Meet Razor Braids

Some bands just hit the nail smack on the proverbial head with a really killer name. With the sharpest moniker this side of the Hudson, Razor Braids delivers propelling garage rock and punk infused tunes that kick and stomp alongside their honeyed harmonies. 

Below, we chit chat with the sonic four piece about their fateful meeting, reality TV, and the importance of HAND WASHING.

Self-portraits by Razor Braids

Would you rather…

Your sense of smell or sense of hearing be a hundred times stronger? Why?

Janie: A sense of hearing to make up for the loss I’ve suffered from never wearing ear plugs

Jilly: Sense of hearing - it’s NYC….I can’t imagine the smells I’d get to smell would be particularly pleasant.

Hannah: Smell because then food would taste a hundred times BETTER

Hollye: Damn, tough Q because I lost a good bit of my sense of smell from my head injury, and I also have lost some hearing from not wearing ear plugs like Janie (woops!). Although all of my bandmates' answers are supreme in their own right, I am picking - a better sense of hearing. I wanna hear all the things. 

Some questions with Razor Braids

How did you all come together to form Razor Braids?

Janie: THROUGH FATE

Jilly: A bunch of happy accidents. Met Hollye through an acting class in NYC - volunteered to sing back-up vox for one gig around the time that Janie started playing with RB and one thing led to another and I ended up sticking around and bringing my guitar into the mix.

Hannah: I met the Razor Braids gals at a show they played as part of a music festival called Punk Island. Both Razor Braids and the band I was in coincidentally wore animal print. They looked and played like total badasses so I was honored when Hollye asked me to join the band.

Hollye: I started this crazy thing in 2017 and have been through a lot - head injury (i’ll stop talking about this now) and many band members. In 2019, everyone kind of came together in a real eclectic way - Jilly from acting class, Hannah from a gig and us all being obsessed with her after seeing her play, and met Janie through a guy I was seeing for a brief moment

If you could be on any reality TV show, what would it be and why?

Janie: My Strange Addiction because I want to have a strange addiction

Jilly: All I want in life is to live in the magically wholesome alternate universe that is the Great British Bake-off, please & thank you.

Hannah: Judge Mathis cuz I know he would agree with me

Hollye: The Real World, but in the early 2000’s…. Let me back in there so I can start some shit

What is the best book you’ve most recently read?

Janie: Good And Mad: The Revolutionary Power Of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister

Jilly: Cleanness by Garth Greenwell or The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel.

Hannah: The Girl in the Back: A Female Drummer's Life with Bowie, Blondie, and the '70s Rock Scene by Laura Davis-Chanin

Hollye: Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

Do you have any advice for someone starting a band in NYC?

Janie: play as many live shows as possible so you can find your place in the scene 

Jilly: You often end up playing with and running into a lot of the same bands so I’d definitely say to be kind and supportive of other musicians you meet during gigs and otherwise. 

Hannah: Make sure to get a sense of everyone’s expectations or goals and level of commitment to the band, because even if you have great chemistry musically the practical stuff can make or break a band.

Hollye: What everyone else said plus don’t be afraid to fuck it up or fail or play a shitty show - don’t be so precious and don’t be too hard on yourself. A lot of this gets better and more clear the more you play. Also, if the negatives outway the positives, somethin’ ain’t right. Go with your gut.

Do you think there is a benefit of playing songs live before recording them?

Janie: We have only played songs live before recording them… I think it gives us a good sense of the different kinds of energies our songs can have when you present them to an audience

Jilly: Definitely - I think songs take on a totally different life when played in front of an audience and you end up discovering what is resonating with people or if there are parts of certain songs that can be improved upon - that’s super helpful information to have before actually recording something.

Hannah: I don’t consider a song to be finished until it’s performed live. To me, that’s an essential part of song writing.

Hollye: Obviously i'm the last one to throw in answers here, but I agree with the ladies again. Playing live is like rehearsing for the main event. It’s the time for you to air the kinks out before you make it permanent. 

What has been your favorite performance to date?

Janie: Femme Fatale’s NYE Space Cowgirl show :)

Jilly: Mercury Lounge. Really loved playing with Dolphin Pals and Talulah Paisley - such good, positive energy between the bands!

Hannah: I’m gonna go with Janie on this one and say Femme Fatale’s NYE Space Cowgirl show. NYE is my favorite holiday so the energy was on point.

Hollye: NYE for sure. I really felt like myself onstage more than I had ever before.I had a fucking blast with my gurlz, I wore a wig, did a backwards summersault on the ground, and I had pasties on. What more could you ask for?

If there was no subway, would you prefer to scooter or bike everywhere?

Janie: I would prefer to not go anywhere

Jilly: A Razor (Braids) Scooter, duh.

Hannah: I ride my bike everywhere and rarely take the subway, so I guess the bike wins, but I would love to get better at riding a scooter!

Hollye: I don’t know how to ride a bike (whatever) so I am submitting an alternate answer - Rollerblades!!!

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Jilly: Listen to “Nashville” wherever you get your music and also wash your dang hands. 

Janie: cop a shirt

Hannah: Wash your hands, make sure you scrub the backs of your hands and between your fingers, and you get extra credit for getting under your nails <3

Hollye: All i’ve ever wanted was to provide a way for others to connect, to not feel alone in whatever they are going through - good or bad. We are in a time where nobody knows what’s going on and everything feels really crazy and scary. I just hope that people can listen to our single and feel a little bit of peace, a little normalcy, a positive escape from our current climate. That’s what the song is about for me. It’s also a great song to wash your dang hands too! WOOHOO!