, do you promise me you’re going to listen to it?” I was like, sure, whatever. The album was In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. That kind of set my trajectory.
Apart from music, do you practice any other creative mediums?
I inherited a pretty nice medium format camera from my dad, and for most of last year I worked at Bay Photo, so I could develop and scan my film for free. I was taking a lot of photos last year, but now it’s just too expensive. I still have some friends who could do it for me, but buying film is expensive.
I do like taking pictures.
For a while last year, I was making comics. I haven’t made one in a while, but some of my stuff has been in this Bay Area zine called Trickshot—shout out to Kaya, they’re awesome.
When I don’t feel creative, that’s when I start to feel down, so I try to keep it flowing however I can.
Who are your biggest inspirations—musicians or not?
Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Silver Jews—David Berman. I don’t know if he inspires me, because he’s so sad and depressing, but I love the way he writes lyrics.
I also really like how Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse writes lyrics—they’re nonsensical but have a great sense of rhythm.
Those are two people I want to be more like musically.
For general inspiration, it’s my mom. I want to be more like my mom. It’s a cliché, but I should’ve never been mean to her as a teenager, and the older I get, the more I’m turning into her.
Any biology inspirations?
I don’t know—there are these really cool Japanese researchers, Reiji and Tsuneko Okazaki, who discovered something called Okazaki fragments. It’s just this insane biology thing—I can’t even explain it. You just have to watch a video. But it’s basically this crazy complex that replicates your DNA, and they figured it out.
How have you liked your time in Santa Cruz so far, and where do you see yourself going once school is over?
I don’t think I want to stay, but I’ve come to a place where I really, really love it.
When I first moved here, I was a little confused by how perfect it was. Growing up in Riverside, we had some of the worst air quality in the nation, and it’s just a sprawling suburb.
I guess I moved here and it felt too different, and college can make you feel kind of insulated. But now I’m so grateful—I can go on hikes, go to the beach.
Being here and having the opportunity to play shows is really cool. As silly as SubRosa is, it’s also really cool—it’s an anarcho-communist space.
I’ve been making a lot of friends with locals too—I have an 80-year-old friend named Linda (shout out Linda).
TL;DR: Santa Cruz is a great place to go to college, but I’m ready for the big city.
Do you think there is a good creative community in Santa Cruz? If so, how has it helped you gain perspective on art, and how have you grown as an artist?
Yes, I do think there’s a good community.
Sometimes I regret coming here—for whatever reason I might be feeling at the time—but honestly, the music brings me back and makes me really appreciative.
In high school, I really wanted to go to Berkeley because it seemed weird and musical. Nico and I talk about this—whatever we thought Berkeley was, we actually found it in Santa Cruz.
Which I guess is to say, what we thought college would be like—we found that here.
There’s such a nice community of artists, and I’ve met so many people. Music and art are also about connections, and being in three bands is the result of that. It’s the people I’ve met.
What are your goals with music and creativity as a whole? Could you see yourself having a career in the arts, or do you have other aspirations?
Honestly, the goal is just to have fun. I’ve recorded some stuff that should be coming out, and it’s cool to have proof that I did something.
But it’s really about fun and distraction—because when you’re playing music, you can only think about that.
It’s hard for me to get anxious or distracted when I’m playing.
I definitely don’t have any career goals with music—I think that would ruin it for me.
It’s nice to have a hobby that I let be what it is, without trying to perfect it.
Rapid Fire Questions
Favorite local band?
Parfait, @parfairt_band on Instagram.
If you could eliminate one genre of music forever, what would it be?
Pop-punk.
Favorite fruit?
Banana.
Something you’ve been obsessed with recently?
“One for the Catholic Girls” by Simon Joyner.
Favorite movie?
Repo Man.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee.
Favorite show you’ve ever been to?
Alex G at Pappy & Harriet’s.
Favorite animal?
Dog.
Current favorite song?
“Tennessee” by Silver Jews.
To wrap this up, what does the near future look like for you? Future projects, shows, or just fun summer plans?
I really like Santa Cruz summers because I don’t have to go to parties—I can just chill, ride my bike, and play music.
I love playing during the day and then going home to watch a movie.
I just got a truck, so hopefully I can sit in the back on West Cliff, look at the ocean, and think about things.
My band Starpower has a song out called Magic on Bandcamp. We also have an album coming out—hopefully next month.
Hopefully, my other bands will release music soon too.
Any shows coming up?
My band Trixie is playing at the Crepe Place with Racecourse on June 19th for Redwood Records. I’m really looking forward to that one.
Pretty Things That Shine 
Leave a comment