CATCHING UP WITH BROKEN CUFFS
An interview with the Palmdale Band
From the Fall 2019 Issue of Paradigm
October 3, 2019
One lives in Long Beach, another in east Palmdale and the third up in the Central Coast.
So how the members of Broken Cuffs have the ability to be a band is anyone’s guess. But, there's that adage if you want something bad enough, you make it happen. So they make it happen.
“We’ll practice every few months the night before a show. We haven’t played since July,” said singer and guitarist Ricardo.
The three are standing less than a block away from Full Circle Brewery, where they’re set to go on just ahead of Conflict on Day Three of the Fresno Punk Invasion. It’s a kind of asphyxiating heat that’s brought them to stand under a tree in front of someone’s home. Cloaked in complete darkness brings some semblance of a cooling effect.
“We’re going to play tonight with zero practice and just cross our fingers and, hopefully, he’s on the same beat,” Ricardo continued. “But, it’s punk rock. It’s a live show. If there’s mistakes...”
“Just turn up the volume,” drummer Manny said.
“That’s the fun of it,” Coby, Broken Cuffs’ bassist, added.
Having fun while working through the kinks is a kind of short hand for what the Palmdale punk rock band has been doing since its start in 2005.
The band disbanded in 2007. The dissolution at the time sent Ricardo up north, where he remains, and Broken Cuffs was silent for several years before coming back together. The band had more recently been a four piece, but when work schedules made being in a band difficult for some, the lineup shifted yet again. The latest change came with the departure of drummer Adam, making way for Manny (formerly of Dead 77) to get behind the kit. There was also the question of whether Ricardo would remain in the dual position of vocals and guitar – a back-and-forth dance that’s been taking place for several years now – since it was never his aspiration to sing.
However, habit becomes law. And it appears it’s now set in stone Ricardo, some 14 years since Broken Cuffs' start, is to remain on vocals, plus guitar.
“I’ve accepted it. I’ve accepted it now. It’s fun,” Ricardo said of being behind the mic. “I have things to say, but I was OK with playing music and having someone else convey the message. Plus, I originally thought it was boring to just be on a microphone, while the rest of these dudes got to play instruments.”
With the lineup solidified, Manny has now stepped in to help complete what the band was already in the midst of trying to do: record a full length and getting it out on vinyl. There’s also some major gigs on the horizon, including one possibly at the end of October with a big name, and December’s CY Fest.
Other than that, Broken Cuffs still play the same infectious songs they’ve always played. And to be fair, the constant push and pull of different members and some people wanting to play some shows with others not as keen to do so as still others were indecisive about even staying on the lineup, hasn’t exactly provided opportunity to push themselves musically speaking. And that’s OK.
“Honestly, we’re still writing with the same method from 2005, when we were 16 years old,” Ricardo said. “We’re not striving to grow musically or talent-wise. We just play. I play the shit that I want to listen to. If it’s simple and it has a good message and it’s catchy, then you’ve sold me your music, you know? If I can see a band that I’ve never heard, but I’ve learned their chorus by the second time they sing it, I like it. So, at this point, we’re not trying to challenge ourselves and grow music wise. We’re just doing what we’ve always done and sticking to it.”
Among the newer songs is “Fight,” which brings awareness to suicide after the passing of a mutual high school friend of Ricardo’s and Coby’s last year. There’s also “Uniform,” stemming from the Trump administration, and pushing home the point there isn’t one look, or one uniform, to rise against the forces that be. “Enemy” is about the impact of humans on the environment. Most of the songs are written by Ricardo, although Coby wrote “Media Takeover” for the band’s EP “These Boots,” about misleading reporting in the mass media.
Outside of wanting to get their messages across, what makes them tick – despite the distance between each other and everything else in their personal lives – isn’t rocket science.
“It’s like you either want to do it, or you don’t,” Ricardo said of being in a band and participating in the scene. “I live and breathe Broken Cuffs and every day I’m trying to do something, whether that’s coming up with a new shirt or a flyer. I do a lot of flyers for the L.A. backyard scene. None of these guys say ‘Hey can you make a flyer and I’ll pay you this.’ I just fucking do it because if I can lend out a hand so that it becomes this bigger monster, I’m happy to do it.”
It’s that same sort of uplifting, no-strings-attached kind of help that’s the mark of Broken Cuffs’ music.
“For me, it’s my form of meditation. If I’m having a shitty day at work or with my life, I play music and it’s my relief right there,” Ricardo said. “Fuck drugs and alcohol. I play music and all of a sudden my worries go away. I like to do things to keep my mind busy and not worry about my fucking shit life that’s happening or previous experiences. You’ve just got to move forward. Never look back. Just keep moving forward. I’m not trying to preach fucking positivity, but it’s the only way to go.”
For Manny, being in Broken Cuffs has provided a solid, tight lineup as he agreed with Ricardo and Coby that sometimes fewer people in a band just makes things more manageable.
“For me, it’s just an addiction,” Manny said of playing. “I just love playing music. It’s my payout. You never really get a payout in music, but just those shitty trips where you’re taken to a different state and you don’t know what you’re going to experience. Is it a venue or is it a dirt lot? You have no idea but I like that.”
Added Coby: “If I’m not playing music, I’m listening to music and it’s not just punk. It’s all sorts of music, mostly in the rock genre. But it’s all eclectic. It’s definitely a passion of mine and always will be.”
Anyone in Fresno probably felt that passion if they were there for Broken Cuffs’ set. The band’s made it a point of playing every Fresno Punk Invasion, except for last year’s when Coby’s daughter was born.
But when asked what the importance of playing these fests are – aside from obviously supporting a friend in show organizer Destructive Productions’ Franco – they look forward and drive home the point of the scene's next generation.
“Maybe there’s a young kid in the audience,” Ricardo said. “I remember when I was a kid. I was happy-go-lucky and then you start reading some of these lyrics of songs that are more political, like Bad Religion or Anti-Flag, and you’re like you know what? What they’re saying makes a lot of sense. So maybe that’s what some of these bands are doing tonight because there are kids here at the show.”
“It’s always great to play an all ages show,” Manny said. “I remember I was in high school and I used to ditch. There was this band called Left Alone in Wilmington and I used to go see them play and it was all ages. They’d play on a Wednesday or a Thursday and just watching them, because they were local, I’d be like ‘Oh, that’s him down the street. That’s that one guy.’ It kind of made it easier for me to believe ‘Oh, I guess I could play music like he does.’”
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