Interview

Here is an interview I conducted with Nathaniel Motte (electronics/vocals) of Colorado pop rap band 3OH!3 Thursday, August 7.


EP: Can you please state your name and position in the band?
Nat: My name is Nathaniel Motte and I am the computer beat generator and Sean [vocals] and I both yell in the microphone.

EP: How did you and Sean meet?
Nat: We met in college in a physics class. It’s kind of a funny story. He knew that I helped with a TV show on public access so he’d seen my stuff and knew that I put a lot of underground hip-hop in my videos. One day he wore a band shirt he knew I’d like to class; that was our budding musical relationship over that common band.

EP: Your band has such a unique sound for the indie rock scene, how did you come into making this genre of music?
Nat: It wasn’t really a conscious decision. We come from a varied scene and we have friends and family who play a lot of different music like blues, rock, folk. When it comes down to it, we just came up with a few songs that were super fun to make. Before we knew it we had a show and we had to make up like eight more songs for the show that all sounded similar.
EP: You stated before that you also grew up in the underground hip-hop scene.
Nat: Yeah, I was a DJ and Sean was a battle MC. He entered and won a lot of competitions.

EP: With famous heavy acts such as Vaux & Fear before the March of Flames coming from Colorado, how do you fit into the music scene there?
Nat: We first started playing shows with friends of ours like Signal To Noise who pushed that initial Colorado surge and we owe a lot of credit to them.
EP: A lot of those bands have also changed their sound over the years as well.
Nat: Yeah, sometimes there is a backlash to people changing their sound but for me, it’s cool to see.

EP: What influences do you draw your sound from?
Nat: We draw from a lot of different things both conscious and unconscious. Consciously we draw from the revival in pop rap; the Atlanta resurgence and the crunk stuff. For me, as a beat maker, it’s exciting to listen to that and have it come through. Lyrically, I think Sean draws from his [history in] battle rap.

EP: With only two members, do you bring any additional help on the road for your live set?
Nat: On Warped tour, we’ve actually had friends from another band playing with us on our set.

EP: Speaking of that, how has your Warped Tour experience been?
Nat: It’s been unbelievable; everyday has been pretty revolutionary for me. This is our first ever, other than small West Coast tours. Everyday we are having fun and it’s growing.
EP: Yeah, Warped Tour has become a really big thing.

EP: What made you record Want so quickly after the release your self-titled album last year?
Nat: [After that release] we got signed by Photo Finish Records. Both we and the label wanted a new release; we didn’t want to cash in and re-release our old record. At that time we had a lot of new material we were excited about and the possibility of working with a bunch of different people and getting some new sounds.

EP: How did working with Matt Squire, who is best known for working with pop punk bands, affect the final product of your album?
Nat: It’s great to work with him because he has a really great pop sensibility; a really good ear for a hook and song structure. We wrote all of the beats and lyrics before recording but it was cool to have a third ear to bounce ideas off of.

EP: Songs like “Don’t Trust Me” and “Still Around” stick out as atypical for album’s overall hard-hitting sound. Was it a conscious choice to throw something different in there?
Nat: “Don’t Trust Me” was actually one of two songs I co-produced with Benny Blanco, a phenomenal producer who our label hooked us up with. We sat down and started making that beat right when we [met up]. It came out sounding different than the other stuff but we were excited about it. We considered not putting “Still Around” on the record but it was a song Sean wrote and we were both super excited about it. We decided there’s no reason why we shouldn’t put this song on [the record]. I like to have a bunch of different stuff on there.

EP: How did the idea for your “shoutout” song to Photo Finish Records come about?
Nat: [laughs] It actually started out when we signed to Photo Finish. We wanted to do something to prank our label and have fun with our fans so I made a beat and sent it out to Sean and we came up with the idea to do a Photo Finish shoutout; it came out really dope. Before we went into the studio we expanded on the chorus and ended up saying f**k it and put it on the record. I think we walk that weird line between pop and rap so it fits well. Plus the people at our label kick ass and work really hard for us.

EP: With electronics becoming more prevalent in today’s popular music, do you think you it will be easier for your band to gain popularity?
Nat: It seems like what’s becoming popular is leaning towards things that are more electronic. For us, we have always loved electronics; it’s super fun. As long as we are having fun and hopefully other people will like it too.
EP: So your aim is to please yourselves first with the music?
Nat: I think so. It’s important for us to have fun whether it is at shows or recording but also to make sure others have fun with our music. When we see kids jumping up and down at shows, it pumps us up; it’s a cyclical thing.

EP: What are the band’s aspirations for the future?
Nat: Trying to have Justin Timerlake open up for us on our next big stadium tour, play the spacestation...
EP: Haha.
Nat: We’re hoping to just keep being creative; we love being in the studio and making music and having fun with it. We’re going to keep touring; we have some plans for the fall.
EP: You’re setting up plans for a fall tour?
Nat: It’s being figured out right now but we’ll definitely be out on tour in the fall.
EP: And then 2009 you’re shooting for the Justin Timberlake tour?
Nat: [laughs] Yeah, with JT and Kelly Clarkson opening up for us.

EP: Are you ever worried about being labeled as a gimmick band?
Nat: People ask us if we’re serious about our music but I don’t think that having fun with your music negates being serious about it. We’re definitely serious about our music. We work hard as hell but at the same time we have fun. In a lot rounds of music it’s seen as fo-pa to have fun with music but to us that is totally f**ked up and backwards. That’s why we do what we do and that’s hopefully why people come to see us.

EP: Where did the “3OH3” sign come from?
Nat: I don’t think we can take credit for creating it. I think it’s been around for a while. Probably used by some biker gang or something like that. Someone must’ve showed it to us and we used it because it’s a great call/response thing to include the audience in the set.

EP: Well, I’m finished with my questions, is there anything else you would like to add?
Nat: Not really, I think we covered a lot of basis. We’re really excited about the [fall] fall.
EP: And go pick up the new album right?
Nat: [laughs] Of course. You can pick it up at the Photo Finish webstore and other placed like iTunes or Amazon.

Thanks to Nathaniel for your time and thank you to TJ at Atlantic Records for setting up the interview. You can pick up their new album Want in stores now on Photo Finish Records.