Last night at New York's Cake Shop, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based band, Cuffs, played a impressive set of bright, noise-pop songs alongside Brooklyn's The Surprisers and ex-Television Personalities bassist, Jowe Head.
After Cuffs singer and guitarist, Andrew Churchman, announced the end of his last band, Pants Yell! via MySpace blog, he left only a few 4-track demos and a Cuffs tumblr as signs what was to come. Listening to promising 4-track demos such as "Albert Kroft" now expanded into live arrangements along with several newer tracks showed me just how much the band has developed over the past few months and hinted at awesome things to come.
After their set, Andrew chatted with me and fellow blogger and Brooklyn-based journalist, Maria, on the Ludlow Street sidewalk in front of Cake Shop about his goals for Cuffs, good song lyrics, and its relationship with a few likeminded bands.
Me: So what goals do you have for Cuffs? And how are they different from the goals you had for Pants Yell!?
Andrew: The goals for Cuffs …
Andrew trailed off for a moment as he said goodbye to what appeared to have been Ducktails member, Samuel Franklin.
Andrew: I think my main goal for Cuffs--that would be different from Pants Yell!--is to be a little more aggressive and a more cosmopolitan. I think the songwriting's not as sweet and poppy as in Pants Yell!, but a little more underhanded.
Me: I noticed that the Bandcamp demos for Cuffs are recorded on a 4-track tape recorder. Is that a conscious recording choice that you guys intend to stick with?
Andrew: The demos were just 4-track out of necessity. It was just because I had them. That's how I wrote the songs... just on the 4-track. So it was more of like a songwriting tool. As a band, I actually want everything to be really hi-fi. So we just recorded our first single--we recorded two singles, one's coming out soon and another one--we did that one in a studio and recorded digitally. And uh… I think it's pretty hi-fi. I want it to be the opposite of no-fi, home recordings. But the demos… I think the reason we put the demos up is because I thought that'd be a good introduction to the band. And that's just how I knew those songs at the time. It was before the other members of the band were playing with me.
Me: I noticed a similarity in the lyrical style between Pants Yell! and Cuffs. They're both very you, I would say. What would you say constitutes good lyrics and bad lyrics when you're writing a song?
Andrew: I actually...
Andrew: I think my main goal for Cuffs--that would be different from Pants Yell!--is to be a little more aggressive and a more cosmopolitan. I think the songwriting's not as sweet and poppy as in Pants Yell!, but a little more underhanded.
Me: I noticed that the Bandcamp demos for Cuffs are recorded on a 4-track tape recorder. Is that a conscious recording choice that you guys intend to stick with?
Andrew: The demos were just 4-track out of necessity. It was just because I had them. That's how I wrote the songs... just on the 4-track. So it was more of like a songwriting tool. As a band, I actually want everything to be really hi-fi. So we just recorded our first single--we recorded two singles, one's coming out soon and another one--we did that one in a studio and recorded digitally. And uh… I think it's pretty hi-fi. I want it to be the opposite of no-fi, home recordings. But the demos… I think the reason we put the demos up is because I thought that'd be a good introduction to the band. And that's just how I knew those songs at the time. It was before the other members of the band were playing with me.
Me: I noticed a similarity in the lyrical style between Pants Yell! and Cuffs. They're both very you, I would say. What would you say constitutes good lyrics and bad lyrics when you're writing a song?
Andrew: I actually...
Andrew laughed. He paused for a moment before continuing his answer.
Andrew: I actually try to be too honest when I'm writing a song and I'm actually trying not to do that anymore.
Andrew laughed again.
Andrew: For some of the Cuffs stuff, I'm gonna be changing the lyrics quite a bit. Good lyrics are things that I won't feel embarrassed singing. But then again, I feel bad singing some stuff. So it's a weird sort of fine line. I guess something that is a little witty and I can feel confident singing about. I tend to fall back to very honest kind of singing openly about my life and about my friends and what not. I'm trying to be a little more surreal with the lyrics in Cuffs. The first couple demos aren't as clear on that vision, but going forward that's what I'm hoping to do.
Me: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I saw the guitar player from this Cuffs show in the video for Pants Yell!'s "Someone Loves You." Is he the only other common member between the two bands?
Andrew: Me and the drummer [Casey Keenan] were in Pants Yell!, the guy who plays guitar, Martin, he filled in on some west coast dates we played. But he played bass for like four shows with Pants Yell! in California, and now he plays guitar full time in Cuffs. But our bass player [Ian Drennan] in Cuffs, plays guitar in this really awesome band called Big Troubles and he also plays in Ducktails.
Me: I was going to ask you about those other guys that you just said bye to…
Andrew: Yeah, those are the guys from Ducktails and the Big Troubles guys, but they're going now to play another show across town.
Me: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I saw the guitar player from this Cuffs show in the video for Pants Yell!'s "Someone Loves You." Is he the only other common member between the two bands?
Andrew: Me and the drummer [Casey Keenan] were in Pants Yell!, the guy who plays guitar, Martin, he filled in on some west coast dates we played. But he played bass for like four shows with Pants Yell! in California, and now he plays guitar full time in Cuffs. But our bass player [Ian Drennan] in Cuffs, plays guitar in this really awesome band called Big Troubles and he also plays in Ducktails.
Me: I was going to ask you about those other guys that you just said bye to…
Andrew: Yeah, those are the guys from Ducktails and the Big Troubles guys, but they're going now to play another show across town.
As it turned out, that had been Samuel Franklin from Ducktails. Andrew knows him from his time drumming in Franklin's other project Fluffy Lumbers.
Me: Well thank you for your time. Maria has one last question…
Maria: Are you only in bands with clothes-related names?
Andrew: No. But Cuffs was an intentional shift from Pants Yell!
Me: Well thank you for your time. Maria has one last question…
Maria: Are you only in bands with clothes-related names?
Andrew: No. But Cuffs was an intentional shift from Pants Yell!
Andrew paused.
Andrew: It was an intentional homage to Pants Yell! Sometimes we say the name and someone is like, "Oh cool, Cuffs. Like handcuffs?" And I'm like, "No. Not at all." I guess different people take it in different ways.
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