We already know that Minnesota Vikings punter, Chris Kluwe, is a pretty awesome guy. While most people may like him for calling people douche bags, his dry-erase board talents, or his amiable personality on camera while negotiating jersey number terms with quarterbacks, I’ve always been more interested in his appreciation of video games. Maybe we can play some Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood together, Chris? I’m a level 50 Templar! …. “Shut up, nerds!” I get it.
But more importantly, Kluwe and his band mates in Tripping Icarus are trying to create something a bit more lasting than a viral video; they’re trying to create music that leaves an impression and is a joy to listen to. That’s why I found this interview over at “The Bigfoot Diaries” (competing blog name, perhaps?! No.) kind of revealing and honest, because it shines a brighter light on Tripping Icarus, the band mates (Andrew Reiner – Guitar, Matthew Marshall – Drums, Jesse Damien Revel – Vocals, Guitar) and Kluwe himself, which is why it is this week’s Warcraft Wednesday feature. My highlights, after the jump:
- It’s interesting to hear just how badly Kluwe’s “day-job” (or is that weekend-job?) interfere with Tripping Icarus’ success, in a way. Do you think without football that they may be able to tour more? Practice more often? Work on more songs? Record more? You’d think so, but then again, everyone else has day jobs as well. Reiner works with Game Informer (I’d love to write for you!), which probably requires PTO time to go around travelling, you know? But it’s an interesting question, as all fans like us do is sit around and talk football with a sort of detachment. For these guys, it’s constantly in their life, but something they don’t necessarily look forward too. I know, it seems completely foreign.
- It’s also interesting to hear Jesse mention how he hates all professional sports, but then is playing in this band (and likely taking part in that interview) because of Chris Kluwe and football. Now, I’m sure he knows there are benefits to the association (and he does reference it), but I would have loved to have had a bird’s eye view when he first found out that Kluwe is an NFLer. “Uh, I play football.” “What, like in a fantasy league? You coach your kid?” “Nooo, for the Vikings ….”
- I can agree with the sentiment Jesse also shares about the good and bad of the recent exposure the band has gotten. We all know music is full of shit sounds these days (Hall & Oates only for me, please!), and anything you can do to rise to the top is probably nice. But it sucks at the same time. As an artist, of any kind really, you want your talents to stand on their own merit, and your achievements and rewards to come from being honest to your craft. I get that. I write a crappy blog that has yet to take off beyond four people. But as hard as it is to often deal with groupies who don’t really like your music, I get the feeling that those type of people fall to the wayside after a while and you’ll be left with people who genuinely appreciate what you’re doing, but likely a lot more than before. And that’s a good thing.
So head over to The Bigfoot Diaries to read the entire story, and make sure to check out Tripping Icarus’ Facebook page, and listen to some of their music in different spots: Reverb Nation Page and they’re on iTunes as well. Also, I’m sure their are some YouTube clips out there, right? Have to be.
Also, if they want to follow-up with an AWESOME Vikings blog interview here, I’d be totally down with that too….
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