12 Questions with Clean Cut Kids Mike Halls
NSGs Billy Vitch talks to “Clean Cut Kid’s” frontman Mike Halls about life since the pandemic, what the future holds for CCK, The Carpenters, and his dog. With three albums already released and a fourth underway, Liverpool’s “Clean Cut Kid” are no strangers to the industry and the dedication and hard work that is needed to succeed! The band formed in 2012 when frontman Mike and his now wife Evelyn met and started writing together, forming quickly they were signed to a major label by the time they played their second gig, touring and headlining shows and festivals from Glastonbury to Reading and Leeds and supporting bands like The Courteeners, The Kooks, Michael Kiwanuka, The Killers, Circa Waves and The Stereophonics to name but a few! Gradually they built a massive international fanbase with their poppy, Americana/Folk/low Fi sound.
Even now it feels like we’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg of what this band can and will achieve.
NSG: Hi guys hope you’re well, how are you doing? So we lost almost an entire year in 2020 didn’t we, as far as writing and recording, were you able to carry on like normal, or did that change with the pandemic?
M: Yeah it’s been a tough year for us financially, but a great time creatively. I tend to lock myself away to make the records anyway, so this has been the perfect excuse to just keep on writing and recording. Towards the end of our Polydor deal for album one, I picked up a load of old stock gear. We bought everything from the whole Ringo drum miking set-up on Sgt Pepper, to a custom built plate Reverb with the same spec as Sun Studios! So luckily I have a fully analogue Aladdin’s Cave build in my apartment. I really have zero idea how we’d have survived mentally without the studio….it’s been my lifeline during the pandemic.
NSG: For a long time, it seemed like you guys toured non stop, how has it been emotionally adjusting to not touring and performing live shows?
M: Yeah we were basically on the road for 3 years! To be honest I’ve personally never ‘loved’ playing live. It’s too loud, it’s too dependant on the room you’re playing in….and you just don’t have the control or creativity you get in the studio. I think we’re one of the best live bands in the world, but it’s still not enough if you don’t deliver something gimmicky these days. When we get back on the road I have this huge vision for touring a full studio setup live! what I am missing is being on the bus with my best mates. I would rather be on tour than on holiday coz I get to do it with my wife, and 2 of my bezzies. Man have I missed that!
Clean Cut Kid 2019: (Credit: Warren Millar)
NSG: Harmonies play a big part in your sound and these are most noticeable between you and your wife Evelyn. I remember recently watching Noel Gallager on the new Bee Gees documentary say something about how unique the sound is when brothers harmonize, do you think the same could be said about two people who are deeply in love?
M: Haha….blood harmonies they call that, and I think that’s more of a physical thing of shared vocal tones as much as anything else. With us, it’s more that we were all full time pro session players for a collective 30 years pre-CCK. We perform everything live (ie no triggers or backing tracks), and the records are all live performances to tape. It’s just a matter of ‘be good, or work on your shit’. Playing in time and singing in tune is THE MINIMUM you should be doing from the first performance. That and Ev is an absolute world class vocalist so she picks up the slack when I’m shite.
NSG: Something I’ve always wanted to know is the story behind the unique name Clean Cut Kid, is the kid real? Who is it and who or what do they represent?
M: it’s actually a bit of a boring story! My writing has always come from that Americana / Folk world, and the records have always taken that to a more fuzzy / lofi place. So with that in mind, we just looked at Bob Dylan’s ‘going electric’ period and robbed one of the song titles as our name!
NSG: So After the release of your debut album “Felt”, you intentionally left a major label and went independent to give you more creative freedom? An extremely brave move! To a lot of people being signed to a major is the dream isn’t it? Can you tell me a bit about how this newfound freedom helped with the writing and recording of your second album Painwave?
M: I always say the same thing when people ask me this question. A major label is a “creative gap-filler”. Let’s say you’re a classic ‘pop-star’ coz you’re cool, good looking, charming, etc. But you can’t write good songs, and you have no idea what makes a good music video, and you can’t record or produce yourself, and you don’t know how you should be styled. Then a major label will hook you up with the most successful people in the world in all of those areas; and pick up the bill. When you’ve been touring and recording professionally for years; all that stuff is useless. We always knew exactly how we should sound, wrote everything, and did every bit of art and creativity. Polydor simply served to ‘muddy the waters’ of what we were doing all along. “PAINWAVE” was the start of us being left alone to create, which is all we ever wanted.
NSG: Watching you guys from the early days it’s been amazing to see how far you have come, you work extremely hard don’t you, can I ask you what’s pushed and motivated you in your musical journey and what stopped you from just going and working a normal 9 to 5 job?
M: When I was 9 months old in my baby stroller and a theme tune would come on the telly, I’d fly across the room and pin my head to the speaker. I spent my whole childhood with my Walkman on, blasting the Beatles day and night on repeat. It’s beyond an addiction or a compulsion for me. I forget to eat and wash and sleep while I’m making these records. It’s like breathing to me creating music.
NSG: So the pandemic and leaving the EU has really changed the landscape for live music around the world and UK, do you have any fears regarding the future of live music and for your own careers as musicians?
M: We’re currently in the process of doing a US deal for our next record. I see the career of CCK as being largely an American thing in the future, so I just haven’t given much thought to what’s happening with Brexit and European touring visas, etc. I just think the whole thing (Brexit) was just such an ill conceived and terrible idea, god knows the ways it’ll continue to negatively affect us all.
Clean Cut Kid: (Credit bands FB page)
NSG: Name a band you love to listen to but feel a little embarrassed to admit? And what was the last thing that made you really smile?
M: Haha, one of my favourite bands of all time are the Carpenters. I think they’re perfect in every way but I get that they’re lame in lots of people’s eyes. And the last thing to make me laugh was during writing these questions was my dog, Bea. She’s my whole world, and just watching her play makes me laugh uncontrollably.
NSG: Pandemic allowing, what does 2021 look like for CCK?
M: A digital release of Mother’s Milk (our third record) with a socially distanced tour in July. Record deals for both the UK and US for our 4th album. Then releasing singles from that and touring constantly in the last quarter of the year to promo it! Rumour has it someone in the CCK camp has a solo record in the pipelines too! So that’ll be boss.
NSG, One of my favourite songs from your debut album is “Jean”, personally it moves me deeply, could I ask you more about that song and its story, and do you have any favourites yourself?
M: Awe thank you. Jean was my nan. The head of a massive empire of a family, and my first big loss as an adult. I wrote the song based on things Jimmy (her husband) said during his speech at the funeral. It’s funny you should ask about my favourites because I’ve just written a song for our 4th record called Golden Ribbon; which I’m so proud of. It’s about Jimmy and has the motif from “Jean” running through it. Jimmy passed away 2 weeks ago.
NSG If you could cook for and sit down for a meal with three people from history who would they be and why?
M: Oof tough one! I think John Lennon would be on there. Not the coolest choice but probably Shakespeare. I can just unpick passages of his writing for weeks and it has me moved to tears…..the guy must have been something special in person. And I guess Jesus Christ. Obvs
NSG: Thank you so much for your time mike, is there anything you’d like to add?
M: I’d like to add a thank you. The local press has been a huge hurdle for us, it’s nice to speak to people who look to be doing great stuff for the scene.
Follow Clean Cut Kid on social media by clicking on the links in pink below.
Listen to Clean Cut Kid on Spotify
