Cursive's Tim Kasher Tests Solo Songs at Open Mic Nights

Even the most seasoned rock stars need a second opinion. For longtime Cursive frontman Tim Kasher, debuting new songs to some folks in Montana does the trick perfectly.

Kasher moved from California to Whitefish, Mont. (population 8,000) earlier this fall looking for "the polar opposite of the West Coast," he tells Spinner. "I'm still moving around to take in as much as I can."

Part of escaping L.A. -- maybe the most appealing part -- has been the anonymity. In California, he's Tim Kasher of Cursive. In Whitefish, he's Tim Kasher, the guy who plays guitar at a local bar's open mic night every Wednesday.

"The locals don't know I'm in a band. It's great," Kasher says. "It gives me a chance to try out new songs. I know I've got to have them ready for next Wednesday."

The new songs, it turns out, aren't for Cursive -- they're for his very first solo album. Thanks to the feedback of some Wednesday drinkers, they're almost done. Kasher plans to record the tunes in January and eventually release an album under the moniker Edelweiss.

"I truly labored over the name Tim Kasher for so long. I couldn't get over the fact that I think it's really dull sounding," he says. "If you're a writer, there's no flourish to your name. Philip Roth is Philip Roth. I travel with this kid [Cursive soundman] Ephraim Nagler. If I had a name like that, I'd stick with it for my solo work."

The new material, Kasher explains, is "softer and poppier" than Cursive and will likely draw comparisons to his side band, the Good Life, "but it's not going to be a band setting."

As for Cursive? That train never seems to stop. The band will continue to tour into 2010, playing some dates with Alkaline Trio, but don't expect a new record too soon.

"We're having early conversations about writing another record, but there's not a song to consider yet. It's not something I'd feel is necessary to push out," Kasher says, laughing, "We already have a pretty bad record of putting them out every three years."