Review Fix Exclusive: Daddy Issues’ Angela Alvarez Talks ‘Handle It’ And More

Review Fix chats with Daddy Issues’ Angela Alvarez, who discusses the creative process and goals behind the band’s newest album, “Handle It.”

About the Band:

Often hailed as “the B-52’s on steroids,” Daddy Issues is a high-energy band from Southern California that entertains audiences with fun, sexy shows and loud guitars to match. The band is the brainchild of singer/songwriter, Angela Alvarez, and bassist, Julia “Jules” Whelpton, and is known for its catchy tunes and on-stage antics. From fall 2013 to present day, Daddy Issues has played sold out shows in Southern California, Arizona, and Las Vegas at legendary venues such as House of Blues, Belly Up Tavern, the Casbah, and Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles.

The band began in San Diego when lead singer, Angela was in search of an original rock band after moving from Scottsdale, AZ. Using Craigslist, she found a band called The Justice Fire, where Jules played bass. Within a couple of months, the pair decided to split off and create a high-energy rock band that mashed other forms of popular music together. They tested the name Daddy Issues at a local acoustic show in November 2013 to positive reception, and then decided to pursue the full-band setting.

Their career was further boosted by local radio play, eventually the band got the attention of local rock legend, Roni Lee. Lee recently signed Daddy Issues to her label, Play Like a Girl Records.

Taking cues from No Doubt, Green Day, Arctic Monkeys and The Foo Fighters, the band’s music is a blend of 90’s and modern tropes.

For More on the Band, Click Here.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Angela Alvarez: I moved from Arizona to San Diego back in 2013, and promptly placed an ad in the musician community of Craiglist. I was quickly contacted by a band called The Justice Fire where Jules was playing bass. We hit it off almost instantly and began playing acoustic shows as Daddy Issues. Over time, that project grew and we decided to leave the other project to focus on Daddy Issues, then added a lead guitar and drummer.

Review Fix: What’s your standout song on the new album? How was it written?

Alvarez: Haha…that’s a great question. When talking to our fans about their favorites, we rarely get the same answer, which is actually kinda awesome. We wanted to create an album where every song was unique, and its clear we’ve achieved that.

If we had to pick one that we know everyone loves, it would probably be “Different.” It was written by Angela before moving to San Diego and was inspired by Where Have All the Cowboys Gone.

Review Fix: What does it feel like to be compared to the B52s?

Alvarez: We love it! They are such an iconic band for so many reasons, so we take that as a huge compliment. They’re fun, sexy and make really catchy music.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2017?

Alvarez: More recording, videos and touring. Now that we have the album, we’re ready to go at this full blast. It took us a while to hone our sound and find the right producer. We didn’t want to put out something we weren’t incredibly proud of, so we took our time. We also have some TV and film licensing in the works, but more on that once it’s official.

Review Fix: What makes “Handle It” a special album?

Alvarez: Every song is unique. That’s really important to us. We do not want to be a band where every songs sounds alike. We love all genres of music, and we try to blend them together in a meaningful, fun way. The common thread is the instrumentation – we are a four piece rock band. Some people may think we sound a little scattered from song to song, but our fans love the variety and creativity. We’re not going to be pigeonholed.

Review Fix: How do you want your music to affect people?

Alvarez: We just want them to feel something. Whether its anger, sadness or silliness or sexiness, we want to connect with people on an emotional level.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Alvarez: So much! Even though we’ve been at this for three years now, we feel like we’re just getting started now that we have the album. We’ll definitely do a video or two from the album. We also have so many more songs ready to record, and a national tour is in the works. We’re just so grateful to our friends and fans who have helped us get this far already, and to them we say, there’s so much more coming.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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