Art imitates life in the new-wave punk band’s new music video— “Unfortunately, this is truly who we are.”
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“Pent-up angst is where we thrive,” My Son The Doctor told me over email, and anyone who’s seen the band live knows a MTSD show is the ultimate release, each playful performance serving as a combination concert, aerobics class, wrestling match and spastic speech, with Brian Hemmert shouting from under his signature stache and mobile band members Matt Nitzberg and Joel Kalow (John Mason’s at home behind the kit) running into and bouncing off each other as they make the most of the stage, sprint and surf through the crowd and frequently take to the floor.
Yet somehow, despite the dozens of shows they’ve played over the last year, it’s never a repeat performance, with each set characterized by a strong sense of spontaneity and generously sprinkled with shenanigans—the kind of on-the-fly action made easier by the fact that three of the four members have been friends since middle school.
There is a challenge that comes with being this sort of band though, the kind that thrives live. How do you bottle that energy? How can you package this personality? How will you extend the experience beyond the 40 minutes you’re actually on stage?
The answer, of course, is via video, and with that I’m stoked to share a digital bundle of family-friendly MSTD fun in the form of the new music video for “Rubber Hands”—the second track on the band’s 2021 EP Taste Those Dreams—which I could not be more hyped to premiere here!
“In the post-vaccinated blur of 2021 we played a million shows, but never got around to finally filming a music video for any of the Taste Those Dreams songs,” the band told me ahead of the release. “Our first music video was made in late 2020 for ‘Dancing In Your Basement.’ We wanted to take the energy and personality of that video to the next level.”
While 99% of that last music video was shot in the shower, this punk twist on Ratatouille (without actual rodents) has the musicians taking over the kitchen, the three white-aproned bandmates working to whip something up that will impress the guitarist turned critique gastronomique—their house-calling, tracksuit-wearing, personal Pete Wells.
“We had this concept for a video of having the band compete in a cake-baking competition against each other. After workshopping the idea with video producer Sara Laufer (Paper Moon Records) we realized the true gold was having Brian, John and Matt working together in an attempt to impress Joel. It fits our existing roles both in life and within the band reasonably, so Joel became the critic.”
Beyond this def-not-British bake-off being a plot perfectly in line with the EP title Taste Those Dreams, with lyrics that include the words cumin, coriander and oregano (perhaps the only song in the world to incorporate this selection of seasonings) “Rubber Hands” was the ideal track to pair with the premise.
“It has an energy we love to play – a mix of punk and bad jazz paired with lyrics about food and love… it’s one of our favorite songs from the EP and is both light-hearted and angsty. Plus it has a whole section listing spices, and we wanted to play into that. We’ve always felt like a great music video brings out the band’s personality. Unfortunately, this is truly who we are.”
Fortunately, this is exactly who they are.
Don’t miss your opp to catch My Son The Doctor live THIS SATURDAY at The Broadway with Blonde Otter and Toobin. Tix available here.
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Follow My Son The Doctor at @mysonthedoctor, buy their music on Bandcamp and add their songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image (provided by the band): Sara Laufer