Plastic Rhino- LA based Alternative Rock Duo
Interview conducted Feb 18, 2022
By Dan Locke
Plastic Rhino is: Atara Glazer, Jack Glazer
Plastic Rhino is a female-fronted Alternative Hard Rock duo from LA. Raised on 70’s Progressive Rock, 80’s Hair Metal, and 90’s Alternative Grunge, Plastic Rhino have a deep root in Rock ‘N Roll music. Lead singer and co-writer Atara wanted to be a singer in a band from a very young age. Lead guitarist and co-writer Jack decided he wanted to learn to play guitar after attending his first Metallica concert at the age of 13.
What is your upbringing?
A: We were both born in Sunny Los Angeles. Valley kids both of us. I moved away when I was 6, first to Israel, then to Cincinnati, OH, and eventually made in back to Southern California, Orange County. Jack was born and raised in LA. He is a native through and through.
How did you discover music?
A: For me it was MTV in the 80’s, and as a child I was obsessed with the music videos I watched on that channel.
J: Listening to Zeppelin and Van Halen tapes in the car with my dad.
How did you start to write music?
A: I was writing terrible songs from a young age. My first ever song was captured on tape, and called Koo Koo Glida (Ice Cream in Hebrew) ahah. I performed it based off newspaper articles in the prop newspaper I used for my song and dance. I feel my writing has come a long way since then.
J: Tabbing out riff ideas on the back of a school notebook in 10th grade.
Jack- How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?
J: My parents ordered a $40.00 acoustic guitar off of the internet. I don’t have it anymore.
Jack- What is your guitar of choice now? Year, make and model?
J: ESP Eclipse, their Les Paul style Guitar.
Atara got into the band from a Craigslist ad. How was that?
A: This was when craigslist and getting band members went hand in hand so it was very natural. I found all my bands that I joined over the years through Craigslist.
How did your band form?
A: Jack and I decided to go off on our own to write original music, and create the next LA Rock ‘N Roll band. We started recording song ideas in 2013, and came up with our first EP, which was all over the place honestly, and inspired by too much. As the years went on, we figured out the kind of music and sound we wanted to create. A little hard, a little melodic, and a big wall of sound.
How did you get your bands name?
J: To be honest it was something completely random, and it wasn’t taken by another band on the internet. (We google searched).
Describe your music.
J: We write the songs that we would like to hear on the radio. We don’t think too much about genre or matching a particular style. We like a lot of different music, and we like to play around with lots of ideas in the studio. If it feels good, it’s good for us.
What was your first performance at like as a band?
A: A little messy, and a lot of performance anxiety.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
A: Yes, we are with ASCAP
What makes a good songwriter?
A: That is the question for the ages. There are so many different kinds of songwriters out there. For me it’s about the story being told through the lyrics and the singing of the song. If the song ends and I need to hear it again, that is some good songwriting.
J: Someone who writes from the heart, without worrying what others think.
Atara- I saw your demo video. Did you ever think of trying out for the Janis Joplin if they ever product it?
A: awesome! I would absolutely love to audition. There are quite a few good lady singers out there though that do Janis’s justice, so the competition would be insane!
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
A: For Plastic Rhino it was “Underbite” off the first EP: “Confessions Of A Nobody”. We had performed a different version of that song on Balcony TV, a musical web series, and when we went into the studio, a whole new version came out of it.
What is the process of writing your music?
A: We both like to record ideas on our phones separately, and then share them with each other, build off that before we take them to our Producer to create the entire idea. Sometimes whole songs come to me in 5 minutes, other times it’s just little ideas that need to be pieced together.
Tell me about your single “Bleeding Heart” which comes out this week. Just in times for valentine’s Day off of your Terminus album?
A: Jack and I have been together for 10 years, married for 5. This song is about love, relationships, and the ups and downs that occur when you are with someone for so long. Sometimes one of you has to fight to save your relationship if the other begins to wane or lose interest. Love is not easy, it takes work, dedication, and a strong belief that the other person you are with can pick you back up if you fall down.
Besides that your latest single “King” was produced by Tom Chandler. How was it to work with him?
J: At this point he is considered family. We have been working with him since 2015. Not only is he a great extension in how we think, but brings out the best in us and then some. He is an insanely talented musician and producer.
What is your favorite track on your album?
A: For me it’s King. I just really love what we accomplished with that song.
J: For me it’s Empath, which will be a future release very soon. It has the perfect blend of heavy and melodic that I have been shooting for as a guitar player.
How was it to heard your music featured on the Heidi and Frank show?
J: A dream come true; I have been a fan of the show for years.
A: A- MAZ- ING. It felt like a dream, and I was in my car to really give it the full effect.
What are you’re feelings about streaming music?
A: For upcoming musicians, it’s actually pretty amazing, because your work can be heard next to the greats like Metallica, Alice in Chains, etc. the music audience can also discover way more new music, that radio play and TV doesn’t ever show you. I have discovered so many amazing bands because of Spotify playlists and similar artist features.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
J: As with anything in life, especially technology, things will constantly be evolving as time goes on. Real musicians will always know.
Digital vs. vinyl?
A: digital because you can hear so many more elements that are in the songs. Vinyl is fun to play, and def nostalgic, but for sound quality, digital rules.
J: Digital. You can’t carry a turntable in your pocket with you, but you have a phone.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
A: I have been singing “Optimistic” by Radiohead a lot lately, which is so weird because I haven’t listened to that song in over 10 years. It popped in my head the other day and I remembered what a good freakin song that is. Radiohead, now there is some good songwriting.
J: “Master of Puppets” by Metallica, cause it fuckin rules!
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
J: Yes, and it already has.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
A: The only plus for most artists was the downtime to write really good music. A lot of good music is coming out right now written during the Pandemic. Korn’s new album “Requiem” is the best work they have done to date, and I know they wrote it during shut down. Same goes for us. This is our best music yet coming from Plastic Rhino. Artists actually had time to really think about the music, and what we are trying to express through it.
Atara- Your day gig is working in video and film- How did the virus affect that part of your life?
A: Hollywood shut down for about 4 months, and then I went back to work on the pilot I was on before shut down, and it was business as usual, besides some extra precautions that had to join us on set.
How was it to work on shows like The Odd Couple, Uncle Buck and Last Man Standing?
A: I was a costume PA for all those shows, and the world was my oyster! My eyes were big and shiny. Now I’m a grumpy set Costumer that has seen it all.
Can you tell me about your latest project “911 Lonestar”?
A: This is my second season with Lonestar and even though the hours are long, the days can be tough, I love the people I work with.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
J: I don’t think Pay to play will ever go away. Everything related to music costs money in one way or another.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas.
If the cost was down to the point, you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
A: Sure! that sounds like fun!!
In the past if a musician stops doing music, they find a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
A: Producing horror content for movies and TV. I have a lot of ideas.
J: I’d still be a musician.
What is your happy place?
J: Performing on Stage in front of a crowd that is engaged.
A: Oooo good one, I was gonna say Disneyland haha.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million), Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offering by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is willing to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
A: if the money is that good, then 100% yes.
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik, DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song.
Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone.
Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?
A: We use these platforms to distribute our music to Spotify and apple, etc. We are one of these bands, and we do make money off these platforms. These have done more for up-and-coming musicians and bands than most labels can do these days. For the first time ever you can be independent, have complete control over your music, and see all the profit firsthand. It’s pretty cool to be a part of this music community.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. n which it has become a place for music artist to earn revenue when people use their music. Which in many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to hug boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the dance challenge algorithmically generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch. Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group-, The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
A: We have a tiktok for the band already, we are hip and cool with the kids.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer. The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices. Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty-One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger. The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
A: I had no idea this was happening, but I think it will def have an impact. Again, the kids love the Tik Tok.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
A: Dig deep and go underground to find the music you love. Don’t just trust the radio to feed you songs. Most of the time, they aren’t very good. Especially when it comes to alternative rock.
Also follow us on all the socials cause that’s the crazy world we live in these days. Peace and Love!
J: Love and appreciate everyone that gives us a listen, whether it’s once or several times.
