A Dirty Dozen with DANIEL CUDDY from HYPNOLOVEWHEEL – May 2026

According to a recent press release: “Hypnolovewheel’s Parallel Universe is a career-spanning overview of the band’s beloved and idiosyncratic blend of garage rock, post-punk, power pop, and psychedelia. Kicking off a reissue program of the group’s complete catalog, Parallel Universe features 15 of Hypnolovewheel’s most memorable moments, as selected by Yo La Tengo’s James McNew, as well as seven Hypnomagical rarities. Previously available in a limited vinyl edition and remastered by Kurt Bloch (Fastbacks, Young Fresh Fellows), Parallel Universe will be streaming on all platforms and for sale as digital download via Bandcamp on June 19, 2026.” We get bassist Daniel to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The latest release from Hypnolovewheel is Parallel Universe, a career-spanning anthology and the first in a series of reissues of the group’s back catalog. It was recorded between 1988 and 1994 and compiled mainly by our amazing friend James McNew from Yo La Tengo and Dump. I was surprised by some of his selections, and I’d hope that diehard fans will be as well. The tracks toward the end are unreleased or barely released, and hopefully they will sneak up on everyone!

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Seeing the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine as a kid was definitely my way into rock music. Marvel Comics Super Special #4, The Beatles Story (1978) sealed the deal. I couldn’t have imagined being a musician before checking out Caroline Coon’s 1988: The New Wave Punk Rock Explosion (published in 1977, natch. Futuristic and dystopian!) from my local public library.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

My adolescent journey was guided by The Who, perhaps the ultimate voice of tween-boy angst; my first “real” rock show, December 4, 1979, at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, NY, the night after the tragic incident in Cincinnati where 11 fans were crushed. The police presence was palpable. The show was delivered with a true emotional intensity and apparent love for and duty toward the surviving fan base. Kenney Jones was a great drummer for The Who. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, and check out the recordings from that tour.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

The ghost of Jimi Hendrix? I don’t think that requires much elaboration. Slightly off-topic, toward the onset of Hypnolovewheel’s career, we thought it might be cool to do a song with the great Monie Love. Monie Lovewheel? Never Mike Lovewheel, though.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Well, most of my time is spent out of the studio and not on tour! Usually, I’m working a day job, and I enjoy reading comics, playing word games, and watching monster movies. To unwind, I like to check out a rock show or go into the studio or play a gig with my current band, The Special Pillow.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I’d say Hypnolovewheel played noisy, jangly pop / rock in the late 1980’s US college-radio mode, with a strong 1960’s influence. There were four distinct songwriting voices which gave the group an eclectic sound that still managed to retain a semi-coherent collective identity. Because of some brainy / zany / quirky aspects to the music we were occasionally compared to They Might Be Giants. I never thought that was an apt comparison, but it bugged me more then. Clearly, they were a more commercially successful act, but they always seemed to be coming from another angle, much more slickly “professional” and musically accomplished. But perhaps lacking in some essential, stupid, “duh” rock quality?

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Our band currently lives in three disparate states and one of us is deceased, so we don’t hang out too much. Guitarist Dave Ramirez has a certified culinary background, and he’s definitely cooking. The late, great drummer Peter Walsh would most likely be getting the drinks in and on, and I would probably pick up that gauntlet now. No one would ever bust out a guitar for a singalong, but master of the mystic arts Stephen Hunking might try out some card tricks and sleight of hand.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I don’t know if it counts as starstruck, but I saw Henry Winkler walking down Sixth Avenue in NYC on an extremely frigid winter day. He had a lightweight puffer jacket and no hat and just looked like he was very, very cold.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician is playing music. It has never been a job in 40-plus years, and I don’t think there is any such thing as a dream job.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I have never wanted anyone to ask me anything! I feel as though “What is the scene like in your hometown?” is a pretty worn-out query. (I live in Hoboken, NJ, a town that seems to have some inaccurate associations attached to it, music scene wise.)

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

It probably would not have changed my current situation, but in retrospect, I wish that Hypnolovewheel had taken an extra six months working on the material for our final album, Altered States. I don’t think it was a disaster by any means, but in hindsight and knowing the songs we wrote immediately afterwards, I think it could have been much better.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Well, I have spent enough time in recording studios to know that it would probably have to be a live album. Let’s say the Ramones’ It’s Alive! I was lucky enough to see them numerous times in my youth, and would be psyched to lend my time-traveling voice to the Gabba Gabba Hey-ing collective.

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Category: Interviews