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Written by McClatchy -Tribune
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Wednesday, 26 July 2006 |
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Of all the things that Josh Grier has to get used to in his new life as Minneapolis’ most famous young rock musician, lip-synching and wearing makeup might never catch on.
The redheaded frontman of indie sensations Tapes ‘N Tapes — they of music-blog fame, Rolling Stone and New York Times raves and now a major record deal — awkwardly faced both tasks on the set of his band’s new music video in Minneapolis a few weekends ago.
“You don’t look damaged enough,” a film crew member said to Grier, as a makeup artist reshaped a faux black eye and scars on his face.
The video, for the roller-coastery rocker “Cowbell,” finds Grier waking up in a ditch beaten and bruised, wondering how he got there.
The lost-and-bewildered story line could be symbolic of his real life.
“I don’t know if it all has really sunk in yet,” he said between takes. “We were planning our tour this spring, and we thought we’d come home from that and then have nothing to do. But then at some point it was like, ‘Well, looks like we’re gonna be busy for the rest of the year.’
“And here we are.”
Things have been happening so fast for Tapes ‘N Tapes that Grier, 26, still hasn’t quit his day job. A math major in college (he still scores about 5 out of 10 on the nerd scale), he works for a health-care company, doing data analysis.
“They’ve been really good about letting me do my thing, so I’m going to stick with them as long as I can,” he said.
A good sign he won’t be there much longer, though: He went to his boss a few weeks ago to ask for Tuesday off. That’s when the band is booked for “The Late Show With David Letterman.”
A scant eight months have passed since Tapes ‘N Tapes hosted the release party for their breakout CD, “The Loon.”
The band got a little press that week, a little radio play; then it appeared they’d settle in as a benchwarmer kind of band in the “sometimes provincial Twin Cities music scene,” as Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis put it in a recent profile of the band. Undeterred, the band’s manager, Keri Wiese, began sending copies of “The Loon” to indie Web sites such as Pitchfork Media and Brooklyn Vegan. Wiese also happens to be Grier’s fiancee, so she brought an obvious dedication. It paid off.
“I basically had a three-tier plan,” Wiese said, “and I never had the chance to make it to the third tier.”
For no other apparent reason than its jagged, literate, smug brand of alt-rock stood out from the crowd, the band caught on fast in the media. With comparisons to the Pixies, Pavement, Talking Heads and Modest Mouse, it’s no wonder hipsters took notice.
The TNT fuse finally exploded in March at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, where the band played a whopping eight gigs over four days. That’s sort of like going to the prom and making out with eight different girls.
In May, after months of being wooed by labels large and small, the band announced its deal with medium-sized XL.
None of the guys had spent much time together in a tour van before the year began. That might help explain why previous bassist Sean Neary split in April. All Grier had to say was, “Some people can be great people, just not great to be in a band with.”
That departure was a downside of the hoopla of the past eight months. Another has been the few negative concert reviews from newspaper critics who generally only cite too much hype and brevity as the band’s weaknesses (the shows are essentially just “The Loon” re-created live).
Of course, there have been plenty of positives. Asked to name anything they’ve splurged on since signing the big record deal, though, none of them had a real answer.
“I’m actually moving into a new apartment,” said Kretzmann, “but it’s cheaper than my old one. I figure I’m going to be gone so much. ... “
Therein lies the best reward so far, Kretzmann said.
“Just getting to play as many shows as we have these past few months has been the best thing, I think,” he said, drawing nods from the other guys. “We all love playing. Period.”
Talking by phone a few days after the video shoot — following a day at the office — Grier didn’t have any trouble coming up with what he thinks is so great about his band’s breakthrough. “The truth is, we’re having a great time,” he said.
“Every day, I think we all kind of stop and say, ‘Holy crap.’ We know how lucky we are to be in our position. If this all went away tomorrow, it’s been a great experience.”
The day after he said that, though, he was off playing the uber-hip Siren Music Fest in New York City. In other words, fat chance it will all go away anytime soon. | Only registered users can write comments.
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