Kutless

Kutless

Kutless is a Christian rock band from Portland, Oregon.

Biography

Formed in Portland, Oregon as a Worship band called Call Box in 2000. They changed their name to "Kutless" before releasing their first three track EP followed up by their full-length album in 2002 on BEC Recordings. Kutless chose their name because of a specific Bible verse. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (NRSV). Because of this, the band says, "He took our cuts for us... leaving us 'Kutless'." Their first single was called "Your Touch". Their second single from their debut album, "Run", would go on to hold the record for the longest charting song in the history of the R&R Top 40 charts and be the most played song of the first 5 years on ChristianRock.net.

In 2004, after releasing their second full-length album, Sea of Faces, Kutless would go on their first headlining tour, X 2004. That same year, Kutless was slated to perform at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, but could not make it due to the airline canceling their flight. In 2005, Kutless released their first worship album, Strong Tower. After recording Strong Tower, but before it was released, bassist Kyle Zeigler and drummer Kyle Mitchell left the band to form VERBATIM Records, a nationally distributed record label based in the Portland, Oregon area. They were replaced with bassist Dave Luetkenhoelter and drummer Jeffrey Gilbert, who both came from the recently broken-up Christian rock band Seven Places. Kutless also went on the Strong Tower tour that year. Later in 2005, Kutless began recording their fourth full-length album. The album, Hearts of the Innocent, was released on March 21, 2006. The band followed up with a tour, also featuring Stellar Kart, Disciple, and Falling Up.

On the March 28, 2006, episode of NBC's Scrubs, titled "My Bright Idea", a significant portion of the song "All Of The Words" from Sea of Faces was featured during the final scene. The episode hit an eleven week ratings high, and was among the first Scrubs episodes that can be downloaded on iTunes. Laura Hutfless from the William Morris Agency said, "Placing the Kutless song, 'All the Words', on Scrubs was truly a team effort. We at William Morris were all very pleased with the way the song was incorporated into the television show and are thrilled that millions of Americans have now been exposed to this incredible band. I'm confident that this is only the beginning for Kutless as they continue to give their audience captivating and inspirational music and win new fans everyday." Kutless’s ground breaking video "Shut Me Out" has been placed on an exclusive Microsoft/Wal-Mart DVD give-a-way. Consumers who purchase the new Xbox game The Apprentice, featuring Donald Trump, will receive a copy of Kutless's new video. This is estimated to be in the hands of 350,000 gamers. Plus, Target Stores announced that the "Shut Me Out" video will play nationwide in all stores on Target TV (Red Channel) beginning in May (from Big Machine Media). Suzuki Motor Corporation announced that it will be the sole sponsor of the band's Hearts of the Innocent tour.

In May 2007, longtime Kutless guitarist Ryan Shrout decided to leave Kutless, after his daughter was diagnosed with a rare eye disease. Shrout chose to support his family during this time, and left Kutless to do so. Another guitarist named Nick De Partee is currently filling in, and has recently been a tech for the band before playing guitar for them. [1] This all comes during the band's planning for their fifth full-length album, which is possibly going to release in 2008. Due to James Mead being the band's primary guitarist now, there are rumors of the band picking up more of a metal sound to their music, though none of this has been confirmed by the actual band members.

In 2005 they launched their album,"Strong Tower", Which was the album of their #1 hit,"Strong Tower." The song "Strong Tower" reached the 1 spot on 20, The Countdown Magazine, a worldwide Christian music show voted on by voters all around the world. Kutless additionally held a concert benefiting Hurricane Katrina victims which raise more than $50,000 at Rolling Hills Community Church in Tualatin, OR..

In the Christian video game Dance Praise, three Kutless songs can be added to the song lineup via the Dance Praise expansion pack, Dance Praise Expansion Pack Volume 3: Pop & Rock Hits. The songs are "Strong Tower", "Sea of Faces", and "Run".

MTV2's Headbanger's Ball shows Kutless music videos, including "Shut Me Out" and "Somewhere in the Sky".

Kutless is a popular band on ChristianRock.net. They are currently the 22nd most requested band of 2007, 10th in 2006 and 2005, 9th in 2004, 2nd, their peak, in 2003, and 6th in 2002.

Members

Current

• Jon Micah Sumrall - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, piano (2000-present)
• James Mead - guitar, backing vocals (2000-present)
• Dave Luetkenhoelter - bass (2005-present)
• Jeffrey Gilbert - drums (2005-present)
• Nick DePartee - guitar, backing vocals (2007-present)

Former

• Nathan Stuart, A.K.A. "Stu" - bass (2000-2002)
• Kyle Zeigler - bass (2002-2005)
• Kyle Mitchell - drums (2000-2005)
• Ryan Shrout - guitar, backing vocals (2000-2007)

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Label(s)	Status
2002	Kutless	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records
2004	Sea of Faces	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records
2005	Strong Tower	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records
2006	Hearts of the Innocent	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records

Miscellaneous Releases

Year	Title	Label(s)	Type of Release
2002	Kutless DVD	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records	DVD
2006	Hearts of the Innocent: Special Edition	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records	CD/DVD
2006	Live From Portland	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records	Live Album (CD/DVD)
2007	Strong Tower: Deluxe Edition	BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records	Re-release

Music Videos

• All videos copyright BEC Recordings 2002-2006

Year	Title	Album	Source
2002	Your Touch	Kutless	Kutless.com/media
2002	Tonight	Kutless	Kutless.com/media
2002	Run	Kutless	Kutless.com/media
2004	Not What You See	Sea of Faces	Kutless.com/media
2004	Sea of Faces	Sea of Faces	YouTube Go
2005	Strong Tower	Strong Tower	Kutless.com/media
2006	Shut Me Out	Hearts of the Innocent	Kutless.com/media
2006	Somewhere in the Sky	Hearts of the Innocent	[Not available]

Other songs (not included in an album)

• "More Than It Seems" - Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)
• "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" - WOW Christmas (2005)

Singles

Year	Title	Peak Chart Positions		Album
		Hot Christian Songs	ChristianRock.Net Annual Top 100
2002	"Your Touch"	1	4	Kutless
2002	"Run"	1	10	Kutless
2003	"Tonight"	-	19	Kutless
2003	"Pride Away"	-	72	Kutless
2004	"Treason"	-	19	Sea of Faces
2004	"Sea of Faces"	-	34	Sea of Faces
2004	"Not What You See"	-	32	Sea of Faces
2004	"It's Like Me"	-	78	Sea of Faces
2005	"Strong Tower"	4	12	Strong Tower
2005	"Draw Me Close"	-	69	Strong Tower
2006	"Shut Me Out"	-	6	Hearts of the Innocent
2006	"Winds of Change"	-	55	Hearts of the Innocent
2007	"Somewhere in the Sky"	-	-	Hearts of the Innocent	2007	-	"Promise of a Lifetime."	-	Hearts of the Innocent	2007	-

External links

• Official website
• MySpace page