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3OH!3
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 11-Nov-08 @ 08:48 PM
HQ: Boulder, CONOW PLAYING: Want (PHOTO FINISH; photofinishrecords.com) WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: Sure, they rap about hittin' up the club and hollerin' back. But if there's one thing dance duo 3OH!3 are serious about, it's...actually, we're not sure. YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE: SHWAYZE / HADOUKEN! / TEST ICICLES STORY: Andrew Kelham PHOTO: Ralf Strathmann Music is filled with extraordinary poets and lyricists who strive to illuminate the complexity of the human condition through a compelling tapestry of insight and metaphor. Hip-hop/electronica duo 3OH!3 have a slightly different approach. "I guess our songs are mostly about chicks and parties and dancing," admits Nathaniel Motte-the taller half of the group, responsible for programming and beats. "I think the most common words in our songs are 'baby' or 'girl.'" The pair's humorous brand of electro hip-hop may not start a revolution or change anyone's life, but as long as you're into their satirical wit and complete inability to take themselves seriously, 3OH!3-Motte and co-MC Sean Foreman-are into you. "If our songs are what you play when you come home from the bar at 3 a.m. wasted, wanting to dance, then all right," says Motte. "We like to have fun with our music, and if it translates to anyone in any way, then all right." The duo met at the University of Colorado, where Foreman was studying English and math, while Motte was pre-med with aspirations of eventually going to medical school or working in a research laboratory. The unexpected success of their experimental collaboration altered their plans after blowing up this past summer's Warped Tour, there are plenty of fans that are into the chopped and skewed beats over which the twosome deliver their unique brand of Friday-night diatribes. "That tour was our first tour period, and [it was] brilliant," Motte admits. "It was flattering that we went to a ton of cities on Warped Tour we had never been to and there were a couple thousand kids going off to our music and buying our merch. At the Denver show, our home crowd was absolutely insane. We had to restock after that show because I think we sold $20,000 of merch on that day alone." If that's not a sign that you're doing something right on Warped, the fact that Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta routinely joins you onstage during your set probably is. That led to rumors that 3OH!3 would be contributing to Cobra Starship's upcoming album. "We hung out with [Cobra Starship] a lot on the tour and had a good time, but I don't know if we're working with them," Motte explains. While Want has barely had time to settle on store shelves since its July release, 3OH!3 are striking again while the iron is white-hot. They booked studio time between Warped Tour and their fall headlining tour with Innerpartysystem to work on new material. And while the sight of two white kids delivering self-referential raps about "bitches" and "hos" might seem like a novelty act, Motte assures us 3OH!3 are just as much artists as any pretentious indie rockers. "I see our music as art, and not something that's a parody," he says with a suddenly serious tone. "We're having fun with our music and reinterpreting stuff, but it's not a joke. We're tongue-in-cheek about some things, but the music is super hard-hitting and not to be dismissed." With that, the interview ends. "I'm going to get a mani-pedicure, a Brazilian wax and my hair cut," he reveals with a laugh. Is he joking? Seems like only 3OH!3 will ever really know. Which album's had the most influence on you? For guidance on their fantastic voyage, Motte says he looked north-to Canada and eclectic hip-hop artist BUCK 65. "[1999's] Man Overboard has nasty beats, beautiful raps and silky-sweet crooning," says Motte. "It blew my mind the instant I first listened to it. Knowing that Buck 65 made all his beats, wrote all his texts, did all his scratching and danced his Nova Scotian ass off was really eye-opening and inspiring." |
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only the second band ever...right behind there for tomorrow.
i love this band. such a good album they have out right now. everyone should have at least 3 songs by them on their ipod
I agree with AmberC2007. 3OH!3 is a great band. (Not second, but still top on my list) and There For Tomorrow is the best :)
one of the best "band" if you will, ever <3
its so hard to take them seriously...but i love them.
Best electronica beat ever..
They're more like a group. But that's not the point, they are AMAZING. And they have the BEST shows.
now they should of been voted best band of 2008! not all time low
ALL TIME LOW deserves band of 2008 and maybe 3OH!3 will get it nex year but you need to get over this whole ALL TIME LOW sucks trip cause they are great GEEZ!!!!
3OH!3 is all I listen too now. I made a playlist with 3OH!3 && FTSK && Set it on repeat. I listen to it 24/7. :D Obsesion.