Las Vegas rockers Velvet Chains have recently issued their debut album, Icarus, described as ‘an intimate and emotional album, written in partnership with multi-platinum composer Drew Lawrence.’ Comprised of members Jerry Quinlan: lead singer and rhythm guitar, Laurent Cassiano: lead guitar and backing vocal, Nils Goldschmidt: bass, and Noelle Schertzer: drums, the band’s sound recalls certain bands from the ‘90s/early 21st century – and as Goldschmidt recently told BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato, his band’s name should serve as a hint as to their sound and style.

BraveWords: How did the band form?

Nils Goldschmidt: “Velvet Chains formed in 2018, when I placed an ad on Craigslist. The ad mentioned forming a rock band with influences such as Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Green Day, etc. Mainly late ‘80s to early ‘00s, with a heavy influence from the ‘90s. Many people replied to the ad, and I started holding auditions. The first member to make the roster was our drummer Noelle. From there, we signed up our lead guitarist and backup vocalist, Laurent, and the final member to join was Jerry. We’ve been going strong ever since!”

BraveWords: How did the band come up with its name? What is its meaning?

Nils Goldschmidt: “The name alludes to some of our biggest influences – Velvet Revolver and Alice in Chains. Nils provided the ‘velvet’ and Noelle provided the ‘chains.’ We wanted a name that immediately conveys what the band is about and what genre we belong in.”

BraveWords: What is the current Las Vegas rock scene like?

Nils Goldschmidt: “Rock ‘n’ roll is very much alive and kicking in Las Vegas! There are a multitude of bars, clubs, and casinos that have live rock bands, and any day, particularly on weekends, you can find live rock acts playing all over the city. Vegas really has become a great place for rock.”

BraveWords: What are some memories of writing and recording Icarus?

Nils Goldschmidt: “We officially became an original band during the height of the pandemic, as prior to that, while we were gigging often, we were just mainly doing covers. Talk about a silver lining from an awful situation, right? Our lyrics also reflect those times quite candidly, as they’re full of anguish, worry, and can be quite dark. Regardless, we made the best of that whole Covid mess and were able to come up with a record that is very honest and that we’re really proud of. The recording process was also quite involved, as we recorded drums at The Hideout (Las Vegas), bass at The Tone Factory (Las Vegas), and guitar/vocals at The Killroom (Seattle). It was a lot of work but overall, it was incredibly fun.”

BraveWords: Which tracks are your favorite?

Nils Goldschmidt: “I have to go with the tracks that have collabs – ‘Tattooed’ featuring Richard Fortus and ‘Pass The Disease’ featuring Jeff Rouse and Mike Squires. On top of that, our music video for ‘Tattooed’ was directed by legendary music video director/producer Dean Karr. Having the chance to work with all these incredibly talented friends was such a blast, that these 2 tracks have become my favorite.”

BraveWords: What are some memories of filming the “Tattooed” video?

Nils Goldschmidt: “A smile comes to my face when I think about that moment. The entire set looked like a Hollywood movie – well, it pretty much was a Hollywood movie. All sorts of people working the set, running back and forth, making sure everything was working properly and that everyone was on schedule. On top of that, all the creativity involved, from the ideas to the props to the makeup, etc., it was just mind-blowing. Dean is an amazing director/producer, and we can’t wait to work with him again!”

BraveWords: The second single is “Strangelove.” Please also discuss that track and if there will be a video fixed for it. 

Nils Goldschmidt: “‘Strangelove’ is one of our more upbeat songs, and it has a bass line that’s really fun to play. The song itself is also quite dark, as it focuses on toxic relationships and failed love. It’s definitely a product of the times we were living in when I wrote it. We are putting out a live performance video from a recent gig at Backstage Bar & Billiards in Las Vegas.”

BraveWords: Who are the band’s influences? 

Nils Goldschmidt: “As a band we are heavily influenced by Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Green Day, Audioslave, etc. If you add our individual influences then you’ll get more bands like Velvet Revolver, KISS, Matchbox 20, etc.”

BraveWords: Future plans?

Nils Goldschmidt: “We’re currently booking festivals around the country for 2022 and possibly a tour. We’ve also started writing songs for our next record which will likely come out end of 2022 or early 2023. We’re just having a ton of fun right now and living the moment!”