New St. Pete indie-rock band Soft Cuff makes live debut on Friday

It opens a free show at The Bends.

By Ray Roa on Wed, Jan 3, 2024 at 12:43 pm

Photo by Ryan Metcalf

Soft Cuff is (L-R) Brian Schanck, Tina Sanchez, Shane Schuch and Michael Bostinto (bottom)

For a few years a decade ago, Tampa musician Brian Schanck used to kick around with his rock band The Same, and while he’s been on more or less of a hiatus for the last 10 years, Schanck returned last month with a new solo project, Soda Die.

Sessions for that band, however, borne another, when Schanck and bandmate Michael Bostinto (aka crooner Mike Tony, whose Johnstonsons headline this no-cover gig) started to land on an instrumental vibe for Soft Cuff songs like “Pasta Priest” a cut that sounds like a little Khruangbin, Menahan Street Band and Badbadnotgood, but also a glimpse into the glory days of the Bay area’s 2000s-2010s indie-rock scene when bands like Mouse Fire and Zulu Wave ruled the roost.

Helping the boys bring Soft Cuff to life are vets of the local rock scene, keys player and percussionist Tina Sanchez (Fake Nudes, Veiny Hands), plus guitarist-producer Shane Schuch (of the aforementioned Mouse Fire, and Pajamas).

There's no cover to see Mike Tony and Johnstonsons and Soft Cuff play The Bends in St. Petersburg on Friday, Jan. 5.

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About The Author

Ray Roa

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief in August 2019. Past work can be seen at Suburban Apologist, Tampa Bay Times, Consequence of Sound and The...

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