Kucktus

The band, comprised of three members, has performed at multiple local venues and brings in a crowd.

Kucktus is an alternate-rock grunge band that started from the ground up, and is comprised of three members: Devin McGraw (bassist), King Hickok (‘26, drummer), and Logan Jabour (‘24, vocalist, lead guitar).

Kucktus is not new to the genre. The members were raised in an environment that always encouraged them to find what makes them passionate. “My dad, growing up, would always play Metallica and Killswitch Engage during the car rides to school. It was probably just being surrounded by music from the 80s and 90s. It’s just stuck in my head now,” says Logan Jabour.

For McGraw, his musical awakening came to him during school. “The actual moment I got into instruments or into playing music was in between 8th grade and my freshman year of high school, I was at a younger sibling’s band recital and my dad just looks over at me and goes, ‘want me to teach you how to play drums?’”

For Hickock, being a musician is practically in his blood. A lineage of musicians, from his grandpa, who introduced him to drumming, to his mother, who encouraged him to follow his passion of playing the drums, to his sister, who he grew up with playing the guitar and drums side by side. “They were very open. They were really supporting me through all this, and I’m glad,” states Hickock.

Kucktus’ came to be when Jabour needed an outlet to create. “The last band I was in, TDS, kind of fell apart when everyone went to different colleges, and didn’t want to play anymore. I need my fix of performing and playing live,” says Jabour.

Originally Kucktus had a different bassist, but they quickly needed a vacancy filled after their former bandmate left for college. Jabour and Hickock found McGraw to be the only one qualified. “For the auditions, we asked them to learn, I think, two or three covers,” says Jabour. “Neither of them looked at the original or learned the covers, but by that point, Devin was available again. So we were like, lets just try Devin. And it was just so much easier,” Jabour added.

King Hickok, who has also had his share of band hopping, says that he came to play for Kucktus when Corey Nelson (‘26), a former member of Kucktus, invited him to play for the band. “I said, I know a guy. We need a drummer. And then we got King Hickock,” says Nelson, former Kucktus guitarist, who left the band due to interference with his personal life.

Kucktus can only be explained as a combination of different genres. In the words of Jabour, “I would say we’re alternative metal, alternative rock.” Hickok says they’ve recently been working on their first album after debuting their lead single, “Left, Left, Right.”

They’ve been hard at work creating their unique sound as a group after their debut. “I’ve found that we have similar music tastes, but we also have our differences on what we like, so it does come out to a lot of interesting songwriting ideas and techniques,” says Hickock.

The band has also performed at several venues, such as The Strand (Dover), The Button Factory (Portsmouth), and Bad Brgr (Manchester). They regularly pull in a substantial crowd of local rock lovers, pouring music into the community. Hickock speaks on the struggle of small artists: “support local bands and music artists. Streaming services kill local bands and small bands because we make no money off of it.”

As for their performances, Kucktus, in true alt-rock fashion, always brings the energy. “At shows, I kind of just yell about stuff in the world that makes me upset,” states Jabour.

What is the band currently up to? They’re fully focused on putting music out to those who want to listen. They’ve been working behind the scenes to create their own festival, titled “Kuckfest,” so keep an eye out for that.

Kucktus is a great representation of youth pursuing their passions and expressing their individuality creatively. “I’ve always kind of thought that bands shouldn’t be tied down to a specific genre. Just play what you want, what you feel, and just let it go,” says Jabour.

-Jimmy Kim