Hard rock often works best when it teeters on the edge of falling apart, something Zip-Tie Handcuffs had down to a science on their way to winning the 2015 Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble. Guitarist/singer Matt Ford sums it up by relaying a conversation with soundman Alec Rodriguez, who co-produced the trio’s fourth album, Sundream.
“He was telling me that mixing us is like driving a Camaro at top speed,” Ford says. “I like that feeling, on the verge of going too fast but keeping it on the rails.”
Ford, bassist/singer Ian Grinold and drummer/singer Max Levy have logged plenty of time on their high-performance engine. New Hampshire native Ford and the Connecticut-bred Grinold met at the New England Institute of Art in Brookline, forming the band in 2007. The Vermont-raised Levy joined a year later. And their ragged, joyous combustion can remind one of Nirvana when that band rode the rails.
“We’re definitely influenced by a lot of three-piece bands,” says Ford, citing the Jimi Hendrix Experience along with Green Day and Nirvana. One quality that sets Zip-Tie Handcuffs apart, however, is the trio’s shifting, punctuating vocals. “We mix a lot of heavy music with pop music. We love the attitude and aggression of punk rock, but we also love the poppy sensibilities of the Beatles and the Beach Boys. Our vocals [attract] people who are not usually into punk.”
Zip-Tie Handcuffs are writing a fifth album to record this fall and also planning a live release, a once-vital but now-rare rock artifact. “I personally love live albums, like the MC5’s debut,” Ford says. “You can hear the energy leaving the speakers.”
Sound Check
From the Allston underground to the platform of Boston Calling, from soul-pop to folk-rock and garage-punk, our city produces scores of great original
By Paul Robicheau | Photo Credit: Johnny Anguish | July 17, 2015
Zip-Tie Handcuffs
Hard rock often works best when it teeters on the edge of falling apart, something Zip-Tie Handcuffs had down to a science on their way to winning the 2015 Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble. Guitarist/singer Matt Ford sums it up by relaying a conversation with soundman Alec Rodriguez, who co-produced the trio’s fourth album, Sundream.
“He was telling me that mixing us is like driving a Camaro at top speed,” Ford says. “I like that feeling, on the verge of going too fast but keeping it on the rails.”
Ford, bassist/singer Ian Grinold and drummer/singer Max Levy have logged plenty of time on their high-performance engine. New Hampshire native Ford and the Connecticut-bred Grinold met at the New England Institute of Art in Brookline, forming the band in 2007. The Vermont-raised Levy joined a year later. And their ragged, joyous combustion can remind one of Nirvana when that band rode the rails.
“We’re definitely influenced by a lot of three-piece bands,” says Ford, citing the Jimi Hendrix Experience along with Green Day and Nirvana. One quality that sets Zip-Tie Handcuffs apart, however, is the trio’s shifting, punctuating vocals. “We mix a lot of heavy music with pop music. We love the attitude and aggression of punk rock, but we also love the poppy sensibilities of the Beatles and the Beach Boys. Our vocals [attract] people who are not usually into punk.”
Zip-Tie Handcuffs are writing a fifth album to record this fall and also planning a live release, a once-vital but now-rare rock artifact. “I personally love live albums, like the MC5’s debut,” Ford says. “You can hear the energy leaving the speakers.”
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