Cleveland's Hooked Like Helen Debuts New Music Video Filmed in Northeast Ohio

Local indie band Hooked Like Helen’s newest single “Promise Me You’ll Run,” a tune about one of America’s most notorious female serial killers, Aileen Wuornos, features a music video that was shot guerilla-style with family and friends in the Sandusky, Milan and Huron areas. Directed by Josh L. Saltzman, it features special guests Alyssa Day and Mitch Arnholt on guitar and drums respectively.

“The video captures the urgency and inner turmoil that marked Aileen Wuornos’s final moments of freedom,” reads a press release about the song and its accompanying music video. “Frontwoman Nikki Stipp’s vocals slice through the air with a fierce intensity, embodying the pain, rage, and twisted love that defined Aileen’s life. The track’s high-flying rock energy is infused with the essence of 2000’s emo, old-school metal, and classic glam rock, all wrapped in a modern, hi-fi production. Think My Chemical Romance, Queen, Fall Out Boy and Paramore melded into one and blasted into the future.”

Co-produced by Nikki Stipp and K Thrash (Jelly Roll and Blink-182), the track was mixed and mastered by Chris Collier (Korn). The band is getting radio play at Alt 107.3, support at Mix 102.7, KLAQ El Paso, 89.7 The River (Sophia John’s Staff Spotlight Pick) and 99x Atlanta. Recent singles are featured on Apple Music’s Official Editorial Playlists, New in Alternative and New in Rock.

“I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, so Aileen and I have that in common,” says Nikki Stipp in a statement. “I was fortunate enough to have a better support system, access to help, and a solid foundation for my mental health, but there’s a part of me that feels comforted by turning into a temporary monster when we play this song. Aileen was insane, yes, but she was also fearless. When I channel her through the music, all the shame and pain that was once internalized, is suddenly flipped inside out, and the trauma is handed off to the dead guys in the verses. There’s massive power in rage. We just need to control it — like those fires they burn in the forest on purpose — so that no one else has to get hurt. Music is my controlled burn.”