Eliza Cuts

This article was originally posted as a part of Bandictionary Highlights for the week of July 1st, 2008. Eliza's radio show no longer exists, though the rest of the article remains true!

What are things that people deserve to be known for? The list is so long. There's talents, knowledge, discoveries... and you can't forget careers! Some people have careers that they deserve to be known for, and Eliza Cuts just happens to be one of those people.

Though Eliza may be widely known over the Internet as someone who had a relationship with the frontman of a certain popular band, not everyone knows about what she does for a living. But when someone's last name is Cuts, don't you start to wonder? Okay, so Cuts may not be what's printed on Eliza's birth certificate, but it should still trigger a few questions. Just like it may be a little confusing when a photographer tells someone that he shoots people for a living, it's probably somewhat strange to hear that Eliza cuts people for a living. But don't worry, we're talking about hair!

Even musicians need hairstylists, and that's what Eliza has been set out to do. She first started cutting hair after visiting a lower-priced salon when she was in her late teens. Not liking how it was going, she stopped the stylist mid-cut and left the salon. Eliza stopped at a drug store on the way home to pick up a cheap pair of shears, then finished the cut herself. She quickly realized that she wasn't half bad with a pair of scissors and started cutting hair for free, mostly for her friends. It wasn't until she moved back home at 22 that she made the decision to go to cosmetology school.

Enrolled at La' James International College in Davenport, Iowa with her goals firmly planted in her mind, Eliza worked hard to complete her 2100 hours to rid herself of old habits and learn everything she could about hair. She had been laughed at when she first mentioned that she wanted to cut hair for bands, but her dream started coming true a few months into cosmetology school. She kept the prices to a minimum, but started cutting hair for lesser-known bands outside of The Picador, a small venue in Iowa City. Things began to grow and even before graduating from school, Eliza was set with a full sponsorship to cut hair for bands and fans on the Vans Warped Tour that year. With her new friendships and connections after the tour, she has continued to live out her dream of doing hair, finding a place she loves in the music industry.

Nowadays, you can find Eliza on the radio, which is something that, as a hairstylist, she never thought she'd be doing. She was a guest a while back on This Deliberate Life, a radio show on Fearless Radio hosted by Christopher Gutierrez, better known as deadxstop or Hey Chris. When Chris left for his book tour a few weeks ago, Eliza agreed to take over his show while he's gone. You can hear her hosting This Deliberate Life on Tuesdays from 7-10 P.M. Central Time. After these last few weeks of taking over Chris' show, Eliza will have her own show focused mainly on hair and style called Fearless Cuts. The show will be on Fearless Radio every Friday from 7-10 P.M. Central Time.

With Eliza's radio debut, her audience has been able to get to know her better as a person and quite a few misconceptions have been pushed aside. The first half of 2007 brought a lot of attention to Eliza and the relationship she was in at the time, and not all of it was positive. The fact that the relationship was with a member of a popular band led to lots of fans (of the band, of course) making snap decisions to hate Eliza with hardly any reasons as to why. Many of those who claimed to hate her used the excuse that she was supposedly racist after finding a YouTube video where she used a term that was interpreted to be derogatory. Most of the band's fans who fell into this category still have no idea how wrong they were.

Brought up by two loving parents, Eliza is someone who was raised with some great values. She was taught from the start to treat everyone with respect and is one of the few people who is able to actually practice what she preaches. Even people who don't have her full support still have all of her respect. She has always been encouraged to make her own decisions about issues and not just make decisions based off of what everyone else is saying, which has left her very open-minded and accepting of everyone. Eliza's radio opportunities are being used as a way to help open the minds of others. She encourages her audience to make informed decisions and is "always going to encourage people to stand up for what they believe."

So, who is Eliza Cuts? Well, Eliza is a hairstylist in the music industry. But more importantly, Eliza is a people person who wants to hear your story, regardless of who you are.

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