Ed Cusati takes Pause while Moving his Musical Career Forward on Spotify

Ed Cusati’s introduction to music began with his mother. A singer who studied at Westminster Choir College, she started Ed with piano lessons and her large Rock n Roll record collection moved him onto the worship of Joe Satriani. Taking on the guitar, Cusati formed a band in middle school that was, “ahead of its time,” according to the Katonah, NY resident, and was pretty easily explained. “Well, I was in the band,” he joked. But the lighthearted look back is no way emblematic of how seriously he approaches his art, and putting himself out there as a performer, goes well beyond the words.

So the audience isn’t just a sounding board that feeds back a reaction. Cusati takes the stage as a vulnerable actor who risks all the possible imperfection of the notes, the words and emotional expression. The payoff is worth it in his estimation, though. Playing live, he said, “You breathe life into the song, you perform it and do it justice.”

At the same time, actual creation must come organically. So using the likes of Garage Band along the way does not do the trick. “I don’t employ technology until the very ending stage of the process, because I want my song to be able to live and be performed in a complete way,” asserted Cusati.

On a two or three year song writing loop, Catch a Glimpse took its turn as his current EP release and has just been released on Spotify. “I found a set of songs that represent where my thoughts and emotions have been over the last few years,” he said.

On the outs like everyone else, he hopes his music can lift people out of the mandatory isolation we all face. So Two Ships looks hopefully forward - especially for those who might still be on lockdown after we all regather. “It’s a song about searching for a kindred spirit in the modern world,” said Cusati. The stanza makes its case.

Shipwrecks, all of my regrets

I got no protection, no clear direction…

I just float away….Hey

Well, there’s got to be somebody out there for me

One tiny ship in the midst of the sea

Cusati admits the autobiographical nature of the song and all his work for that matter. “You write best about the things you know,” he said.

We all know about Once in a While, though. “The song is about those moments in life when you’re in the flow, and everything is moving forward,” said Cusati.

Once in a while it breaks through

Takes the breath out of you

Takes you back to a place where anything is possible

Once in a while you catch a glimpse

And your spirit lifts and you open the gift

Oh isn’t it beautiful

Yes it is, and so is the driving the driving beat of Cusati’s guitar. All coming together, the current synergy of his song has evolved. “I used to write the music first,” he revealed.

But now Cusati finds the core, and all the musical aspects radiate out. “Everything flows from the concept,” Cusati asserted.

He hopes the formula works for his first foray with Spotify. “I think it’s a good platform for me to grow my audience,” Cusati said.

Fortunately, Cusati has more than Spotify to fall back on. After studying Music Theory and Composition at Vanderbilt, he got a job as a paralegal in NYC, and while moonlighting as a musician, he provided lessons. The songwriter eventually returned to Westchester and established himself as a private teacher.

The second career is definitely paying off as he continues with classes online. But the musician has got more up his sleeve in terms of career paths.

Cusati believes his expressive pop rock has theatrical applications. “It’s just the way I feel the songs express themselves. I hear them in that context,” he said. “They tell a story.”

For now, Cusati has no idea what the future will bring, and in deference, he enjoys taking pause by a little brook next to his parents house. “I love walking by the stream, sitting down and thinking,” he said.

Sounds like Cusati might have himself the makings of another pretty good song, but either way, he should be in the flow again when the world returns.

Photos Courtesy of Ed Cusati

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