The Handcuffs releasing their 4th studio album inspired by subversive 70’s Rock
interview conducted June 21, 2022
by Dan Locke
Led by drummer Brad Elvis (Screams, The Elvis Brothers, Big Hello, The Romantics) and vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist Chloe F. Orwell (Big Hello), Chicago’s The Handcuffs will be releasing their fourth studio album Burn The Rails. The 13-song album was tracked at Kingsize Sound Labs, Chicago with producer/engineer Mike Hagler (Wilco, Neko Case, Billy Bragg, Mavis Staples, My Morning Jacket, The Mekons). Burn The Rails is being released by Pravda Records in June on CD, download and via streaming platforms and later on 12″ vinyl.
For the the new album, The Handcuffs found inspiration from the heady, analog days of early 1970s rock & roll, weaving together elements of glam, indie, garage, art and blues rock. Inhabiting some of the same musical turf as T-Rex, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, The Raconteurs, P.J. Harvey, Led Zeppelin, and Patti Smith – all filtered through a modern lens – they deliver bold, sexy songs with memorable melodies and unexpected twists.
What is your upbringing?
BRAD: Living in hope.
CHLOE: Traditional nuclear family filled with love, creativity and driving learner’s permits when it was time.
How did you discover music?
BRAD: Turned left and heard it on the kitchen radio
CHLOE: My family would listen to stuff like Nina Simone, Charlier Parker and The Beatles on the stereo and it was like a lightening bolt hit me.
How did you start to write music?
BRAD: Sweet music was playing in my head and it just made its way to instruments.
CHLOE: I, honestly, have no idea. One day I wrote a song and then kind of never stopped. I take a few breaks now and again, though. And that song is almost finished. 🙂
Chloe – How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?
CHLOE: I bought my first guitar at a guitar show; vintage Sears Silvertone from 1965. I bought it just because it looked cool. I still have it. Speaking of other axes, my first saxophone was some student model, and I don’t still have that. But my current saxes are a vintage Selmer Mark VII alto and a Selmer Mark VI soprano.
Chloe – What is your guitar of choice now? Year, make and model? Does she have a name?
CHLOE: I play Gretsch Duo Jets now, and they’re my favorite guitars ever (although I own a couple of Telecasters, a Rickenbacker and an SG). I named my favorite silver sparkle Gretsch Harry Styles. The real guitar hero in our band, Jeff, also plays Gretsch guitars (we were separated at birth) and occasionally a Gibson Les Paul. And, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention – and it SHOULD be noted… Bassist Emily plays Fender basses (precision, jazz) and our keyboardist, Alison, plays a Roland live and everything under the sun in the studio. Brad plays vintage Ludwig drums and sometimes Slingerlands.
Brad – At what age did you start playing the drums?
BRAD: 11
How did your band form?
BRAD: Like most everyone else: Meeting other like-minded people who played instruments.
CHLOE: We met our bandmates and it just clicked. Pretty easy process, considering life is usually way more complicated than that.
How did you get your band’s name?
CHLOE: It’s a pretty boring answer. Brad came up with it, and thought it was a good rock & roll name. I agreed. Then we googled it extensively and discovered that there were no other bands with that name, so we trademarked it.
Describe your music.
BRAD: Blue and olive green with flashes of purple.
CHLOE: I love Brad’s answer. Just add water and there you have it.
What was your first performance at like?
CHLOE: It must not have been very memorable because I don’t even know what my first performance was. Oops.
BRAD: I remember wanting to do it again immediately.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve. Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International
singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
BRAD: Yes.
What makes a good songwriter?
CHLOE: I think you just have to be born with that innate ability.
BRAD: Good songs.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
BRAD: “Looking For Love.” Yes, I recorded it.
CHLOE: “Morris the Spider.” I was like 3 years old, so I probably didn’t record it.
What is the process of writing your music?
CHLOE: I don’t think I have a discipline or process really. Melodies and riffs just come to me out of the blue and then I’ll eventually sit down and put the parts together and they somehow form a song. Brad, on the other hand, is such a prolific writer, and every song he writes is great. He’s got the discipline to sit down and write a specific song for a specific reason, but I know songs just come to him out of nowhere like magic, too. He’s my favorite songwriter.
Tell me about your new studio album “Burn the Rails” which comes out June 3th?
BRAD: It’s our 4th and our best yet. We’ve got spectacular players in our band and they all shine on this album. I’d like to introduce them: Emily Togni plays bass and sings backing vocals, Alison Hinderliter plays keyboards, and Jeffrey Kmieciak plays lead guitar and sings backing vocals. Our friend Inga Olson contributed some cello parts on a couple of songs, and, of course, Mott The Hoople keyboardist Morgan Fisher played on the record, as well.
CHLOE: We wear many of our influences on our sleeves on this one. For this particular record, we listened to a lot of early 1970s mostly British and New York -flavored rock & roll and glam rock, like Mott the Hoople, Bowie, Roxy Music, Led Zeppelin, Patti Smith, Lou Reed and others. But, we’ve got some modern influences, too, who were also probably influenced by the golden age of rock & roll. And, of course, the whole thing is buttoned up with our own style and signatures. It was the hardest record to make for me, but also the most rewarding.
How did you pick Kingsize Sound Labs?
CHLOE: The proprietor and producer/engineer, Mike Hagler, has become one of our very best friends and he just gets us. He’s kind of the 6th ‘Cuff. He’s a brilliant engineer and producer.
How was it to work with Mike Hagler (Wilco, Neko Case, Billy Bragg, Mavis Staples, My Morning Jacket, The Mekons)?
BRAD: See above.
Why that title?
BRAD: It’s got a Chicago connection. When it’s bitter cold in the winter, the commuter trains have to set fire to the rails to keep the snow and ice off of the tracks in order for the trains to run safely. I’m not sure if they do that anywhere else in the world.
CHLOE: It has also become a metaphor of what it took to finish and put this record out, especially during the pandemic shitshow.
How did you end up getting Morgan Fisher (Mott The Hoople) demonstrating his synthesizer and piano prowess on a couple of tracks on the new LP?
BRAD: Mott The Hoople is one of our favorite bands. Chloe and I attended the MTH reunion show at the Chicago Theatre in 2019 (ah, pre-pandemic). Chloe wrote a review just for fun that ended up going viral on social media, and Morgan Fisher saw it and re-posted it, calling it one of the best reviews of their tour, and we ended up becoming fast friends. He played on two tracks on Burn The Rails, but even better, he’s become like family to us.
Out of the 13 songs, which one is your favorite track on your album?
BRAD: Today, my favorite track is the Mott The Hoople-inspired “Big Fat Mouth Shut.”
CHLOE: Oh, boy, that’s a tough one. I think it’s a tie between “She Ain’t No Fluffer” and “Let’s Name Our Children.” That could totally change tomorrow.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
BRAD: Streaming is helpful.
CHLOE: It’s just part of the progression of technology and culture.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
CHLOE: I don’t think musicians are forgetting that there are sharps (and flats).
Digital vs. vinyl?
BRAD: Vinyl!
CHLOE: Vinyl!
Brad – You also are a member of The Romantics how did that happen?
BRAD: Clem Burke (of Blondie), who is a friend of mine, had been drumming for The Romantics, but had to leave the band to go back out on tour with Blondie. He recommended me as his replacement. I’ve been moonlighting with The Romantics since 2004.
Can you tell me about any of the craziest time on stage with The Romantics?
BRAD: No crazy stuff, just great rock & roll shows. Really.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
BRAD: Right now “Slider” by T-Rex. I borrowed a drum fill from that song for one of our songs on a previous record.
CHLOE: Impossible question, but I love Brad’s answer.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
CHLOE: It sure as hell put a damper on things. I don’t think anything can kill live music forever, but COVID caused a lot of hardship not only for musicians, but for everyone from booking agents to bartenders. There’s a lot of people, not just musicians, who rely on live music for their livelihoods, and COVID was disastrous for lots of folks. But, COVID caused millions of deaths, too, and it ain’t over. We still need to be careful and look out for one another.
BRAD: COVID pretty much killed live music from 2020 – 2022, but I know a lot of songs and books were written during the time when most of us couldn’t go out and tour, including a book I wrote.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
CHLOE: I wouldn’t really say that, but musicians and all types of artists are creative by nature, so we all just had to find different and creative ways to explore and share our art. I could never say that a contagious disease that killed millions of people and made millions more very sick was a plus to anyone’s career.
The Handcuffs began as primarily a studio project, in which both of you wrote and recorded an abundance of material. During the process, you realized that you missed the live band experience, did the lockdown bring back memories?
BRAD: Not really. But, we were still working on the new album during lockdown, so we were pretty pre-occupied.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
BRAD: Being sensible. Exercise and eating healthy foods.
CHLOE: I probably ate a little shittier than I should have during lockdown. A lot of comfort food.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
BRAD: My main hobby is collecting vinyl records. I still managed to keep that going during lockdown thanks to the internet.
CHLOE: I probably became more of a recording nerd and gearhead.
Recently the virus has come back with the Delta outbreak, then you Omicron, which as cause many people in the industry to worry about the future of live music. How would you like live shows to be held and still keep you and fans safe.
CHLOE: Our household had a very bad experience with Delta. A life-threatening experience. So, we are all for keeping EVERYONE safe. I think the new normal is that sometimes shows are going to be canceled or rescheduled because this virus does not fuck around. We should all realize that it’s for the greater good if a show gets postponed because of COVID
BRAD: Requiring everyone entering, playing or working at the venue to provide proof of vaccination and wearing masks indoors (and sometimes outdoors) is a good idea. We have first-hand experience with the damage COVID can do.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
CHLOE: Not a thing to my knowledge. Not in Chicago, at least. And, paying to be on a playlist is kind of like the old-fashioned payola, right? Google payola, kids. It was a scandal once upon a time.
BRAD: I’ve never paid to play, but I’ve played with no pay. That’s a different thing.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with. Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense.Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas. If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
CHLOE: Nah, that’s not really our scene.
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
CHLOE: Well, as a matter of fact, I also do voice-over work as my “day job.” Although I sometimes have to call myself a voice “actor,” for me it’s just an extension of music. There’s a lot of rhythm and timing involved. And, no, nowadays, it’s not actually about having a “good radio voice.” That’s a pretty old fashioned notion. Also, today’s music scene is not our elders’ music scene. Most musicians, even some well-known ones, have day jobs that may or may not be music-related.
BRAD: I’m beyond lucky that I’ve never had to make that decision.
What is your happy place?
CHLOE: Recording studio. Preferably late at night when I’m the most productive.
BRAD: Home with Chloe and the cats. Second choice: A good vinyl record store.
CHLOE: Well, now I feel like I need to change my answer. Hahahaha.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial. The lump sums being offering by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debutIn My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
CHLOE: Fuck, yeah, I would, if it was a properly negotiated deal.
BRAD: What Chloe said.
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik,
DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song.
Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone. Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?
CHLOE: Well, the digital age has made it super easy for ANYONE to get their music distributed pretty much anywhere, which is great in theory. I don’t think it’s a matter of what it “could mean” to independent artists. That’s already a thing and has been for a while. The problem is, there’s content overload and, well, very-little quality control. Having said that, though, who are we to judge whose output is quality and whose isn’t? One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenges and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has became a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artist to earn revenue when people use their music. Which in many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to hug boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the the algorithmically generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this. Sony Music and Warner Music Group-, The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer.The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices. Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary,Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
CHLOE: I think TikTok is already pretty huge. I’m not very good at predicting what is going to be the next big thing in music streaming, but I do love watching videos of kittens on TIkTok.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
BRAD: Thank you very much for your interest in our new record. Be safe, everyone!
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