The Scissors

Chicago’s pop-punk stalwarts the Scissors have been belting out tunes since early 2002. Eight years later, they are settling into their own, releasing a new album while solidifying a change to their lineup.

Last year they introduced members Ken Fletcher on bass (who played in Chicago’s Plain White T’s) and Yvonne Szumski on guitars and vocals (who was in local all-female outfit the Groodies). The band began writing new material and touring as soon as they could. “(Things) worked out perfectly and we’ve been going strong with this lineup for quite some time now,” says vocalist Darren Vorel, who’s been able to put down his guitar and pick up the microphone full-time thanks to the band’s new additions.

This spring, the Scissors self-released their newest album, “You Can Make It Dangerous,” engineered by Matt Allison at Atlas Studios. “We took our time writing and recording it, probably about half a year writing and half a year recording,” says Vorel. The album showcases their newest members’ musicianship as well as songwriting skills. “Adding Ken and Yvonne has greatly changed the dynamic of songwriting,” says Vorel. “It’s pretty rare to write something that doesn’t have all of our names on it. Now there’s two more heads in the mix.” When it came time to release the album, it made the most sense to them to put it out on the band’s own terms. “We could control more of the label operations,” says Vorel. “Why not try and do it yourself if you can?”

With their lineup gelling and a new album as a springboard, the band is embarking on a fall tour, kicking it off at home. “We really want to get our music in front of people,” says Vorel. “We want to show up and play hard, something that the Internet can’t offer.” The Scissors’ quintessential Chicago style, a la Smoking Popes and Alkaline Trio, has been perfected to their growing hometown fan base. “It’s always packed with friends, fans, and people that get a chance to hear us for the first time,” says Vorel. “It’s really exciting and powerful to be part of. We’re going to take that energy with us to every stop on the tour.” (John Wawrzaszek) - New City Music

Since forming in 2002, The Scissors have continually labored to hone their sound and expand their following. In late March of 2010, they released their third album, You Can Make It Dangerous. Recorded by Matt Allison and produced by Grammy-nominee Tom Higgenson, this record is somewhat of a star-studded affair, but most importantly, it’s got the songwriting chops to back it up. Taking more of a pop direction than their previous efforts, You Can Make It Dangerous finds The Scissors experimenting with new sounds, but also maintaining their longstanding punk undertones. The album is further augmented by the group’s most solidified lineup yet, and with any luck The Scissors will soon be one of the biggest names in Chicago punk rock. This interview was conducted with singer Darren Vorel at a Portillo’s restaurant in Downers Grove, Illinois.

Bill – You Can Make It Dangerous takes much more of a pop direction than any of The Scissors’ previous material. What is the primary reason for this or did it simply occur unconsciously?

Darren – The first couple of songs that we wrote for the record, like “Teeth”, “Sunday” and “Say It Again” just came out to be really, really poppy. The rest simply kind of followed suit, because we realized the direction we wanted right away and just went for it. Pop or pop punk is a beautiful thing when it’s done right. We tried to do it in our own way, but still keep the rules intact. I really can’t ignore it when I’m writing. All of our records have had a pop feel, this one just happens to have more of it. When we finally demoed “Sunday”, all of us we’re kind of shocked, but surprised in a good way. It’s a lot different than anything we’ve written before. The melody, the lead, the subject matter and even making the decision to record that song with only acoustic guitars; it’s so much more pop than we’re used to. That song really helped us to think a little more outside the box for the record as a whole.

Bill – You guys recorded You Can Make It Dangerous at Atlas Studios with Matt Allison. What was different this time around compared to previous sessions with Matt?

Darren – Well, usually we start during Cubs season, which makes things a little slow since we’re all big Cubs fans, especially Matt. This time, we started in December, so it was naturally really cold, but at least we didn’t have to contend with the distractions of baseball. It’s always comfortable there for us and Matt’s just awesome. He’s been with us for every record, so that’s what’s similar I suppose. The difference this time was that we were starting the whole record in his new studio. Our last record, Viva, was recorded half in his old studio and half in the new one. Now, he’s got a great room for drum sounds and lots of other cool equipment and stuff. To be able to go in there and encapsulate it all in one place felt really different compared to last time.

Bill – Tom Higgenson of Plain White T’s and of course “Hey There Delilah” fame produced You Can Make It Dangerous. Describe your band’s relationship with Tom, as well as how he aided in the creation of this album.

Darren – Tom has always been a friend of ours, but with this record we knew we had something different. We wanted to make it the best that we could and obviously Tom has a really good track record when it comes to songwriting. It just kind of started by asking a couple questions and e-mailing a song here or there. I would be like, “What do you think about this part? Should this part be here or should the bridge be moved?”. Tom gave us a few responses and then he just said, “Why don’t I help produce this record?”. The songs were already there and all we needed was a little bit of direction as far as how to make each song the best we could. That’s Tom’s role on the record and basically what he’s done. He’s been there from after we demoed all the songs and he was even in the studio, helping arrange stuff and everything.

Bill – Tell me about your relatively new band member, singer/guitarist Yvonne, and what sort of elements she brings to the group.

Darren – Yvonne joined after her old band, The Groodies, broke up. I didn’t want to play guitar anymore either. We would have guest people come in from time to time and play guitar and I would just sing the whole set. I realized I could be a little bit freer and it was more fun when I didn’t have a guitar in my hand. Yvonne came in and she can sing really well and play guitar better than me, so it just fit great. What we didn’t realize at the time is that she’s also a great songwriter, so she contributed to all the songs on the new record with a lot of her ideas. That’s obviously helped a ton and she’s definitely a good addition.

Bill – After completing the recording of You Can Make It Dangerous, bassist Ken Fletcher joined the band. What do you like most about The Scissors’ current lineup?

Darren – I’ve always wanted to be in a band with Ken. He’s been a good friend of mine for a long time. I think what’s different now is that we all have the same level of motivation. Before, it was always one guy who wasn’t on the same page as everyone else. Now I feel everybody has the same goals in mind. What’s nice about Ken is that he’s together with us in terms of the direction we’re all going in.

Bill – What were some of the factors that led to you guys deciding to self-release this record?

Darren – We had a lot of help from our old record label, but we also realized that taking this into our own hands was the way to go. Things are changing in music and we’re at a stage now where we can kind of self-maintain and get our songs out to people. We like to give everybody the chance and opportunity to hear our songs. With us self-releasing, I believe we can do that better than anybody else. We’ve talked with some labels and after talking to a lot of people I think the best way to go is to have more of a handle on our own music. Being in complete control makes us work that much harder.

Bill – Musically speaking, most of the songs on You Can Make It Dangerous are rooted in pop and melody, though from a lyrical standpoint, they’re pretty dark and angry. Where exactly do these songwriting motivations tend to come from?

Darren – I wouldn’t say that any of the songs are necessarily very angry, but you’re right, a lot of the songs do have a dark tone. That’s something that I like, a song that’s darker, but it’s actually like a pop song too. As far as where these songs come from, we all write the lyrics. Each band member contributes, whether it’s something they observe in their daily life or sometimes it’s just telling a story. Some people might call them darker songs, but we just all have different things that go on in our lives that don’t necessarily always put a smile on our faces.

Bill – “Us and Our Old Lady” is a particularly bitter song that takes aim at your band’s detractors. Is there someone in particular who inspired this song?

Darren – It’s interesting, it does have to do with what you’re talking about, but actually internally. It’s more tongue-in-cheek really. We watched the documentary Some Kind of Monster about Metallica, which isn’t about their music as much as it’s about their relationships with each other. It’s crazy how they were giving a therapist $40,000 a month to try and make them get along. Not that The Scissors are in that place at all, but I think any band can kind of relate to that. You can be the best band around and come off as best friends and pal around all the time, but maintaining perfect relationships in a band is impossible. It seems taboo to talk about that stuff and maybe it’s bad for business, but we’re not perfect and I don’t think we mind saying that.

Bill – Do you have a favorite song from You Can Make It Dangerous? If so, which one and why?

Darren – Yeah, I have a lot and I’m obviously close to all the songs, but “Sunday” is probably my favorite. That’s mostly because of the fact that it’s the first song Yvonne and I wrote together. It’s the first thing she did when she joined the band and I felt so proud of her that we were able to collaborate like that and put our ideas together. When I look back on the record as a whole, that songwriting experience was one of the best and it helped me to realize that our band had something really special.

Bill – What prompted you guys to shoot a video for the disc’s leadoff song, “Let’s Go”?

Darren – That song in particular, I think everyone in the band contributed to, whether it was the lead, the lyrics or the melody. It seemed awesome that everybody had something to do with the song and from hearing people’s initial reactions, it seemed to be everybody’s favorite. The lyrics are about a bad situation in a foreign country, but it doesn’t have to be about that, it could be whatever anybody thinks about it. The video is just really about getting out of a bad situation, whether it’s your job or a bad relationship. Any of that could be like, “Let’s go! Let’s get out of here!”. I think people can relate to that song and above all people like to sing along to something they feel a connection to.

Bill – The Scissors hail from Villa Park, Illinois, and along with the neighboring town of Elmhurst, these two bastions of suburbia have produced a significant number of bands over the last ten to fifteen years. Some notable examples include; Showoff, Sig Transit Gloria, Plain White T’s and The Fold. Why do you think this area in particular has fostered such a vibrant scene for so long?

Darren – I get that question a lot, and it’s a good one. I’m glad you asked. Growing up around the area where all these bands came from keeps us totally motivated. We’ve seen success, you know? Showoff has had success, Plain White T’s obviously have had success and Sig Transit Gloria was a great band. We know making great music and taking it somewhere is possible because of those bands. We’ve seen our friends do it. People have made comments like, “There’s something in the water over there”, but I really think that there’s also places in the world where everybody in their town probably doesn’t do music. Everybody that we hung around with was in bands, so it was kind of contagious. I think it’s helped to the point where more young bands are coming out of the area too now, which is really nice for me to see.

Bill – Does the band have a favorite venue to play in Chicago?

Darren – Yeah, we always love Reggie’s. It’s kind of like the Fireside. It’s like how you would look forward to playing the Fireside and everyone knew about the Fireside. Reggie’s is really becoming the premier place to play in the city if you ask me. Going on that stage just feels so comfortable and the people there are great. They’re very nice people and always help us carry in our equipment or just make sure we’re comfortable once we’re in the venue.

Bill – What do The Scissors have planned for the remainder of 2010 in terms of supporting You Can Make It Dangerous?

Darren – Touring is a big priority and we’re working on stuff right now, like hopefully an East Coast thing. We’re still working on it, but that’s a huge priority. We want to get this out to as many people as possible and we want people to see us. We want to make sure that everything we’ve done in the past year or so will have an opportunity to be enjoyed by people. We also want to see where this new record takes us. Touring has been something we’ve done, but we’ve done a lot of close to home stuff or touring in the south. We’ve never really been east or west, so that’s what we’re looking forward to.

Bill – Being an independent, unsigned band in this day and age is by no means easy. What do you find most challenging when it comes to growing your fan base and spreading your music?

Darren – I would say that being an independent band actually has very few negatives, but the big money of a label is obviously something we don’t have. That has a lot of power behind it and it can get our faces everywhere, but we do have a huge help, which is the internet. There are pros and cons to that of course, but we can get people to see a video of ours and we can get people to hear our music instantaneously. I know it’s kind of old-hat now, but I think people forget that they used to have to watch MTV to see a video or they could only hear a song on the radio. Being an independent band, the internet is such a great tool for us to have. There are of course a few hurdles that we run into as well, but there are more positives than negatives for sure.

Bill – Describe the ideal future for The Scissors.

Darren – I definitely see us making more records and still doing what we’ve been doing. I describe where we’ve come from as a staircase in that it seemingly keeps moving toward the top landing. As long as it keeps doing that I think our ideal future is to keep growing and not go backwards. We’ve done some great things in the past and we’ve been working towards getting our music out to more people. The ideal future is for everybody to simply be able to have our music in their hands or iPods or cars or wherever. - Jaded In Chicago

Suburban pop-rockers the Scissors may have catchy hooks and upbeat choruses. But with Halloween upon us, take heed: This band isn’t as sunny as they appear.

“As far as pop goes, we have a darker edge,” says singer Darren Vorel of Villa Park. “We’re not singing about, ‘Hey, we’re going to the mall, and we like girls.’ Some of the songs are more personal … and they always have some sort of a story to tell.”

Indeed, listen closer to the bright, poppy tracks from the Scissors’ forthcoming album, “You Can Make It Dangerous,” due out in December and produced by the Plain White T’s Tom Higgenson, and you’ll find gloomy subject matter like broken relationships and war. (The band still wants you to have fun at their shows and sing along, of course.) And though the group members are officially scared of haunted houses, the Scissors are big fans of Halloween: Singer Yvonne Szumski once even acted, with bloody results, in a DIY horror movie about a revenge-seeking office worker.

Szumski, 23, and Vorel, 29, checked in from Vorel’s house in Villa Park as they watched something slightly less terrifying: Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.”

If you were on the Food Network, what kind of chefs would you be?
Darren Vorel: I’d like to try sushi chef, but I’m afraid I’d get everyone sick.

You like playing with knives?
DV: Yeah, that’s kind of the common theme of the band. With some of our songs—we have a song called “I Got a Knife”—there’s more of an edgy theme. … It just happens to be within the music we all grew up listening to, like Alkaline Trio and the Misfits.

What’s scary about the Scissors? You guys sound so happy and shiny.
Yvonne Szumski: The new songs on the records aren’t that scary. That’s why we’re doing cover songs [at Reggie’s Halloween show], to make it more fun and scary.
DV: More fun than scary.

Tell me about some of the darker songs on your new album.
DV: “Let’s Go” is one that people ask about a lot. … [Our drummer] was researching North Korea and communism … people trying to get into South Korea, you know? He heard this, and he thought it was crazy, and he researched what people did [to escape] and how people died. … So the song is basically, like, taking your whole crew and getting out of a bad situation, which in this case was getting out of North Korea.
YS: None of that’s actually in the song. But that was part of his inspiration, for sure.
DV: And when we play it live, I always like to make it like we want to get out of the venue.

So Yvonne, you fake-died in a horror movie?
YS: It was pretty scary, I’m not going to lie. I had to die and shoot out blood from my mouth.

What was your strategy? Because I think there’s good fake dying and bad fake dying.
YS: Well, it probably was the bad fake dying. But I have to say whenever I watch movies now … I can’t believe how these people can be so serious and into it when everyone else is around them drinking coffee and watching television, just doing normal things. You’ve really got to get in character.

Did someone fake-stab you?
YS: Yeah, with a screwdriver.

Are there any haunted spots in the suburbs?
YS: I think we’ve had more haunted experiences outside of Illinois. Like on tour.
DV: In Georgia, we were at this haunted pizza parlor. There used to be this old guy who owned the place, and he died. He hung himself from the rafters or something, and the story is you always see him up in the attic where the bands play. … They asked us if we wanted to sleep over. But no, we were really freaked out.
YS: Yeah, we slept in the van.

Lisa Balde is the Metromix print editor. lbalde@tribune.com - Metromix