1.
Please introduce Video Hippos and give some background behind
the band.
We have been playing music together since 1997 in various forms/
bands. Videohippos started as a series of basement recording sessions
in 2003, using the studio at my parent's house (my dad is also
a musician); then we started pairing up some of our compositions
with video clips. Our first show was in 2004, I think we have
played about 300 shows so far.
2.
How would you describe your music to someone that has yet to hear
it?
I have trouble describing music. I would just tell them to see
a show before they listened to the record.
3. What does Video Hippos mean to you?
The name itself came from a combination of "video" and
"eohippos", which is an early stage in the evolution
of the horse. In a way, I see our band as part of an early stage
in the evolution of a new musical animal. one that combines visual
and aural elements equally, making it able to contain and convey
more meanings and feelings simultaneously.
4.
Many have said that your live show is as powerful as it is because
it features video collages in addition to the music. Could you
give us some insight into this visual component of Video Hippos?
To me, the visual element is just another layer of the song, analagous
to an instrument or vocals. We start out with a very rough idea
of what sort of content should go with the song, then I will edit
and collage together video from various sources to fit with the
song. Several of our friends have contributed to this process,
so the visual element adds a layer of collaboration to our presentation.
It also distracts people from focusing on me and jim as performers;
I don't think we're the most interesting performers to watch:
I just sit and bang on some drums, and Jim's not really the type
of guitarist who is going to do a solo on his knees or anything
flashy like that. The video engages the audience visually, and
allows us to stay modest without becoming boring. I also think
the visuals add another layer of meaning that isnt present so
much in the vocals. I would say that Jim and I are both not the
most proficient at verbal communication, so the lyrics to the
songs aren't always stacked with meaning or power. The videos
communicate in their own language, and it's a language that everyone
in our generation can speak, with visual media being so ubiquitous.
5.
Wham City (and Baltimore in general) is gaining a lot of attention
these days for the quality music and ideas it is putting out.
How have your experiences of working with / being apart of the
collective influenced you personally, and Video Hippos in general?
Moving to Baltimore and being a part of Wham City definitely made
me more aware of how I was living and making art. When you live
in the same building with ten or twenty of your close friends,
and you can hear and see basically all of their behavior and artistic
output whenever you are awake (or trying to sleep), it makes you
much more conscious of your own lifestyle and art. There's always
someone around to bounce ideas off of, or someone to criticize
you, constructively or otherwise. I think we all influenced each
other and became more productive than we had been in the past.
We were able to live simply and cheaply for the most part, didn't
have to work as hard at a boring, soul-crushing job, and had much
more time to develop our own ideas. Although most people involved
with Wham City have moved out of the warehouse and broken up into
much smaller living groups, we still work on large-scale projects
together. That spirit of collaboration and group consciousness
has definitely helped me feel more comfortable in almost any situation
I encounter or can imagine encountering.
6.
I recently read a review of your record Unbeast The Leash; the
reviewer described the record as a unique balance between high
energy Wham City-esq punk and sad nostalgic resignation . Would
you agree with this assessment? What are some of the things you
try to communicate through your music?
I hate the suffix "esq" and the word nostalgia, but
i can partially agree with that assessment. I would phrase it
more as "equal doses of energetic resilience and melancholy
reflection" Punk is a word that has lost some meaning for
me, I feel that it has been co-opted too much by mainstream culture,
just like every other potent idea in history. There are definitely
still many examples of people living up to the ideal meaning of
"punk", but I think that the word is used so much in
the wrong context that it feels impotent to me. Jim and I have
definitely been influenced by punk bands, though. As far as "nostalgic
resignation" I think thats a bit off the mark. Our band definitely
incorporates sounds and images from our childhoods, which occurred
mostly during the 1980s, but I don't feel nostalgia for that period
of time, or those sounds and images that came from, and we don't
resign ourselves to only using that content. I see our songs as
a way to digest, understand, and reinterpret all those sounds
and images that were thrown at us from birth until now, and use
them to understand and connect to ourselves, our friends (and
enemies), and our surroundings a little better. We aren't resigning
to nostalgia- we are sorting out our past experiences in order
to move forward, even though we aren't totally sure that the future
will be brighter.
7.
Do you think it's necessary for bands/artists to have a form of
ethics? How has the DIY ethic influenced Video Hippos and how
it goes about its business?
Ethics are definitely important to me. Too often people are swept
up in the convenient and "acceptable" ways of doing
things, and in the process forget what they are actually doing.
It just makes sense for me to be physically connected to as many
aspects of my life as I can handle. I feel much more comfortable,
say, learning how to use a four track, a microphone, a computer
program, than letting someone else do the work. I like to be aware
of how things are working on multiple levels. Of course they are
limitations to what a two person band can do on their own, so
we have let ourselves be aided by other individuals and groups
so that we still have time to be creative. But Jim and I both
naturally are inclined to be involved hands-on in as many of aspects
of our band as we can.
8.
Most memorable point in the bands existence:
Our first legit full US tour with three otherWham City bands,
where I rode in a cargo van with sixother people, Jim took Greyhound
to almost every show,we both got pneumonia, I went totally broke
and thengot foodpoisoning and couldnt eat for three days. And
we still wanted to be a band after it was over.
9.
When do you think the best moment/situation to listen to a Video
Hippos record is?
Riding a bike with big fat headphones or in your living room with
a record player and a cup of tea (or a stiff drink if you're so
inclined)
10.
The end of civilization will be caused by:
An epidemic of laziness.
11.
What's up next for the band?
We are going to SXSW next month, but thats our only trip before
coming to Canada again. We are working on a group of new songs
and slowly recording them. We don't have plans to release a full
album any time soon, but we hope to release several songs on vinyl
this year. We are also planning a tour of UK + Europe this summer.
12.
How can ppl contact you?
www.videohippos.com, videohippos@yahoo.com. kevin@whamcity.com
1414 Madison Avenue, Baltimore MD USA 21217
13.
Final words?
Quit smoking, drink non-plasticized water, eat a clove of garlic,
stretch every day.
