Kay Hanley doesn’t just believe in the power of music—she’s lobbying Congress about it. “Songwriters are uniquely screwed when it comes to streaming,” she says early in our conversation. As co-executive director of the Songwriters of North America, she’s been on the front lines of pushing the Music Modernization Act, a rare piece of bipartisan legislation that attempts to give music creators a fighting chance in the algorithm economy. “It passed unanimously in the House,” she marvels. “I watched Doug Collins and Hakeem Jeffries cry on the floor of Congress. It was like a deleted scene from Schoolhouse Rock!”
But let’s not bury the lede: Aurora Gory Alice, the debut album from Letters to Cleo, turned 25. Or 26. Or technically 31 if you count demos. “It kind of has two birthdays—’93 and ’94,” Hanley concedes. “But hey, we’re not great at calendars.”
The band celebrated by playing three full-album shows in Boston, including songs they’d literally never played live. “We gained so many fans after we broke up,” she says. “A lot of them thought they’d never get to see us. Some of them came to shows because their parents brought them as kids. It was really cool. Like… full circle, but with more tattoos.”
The big one, of course, was “Here and Now,” the song that turned everything upside down. “The first version was funky,” Hanley says with a wince. “Didn’t hit the chorus till a minute and a half in.” Enter producer Mike Denneen, who chopped, flipped, and rearranged it into a proper hit. “He basically saved the song,” she says. “And he just passed away recently. He meant everything to us.”
Things got weird after that. “We put out the second record, and suddenly it was like, ‘Oh sorry, we already added Alanis. We can’t add more girls.’” Welcome to the '90s: the golden era of modern rock radio gatekeeping. Still, Hanley doesn’t dwell on it. “I got to make records and tour the world with my brothers. I had the best time in my 20s.”
Somewhere in there, she co-wrote Josie and the Pussycats, toured relentlessly, and eventually transitioned to writing music for animated shows—Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, and now DC Super Hero Girls. “This is exactly what I was supposed to be doing,” she says, grinning. “This is what all those years in a rock band were leading to.”
The band still plays occasional reunion gigs, usually around November. “We’re talking about a full-length album,” she says. “But getting us all in one place is like herding caffeinated toddlers.” Still, the idea’s there. The songs are simmering. If it happens, it happens. If not? “We’ve got a hundred songs people still want to sing along to,” Hanley says. “And we love a sing-along.”
As for the present, she's still tweeting about songwriter rights like her rent depends on it (because it kind of does), writing cartoon hits, and occasionally revisiting the records that turned a gang of Boston club rats into MTV darlings.
Listen to the interview above and then check out a classic video below!
