If you need a post-punk, goth-industrial-infused rock album, look no further than Threats by Chicago’s BELLHEAD! I’ve been rockin’ to this one since it first popped up on my radar. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I am.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with members of BELLHEAD. We discuss AI, dream collabs, touring, and, of course, the Threats album.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s get this hot topic out of the way. What are your feelings on AI as a creative tool? Have you experimented with it? Or released any projects where it was used?
Karen: AI is a tool that has been around for some time, and it is not going anywhere. AI was introduced in the 1970’s to help with biomedical research, and later in the 1990’s to assist with breast cancer detection. It only makes sense that it has branched into the creative field. We personally don’t use AI, and have no current plans on utilizing it.
Ivan: A.I. Artificial Intelligence 2001 film directed by Steven Spielberg featuring the Ministry song “What About Us” Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars.
Now to your music! What’s up with this latest project? Any cool back-stories, bloopers, or notable inspirations? Or anything you want us to know about it?
Ivan: Karen said to me “I’m done being nice” and I told her “I was never nice” and with that we took some big swings. We went through personal losses that resulted in emotional outbursts. Mourning has a way of forcing words and songs out of me. The record is not about death. It’s not that one dimensional. Death, she is the progenitor of the work. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance make an appearance, or are a motivator in all the songs.
Do you have a favorite song from the new album? Or a favorite moment during writing/recording you would like to share?
Ivan: “Threats”. It was the last song we finished for the EP and the most exciting for us. A bit of a race against the clock but we knew we had something special. I was writing lyrics on motel stationary and reworking verses lyrics while driving trying to get everything just right. The song is a whole movie told in just over four minutes. I think it’s one of my favorite songs to-date we have put out. You get a real understanding of the character, the environment and the emotional stakes all with enough room that you the listener can interpret the finer details to fit your world.
What is your earliest music memory? Or a moment that sticks out for motivating you to write, record, and release music?
Karen: I was Doll #2 in my 2nd grade Christmas Recital and caught my big break when I had to twirl across the stage alone while the other Christmas toys were sleeping under the tree.
Ivan – Past Ivan listened to “Stray Cat Strut” over and over. I was obsessing over music. How it worked, where the sounds came from, the formats, the packaging, all of it. It has been ever present in my life as far back as I can remember. Reading comic books turned into a lesson in graphic design. The vocabulary words became descriptors for songs. Everything I absorbed would eventually inform future songs, song ideas, artwork, stage shows, outfits, etc.
If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why?
Ivan: I think it would be interesting to collaborate with someone outside of the post/punk and goth/industrial scene. Someone like Will.I. Am, or Pharrell. Make a record with Miles Davis and Prince.
I know it’s hard…but favorite song (or artist) of all time? Or Top 3?
For both of us the answer is ….David Bowie.
What’s your favorite, or least favorite, part of touring?
Karen: Touring is what you make of it. You can’t dwell on the bad stuff- the late nights, long drives, minimal sleep. We make sure to build in some time to enjoy ourselves. You’ll find us at antique stores, comic book shops, or maybe hitting up a BBQ joint for a nice meal. Our tour vehicle has a CD player in it and it’s a lot of fun listening to old albums that we pick up along the way.
Ivan: I was built to be on the road. The flaw is being on the road is a full time job. It is very difficult to get anything else done let alone making new music. The theft of time is playing the music we have already made. I end up writing on the road scraps of lyrics on everything from motel paper to gas station receipts.
Where’s the best place to connect and keep up with the latest music?
Karen: We’re available on all social media and music streaming platforms:
Joshua is a Music Business Consultant currently serving as COO of Unlimited Sounds, a boutique publishing admin & consulting firm based in Sacramento, California. He also serves as COO of Pac Ave Records. He is an archivist via Indie Music Discovery.com, co-founded with C Bret Campbell in 2011 in Manchester, Tennessee. He is also a Father of 3 and an all purpose Jedi... but before any of this, he was and still creates as an indie/DIY artist. Connect on IG. Read full bio.
