Skip to main contentTapes 'n Tapes have been through the proverbial wringer in the music world. When the band's 2005 debut album The Loon came out, sites like Pitchfork had anointed this band as the next great hope for American indie music. By the time the quartet's third full-length was released earlier this year, the backlash was as loud and inevitable as a sonic boom. It's a shame, too, as Outside makes good on the promises that this Minnesotan band's earliest work made. The disc is emotional, playful, and works in their obvious love of Caribbean rhythms without it feeling cloying or overly thought out.
In advance of Tapes 'n Tapes' appearance at the Doug Fir Lounge on Wednesday, Videosyncrasy caught up with Josh Grier and had him look at some videos from his band's still-young career track.
Promotional video for "Badaboom" (found on the 2011 release Outside)
Who came up with the concept for this video?
The concept was really a collaboration between us and Northern Outpost (the production company that made the video). Originally, we wanted to have a video just showing two guys having "the best day ever" out in the California sunshine. Unfortunately, we needed to shoot the video in Minnesota in April. So that put some limitations on the amount of fun in the sun there could be in the video. We worked with Northern Outpost to come up with something that would be more viable, but still keep the original idea and feel that we wanted for the video. They ended up working all of these Minneapolis/St. Paul landmarks into the video, which I think added a great hometown feel to it for us.
It's quite a romantic video - is that what you were hoping for?
Yes and no. It's supposed to be up to the viewer. We mostly wanted to show these two guys having a great time together. I think the guys in the video did a great job. They're clearly affectionate towards each other without it being over the top or sappy.
For the album that this song comes from - you went back to self-releasing your work...what prompted that decision?
Our contract with XL had expired, so we were free to do what we wanted with this record. We recorded the record on our own in Minneapolis, and when it came time to put it out, releasing it ourselves just made a lot of sense to us. If you release a record yourself, you own all the rights to the record and can make all the decisions about how the record is released. We originally put our first EP and LP out on our own. Our main reason for being on a label was for the distribution. But for this record we were able to get worldwide distribution without a label. So now we own all the rights to the record and have control over how everything with the record is handled.
Does this mean you were in charge of funding your video production on your own?
Yeah, one of the harsh realities of running your own record label is that "label expenses" are our expenses. But for us it's worth it to be able to do things the way that we want. Luckily self-funding our videos hasn't hindered us. We've worked with some great people and are really excited about both of the videos for this record.
Outside was met with some rather shrugging reviews - is that a concern at all or do you pay attention to what the critics have to say?
We've never put much weight into what other people think of our music. It's not something that we have any control over, and everybody is entitled to their opinion. All we can do is make music that we enjoy and is exciting for us. If other people are into it too, that's great.
Skit from the MTV series Human Giant featuring Tapes 'n Tapes
How did you end up getting involved with Human Giant and their show?
Aziz and Jason Woliner (the director of the video and Human Giant) actually made this video before Human Giant was around. Aziz had gotten in touch with us saying he liked our music. We saw his comedy and thought he was hilarious. We talked briefly about trying to do a music video together, but that never worked. Then they came up with the Clell Tickle idea. They shot most of it at the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2006 and we put it out online right after that. Then when Human Giant started they used it as one of their sketches. It was definitely something that was cool for us to be a part of.
What was the reaction of the crowd when Aziz did that introduction for your set?
The reaction was decidedly mixed. Some people got that it was a joke, but I think a lot of people were confused. There were actually a few folks who wrote us to say they were really offended and that we should fire "whoever that publicity guy was".
Was is hard to do the acting portion of this clip?
Luckily, we just had to be ourselves. If we had to play characters it might have been a different story. But as it was, we were hardly in the video and Aziz and Jason pretty much told us what they wanted us to say. So they made it pretty easy for us.
A tour video filmed and edited by Tapes 'n Tapes featuring the notorious Shake Weight
This is a HILARIOUS video...when and why did you decide to put this together?
Erik bought me the Shake Weight for my birthday right before we went on tour and I brought it along for a little comic relief. We had some time to kill one day in Birmingham, AL and Erik decided he was going to tape everybody in the band and at the venue using the Shake Weight. We were just looking to entertain ourselves. Boredom can be a powerful inspirational tool. We'd also been using it a lot on tour, and we wanted to showcase on our stellar Shake Weight technique.
How is it to work one of those Shake Weights?
It feels like you're shaking up a half full bottle of pop. You just shake it back and forth and it gives you a stellar upper arm work out.
Have you considered sending it to the Shake Weight people for a potential endorsement deal?
That hadn't occurred to us. But now that you mention it...
Do you still have the Shake Weight?
Sadly, no. Shortly after the making of the video the Shake Weight went missing. We think it found a loving home at the Bottletree in Birmingham, AL (the venue where we shot the video).
You guys do quite a lot of video work from the road - is that just to help stave off the boredom that sometimes comes with touring?
Yeah, boredom plays a key role in creating a lot of the tour videos we've made. It helps keep us busy on long van rides. I think it's also a fun way to share what we're up to with anybody who might be interested.
Sean Malto skate video featuring the Tapes 'n Tapes song "Buckle" (found on their 2005 album The Loon)
Had you seen this clip before?
Yeah, I had. Someone wrote our manager about it and we actually have it up on your YouTube page. It's a pretty amazing video. He can shred.
It's a strange match to find your music soundtracking a skate video - but it feels like it works. What do you think about it?
I think it's great. I always wished that I could be good at skateboarding, but I lack some pretty basic coordination/balance which it requires. So having our music soundtrack a skateboarding video at least allows me to have some connection to it. Maybe I would feel differently if it was a blooper video.
Have you received any particularly strange requests for licensing or endorsements that want to use your music?
Recently we did have a song that was being considered for the title track to a Disney movie. It didn't end up working out, but it was pretty weird to even have it get as far as it did.
Fan made tribute video for the song "The Iliad" (also found on The Loon)
Here's an odd tribute video for "Iliad" - have you run across this before?
No, I hadn't seen this before. It's pretty random, which I'm a fan of. I have to say, I wish they had discharged the fire extinguisher on the sugar cube tower.
Do you hear a lot from fans wanting to do videos like this or present you with art that they've created inspired by your songs?
It seems like we always find out about these sorts of things indirectly. For some reason folks don't tend to send them to us. Usually when we do hear from somebody it's a about using one of our songs for a school project or a small budget indie film.
There is so much access that people have to musicians and artists that they admire...is that hard for you guys to keep up with?
Yeah, it can be hard to keep up with sometimes, just because there are so many avenues that people and bands use to connect with each other these days. When the band started in 2003, social media wasn't really a part of being in a band. Obviously that has changed a lot since then. I think it's pretty amazing the number of ways that people can connect with bands and vice versa. Everybody can choose how much they want to share or put themselves out there. I think we tend to take a less is more attitude.
WWeek 2015