Matt and Kim

Matt And Kim Amped To Open Blink-182, My Chemical Romance Tour

06 Sep 2011 09:16:46 EDT

'Our energy is in the same place,' Matt tells MTV News of his headlining tourmates on Honda Civic dates.
By Vaughn Trudeau Schoonmaker, with additional reporting by Morgan Schwartz

Matt and Kim have been recording material at the brand-new Converse Rubber Tracks recording studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. MTV News went there to catch up with the indie/pop duo, and while they mostly kept quiet about any new songs, they did talk to us about their recent Sidewalks Tour as well as their new opening-act gig on the Honda Civic Tour with Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance.

The animated Brooklyn-based musicians couldn't seem to contain their excitement about joining Blink and MCR.

"This year has been just a nonstop year," Matt gushed.

"We didn't want to stop!" Kim said of their headlining Sidewalks Tour. "We wanted to add more dates, we wanted to keep going."

Matt and Kim will begin touring with Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance this month, and they plan to bring it, knowing that some fans at the venues may not be familiar with their music yet. "At our shows, it's not just like one type of audience member," Matt explained of the kinds of crowds they're used to seeing. "It's people who are into all different kinds of music."

As for playing in front of the fanbases of two different bands on the tour, Matt and Kim aren't fretting.

"Even though musically we might sound a bit different than those two bands, our energy is in the same place," Matt said, referring to the three groups' shared love of stage-diving, crowd-surfing and moshing.

"There's a big difference between playing for, you know, 3,000 people at our show to playing to a 20,000-person place, where people might not know any of your songs," Matt admitted with a smile. "But I feel we play a simple enough music, so upbeat and melody-driven, that on a first listen, people can almost be singing along to the songs by the end."

Fans can catch Matt and Kim on the Honda Civic Tour with Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance beginning September 7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

What are your thoughts on Matt and Kim as the opening act? Share your comments below!

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Matt And Kim Promise A 'Sweaty Dance Party' At O Music Awards

28 Apr 2011 21:30:04 EDT

Show streams live from Las Vegas tonight at 11 p.m. ET on MTV.com and OMusicAwards.com.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Gabi Gregg

While MTV News is getting ready to rock out at the O Music Awards, streaming live tonight from Las Vegas at 11 p.m. ET, we have our team reporting from in and around the festivities, trying to get the scoop from fans and featured musicians alike.

MTV TJ Gabi Gregg caught up with creative duo Matt and Kim to get some details about their upcoming performance, as well as their thoughts on Chiddy Bang's efforts to win the "Longest Rap Freestyle" crown.

"We hope it's going to be in typical Matt and Kim fashion," keyboardist Matt Johnson said of their performance. "A sweaty dance party, I think."

"I don't even think we have to think about it," drummer Kim Schifino added. "I think Vegas is going to bring that for us."

Regarding what they could tease about said sweaty dance party, Johnson teased that there will be audience involvement and possibly a few balloons.

"We've been known to play in the center of the room with our audience around us. We're so much about the whole thing being a part of the experience," he said. "Not just us; the whole audience is part of the experience too, and in this situation, I love that we're going to be in the center of the crowd.

"I do know that there's a thing called globophobia, which is the fear of balloons, and there might be a lot of balloons involved coming up later," he teased.

Schifino and Johnson haven't been focusing all their attention on the performance, however. They're especially interested in Chiddy Bang's nine-hour freestylin' feat.

"We were watching online," Schifino said. "I've also been twittering at him, throwing out things he could talk about. I don't know if he's actually incorporated any of that, but, you know, typical 'Kim is awesome,' 'Kim has a slammin' booty.' "

Awesome Kim-isms aside, Schifino went on to say that she's amazed that Chiddy, a.k.a. Chiddy Bang's Chidera Anamege, has the stamina to keep rapping.

"It's stressful to watch, because you're there rooting for him," she said. "He can't take more than a three-second break. I couldn't talk for nine hours, let alone freestyle and be creative with it."

The inaugural O Music Awards will stream live from Las Vegas tonight at 11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT on OMusicAwards.com. Tune in to see who will reign supreme in categories like Most Viral Dance, Funniest Music Short and NSFW Music Video!

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Matt And Kim Reveal Bloody 'Cameras' Video Backstory

20 Jan 2011 14:32:08 EST

Duo spoke to MTV News and hyped the ultra-violent clip, which premiered Thursday on MTV.com.
By James Montgomery

On Thursday (January 20), Matt and Kim continued their tradition of eye-catching, law-bending music videos with the release of their "Cameras" clip, which features the pair proudly — and, some might say, quite graphically — pounding each other to pulps.

Faces (and equipment) are smashed, walls are busted, ribcages are rattled and at least one container of Chinese food is brandished as a deadly weapon. And, yes, there's plenty of blood spilled too. It's both a little comical and a tad unsettling to watch, and though Matt and Kim both underwent extensive stunt training beforehand, there's still an unhinged, unrehearsed feel to the video. A spokesperson for the duo told MTV News there were even some on-set injuries during the shoot.

Of course, all of that was part of the plan. Or, at least that's what M&K told MTV News back in October, as they were gearing up for the release of their Sidewalks album, and plotting the "Cameras" vid.

"We came up with this idea and we were trying to shoot it before we went on tour — we started tour like September 15 — and we just ran out of time, because we had to finish the album," Kim Schifino said. "You know, album comes first before video ... so we didn't have time to shoot it, but as soon as the tour's over, I think November 10, we fly out to L.A. and we're going to shoot it."

"We still got big plans, don't worry about that," her partner, Matt Johnson, added. "After what we've done with videos, we know we've got to step it up."

Johnson was referring to the success of the duo's previous clips, like the Woodie-winning, Erykah Badu-inspiring "Lessons Learned" video, and their blissed-out, homemade "Daylight." The goal was to try and top those efforts ... with one notable exception. Unlike anything they'd previously filmed (and despite all the fisticuffs contained within), they were actually looking forward to shooting "Cameras." For different reasons, of course.

"I'm going to say, this is the first video that we're going to make that I'm excited about making," Schifino laughed.

"Usually, she's like, 'Oh, you're making me take my clothes off in Times Square?' " Johnson added. "Kim's weird, she hates to get water in her face and stuff for some reason, or get put in a dumpster or a refrigerator. I don't know, basically I usually just do these videos to piss her off, and I thought this one would do that, but she seems to be into it, so we might have to change the idea."

What do you think of Matt and Kim's new "Cameras" video? Sound off in the comments!

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Matt And Kim Avoid 'Getting Too Musician-y' On Sidewalks

02 Nov 2010 06:52:18 EDT

'We did come up with a good phrase: 'What would Matt and Kim do?' ' Brooklyn duo's Kim recalls of recording new LP.
By Rya Backer, with reporting by James Montgomery

Brooklyn pop duo Matt and Kim have had a whirlwind year. They picked up a Breakthrough Video VMA in 2009 for their "Lessons Learned" clip; "Cameras," another track from their '09 album Grand, was featured in advertisements the world over; and they picked up enough fans along the way for the track to be certified gold.

So, when it came for them to record their latest album, Sidewalks, out Tuesday (November 2), the band celebrated for its do-it-yourself aesthetic tried to call on the same work ethic that had already won them numerous accolades.

"We did come up with a good phrase: 'What would Matt and Kim do?' " one half of the duo, Kim Schifino, recalled to MTV News.

" 'WWMKD,' " Matt Johnson added, "and any time we ended up getting too musician-y or too educated, we'd have to dumb it down," he laughed. "No, but there was something about the naive way we came at instrumentation — Kim not ever playing drums, me not playing keyboards — and it like, made you think more about the songs rather than trying to show off on a damn instrument."

Recording Sidewalks also afforded them the opportunity to bring in outside help — something they'd never done before.

"This was the first album where we worked with a producer, and we worked with Ben Allen, who had done a lot of things we like from Animal Collective to Gnarls Barkley to engineering Christina Aguilera and Biggie and all sorts of really different kinds of things," Johnson said.

Still, the pair came to occasional blows during the making of the album, though nothing that couldn't be alleviated with a bit of breathing room.

"Kim and I are so used to working on things, the two of us. [We] basically share the same brain. If you talk to one of us and the other one comes in, they're gonna tell you the same damn stories. All the same things. We shared a cell phone for five years! Never had to call each other! But so, there was some head-butting," Johnson explained.

And if you ask Matt, it was all worthwhile: "In the end, we made an album we're very happy with and whether there was some head-butting or whatnot, I think it added to the whole process."

What do you think of Matt and Kim's latest album? Share your reviews in the comments!

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Matt And Kim Road-Test Sidewalks, Plan Team-Up With 'Subaru Dude'

28 Oct 2010 16:42:31 EDT

'You can't really admittedly be bumping your [own] music,' Kim Schifino laughs to MTV News.
By James Montgomery

Matt and Kim have never exactly done things by the book — see their super-nude video for "Lessons Learned" for proof of this — so when it came time to choose a title for their new album, they did it in a fairly unconventional way.

"We had a moment where we decided the album was done, we got in our van, we drove around Brooklyn, had the windows down [and] we were blasting it, and I think it kinda really came at that point. We were like, 'This needs to be called Sidewalks,' " Kim Schifino said. "But it's kind of like the thing, you can't wear your own band's T-shirt, you can't really admittedly be bumping your [own] music."

"We've been in a club before where they've played a Matt and Kim song," her partner, Matt Johnson, added, "and we're kind of dancing and the Matt and Kim song comes on, and we're like, 'Should we stop dancing? Is that weird to be out in public dancing to your own music?' "

Luckily, it was a dilemma they were willing to face, and the end result was Sidewalks (in stores Tuesday), the follow-up to their breakthrough Grand album, which, of course, featured "Lessons" and — more importantly — "Daylight," a song that brought them a modicum of fame (and some cash in their pockets) when it was featured rather prominently in a commercial for Bacardi.

Thanks to the success of both, the stakes are definitely raised for the Brooklyn duo this time out. That's why they've got big plans for the video for Sidewalks' first single, "Cameras" (details of which they're still hesitant to share), and another still-to-be-named clip, which, hopefully will co-star another guy who's well-known around Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood: Anthony Delia, the so-called "Subaru Dude" who cruises the streets in his car belting out oldies. When you think about it, it's a rather nice way of bringing things full-circle.

"There's this guy in Williamsburg who rides around and he sings oldies ... he drives around just belting it out," Schifino laughed. "I really want to do a video where we convince him that we get in the back, he drives us around, and he sings one of our songs."

"But only .0001 percent of the people would know who that is," Johnson said. "He's always out there. I see him more than I see most of my friends."

What do you think of Matt and Kim's video idea? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Matt And Kim Reveal Details Of New Single, 'Cameras'

10 Aug 2010 17:10:24 EDT

'I decided we don't write songs anymore, we write anthems,' Matt Johnson tells MTV News.
By James Montgomery

Matt & Kim have already gotten naked in Times Square, won a Woodie and probably guaranteed themselves a lifetime supply of Bacardi. But they're not about to stop there.

Because when MTV News caught up with the dynamic duo on Friday at Lollapalooza, they told us — exclusively, it would seem — about their plans to unleash a brand-new single this month ... with another eye-popping video (and album) to follow. And once again, they're thinking big.

"Well, the song's called 'Cameras' and the chorus says, 'No time for cameras/ We'll use our eyes instead,' which is a very Matt and Kim kind of message," Matt Johnson told us in Chicago. "But [it's got the] same sort of good, party vibe, big heavy beats, sing-along chorus. I decided we don't write songs anymore, we write anthems."

And as far as that video is concerned, well, they're not about to reveal all the secrets just yet. But from the sound of things, it's gonna be amazing. Or a complete disaster.

"We came up with an idea, and, if we can pull it off, wow," Johnson laughed. "There will probably be some angry people."

There's also the matter of that new album, the follow-up to their breakthrough 2009 effort, Grand. To hear M&K tell it, they're "very much in the home stretch" of things, and the album is "theoretically" due this fall. About the only thing standing in their way at this point seems to be coming up with a suitable title for the disc, a process that is proving to be more complicated than they could ever have imagined.

"We've been struggling on that for a long time. We took a vote yesterday, actually," Johnson admitted. "The first name we definitely wanted to call it was Deluxe, and I think that's a great name, but our distributor said, 'That is the worst possible, most confusing name.' Because we had a self-titled album, so now if we have Matt & Kim Deluxe, it's gonna seem like a deluxe edition of our first album. So it's not going to be called Deluxe anymore, which is a shame, because if we had a deluxe edition of that, we could've called [it] Deluxe Deluxe."

How excited are you for a new Matt & Kim video? Tell us in the comments!

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Matt And Kim Call Erykah Badu's Nude 'Window Seat' Video 'More Than Just Shock Value'

31 Mar 2010 13:13:00 EDT

Badu credits duo at beginning of her clip, and talked with them before filming.
By James Montgomery

The first thing that flashes across the screen in Erykah Badu's "Window Seat" video isn't a bit of exposed flesh or some wondrously weird background character — it's a message that reads "Inspired by Matt and Kim."




	Erykah Badu's 'Window Seat': Shot By Shot

It's a nod, of course, to the Brooklyn duo's clothing-optional "Lessons Learned" video, which saw them dash naked through Times Square and earned them a host of accolades, including the award for Video of the Year at the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards. Badu's "Window Seat" clip is sort of like its spiritual cousin, something she acknowledges right off the bat. But it didn't start there.

Before Badu even filmed her video, she reached out to Matt and Kim to discuss her plans for the project — and get their blessing — as Matt Johnson explained to MTV News late Tuesday night.

"She's an artist that I respect and like, and before she made the video I got a call from her and we talked about it for a little bit," Johnson said. "We talked about the bigger picture she saw ... and I definitely respect that she gave us credit by putting our name in her video, rather than just making the video and not giving us credit."

And since Badu's clip has become a certified Internet sensation, Johnson is happy that his band is able to share in some small part of the phenomenon. And he's also glad that the "Window Seat" video lived up to Badu's promise of being something more than just nudity for nudity's sake. The way he sees it, there's a level of rather deft social commentary involved, too.

"I think she did the video in the right spirit [that] we talked [about], and it's more than just shock value," he said. "There was a bigger idea for the whole thing."

What do you think of Erykah Badu's "Window Seat" video? Let us know in the comments below!

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MTV News Extended Play: 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards

04 Dec 2009 14:05:00 EST

Woodie Awards favorites Death Cab for Cutie, Dead Weather and Matt and Kim talk music, "New Moon" and more.
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Matt And Kim Steal Woodies Spotlight With Some Nearly Nude Friends

20 Nov 2009 16:32:00 EST

Duo enlisted people who could sing 'who also happened to look great taking their clothes off' for awards-show performance.
By James Montgomery

On a night packed with big-name stars (Leighton Meester, Will.I.Am, Zooey Deschanel, et al) and big-name performances (Death Cab for Cutie, Jack White's the Dead Weather, Rick Ross), it was a frequently nude couple from Brooklyn that managed to steal the spotlight at the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards.

Matt and Kim — they of the clothing-optional "Lessons Learned" video — not only walked away with the Video of the Year Woodie, but they wowed the crowd with an over-the-top performance of the song, one that featured bicycles, bliss and backing vocals provided by a bevy of nearly naked hipsters.

So when we caught up with the dynamic duo at the Woodies, which air December 4 at 10 p.m. on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU, we had to ask them about the performance. Turns out, it was a rather difficult thing to pull off. It seems there's not a lot of professionally trained singers willing to shed their clothes on command.

"We were going to get our friends out there, but our friends can't sing for crap," singer Matt Johnson laughed. "So we got some people to help us out. These were kids who knew how to sing — who also happened to look great taking their clothes off."

"It was a lot harder to do than you'd imagine," drummer Kim Schifino added. "There's not that many people who want to do that."

Luckily, they managed to corral a chorus of kids who were up to the task. And the "Lessons Learned" performance went off without a hitch. The only problem now is — thanks to their Woodies set (and the success of the "Lessons" video) — Matt and Kim find themselves perilously close to being typecast as "that naked band." At least, you'd think it was a problem.

"I can only hope we'll be 'that naked band!' " Johnson enthused. "I always want to take my clothes off. I went to film school, and the only time I get to do film-related things is via Matt and Kim. And I came up with this idea for a video, where Kim and I would take our clothes off in Times Square, and Kim wanted no part of it."

"Not at all," Schifino laughed. "But now it seems inevitable. And that could be a problem. My t--s aren't that big."

Don't miss the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards, airing on December 4 at 10 p.m. on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU!

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Kings Of Leon, Death Cab For Cutie, Matt And Kim Rule mtvU Woodie Awards

18 Nov 2009 23:25:00 EST

Matt and Kim's energy-filled performance sets the tone for the show, which airs December 4 at 10 p.m. on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU.
By Kyle Anderson

NEW YORK — The spirit and energy of the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards — the madcap awards show that celebrates independent music and college radio across the country — was distilled entirely in the show's opening performance.

Once the lights dimmed at Roseland Ballroom, house DJ Diplo cranked out booty-shaking jams while the giant video screens showed Brooklyn new-wave duo Matt and Kim riding through the city on bicycles. Once they arrived, they stormed the stage and kicked into "Lessons Learned." Flanked by eight backup singers who gradually stripped down to their underwear (in a nod to the Video Music Award-winning video for the same song), the duo jubilantly pounded out the song. Unlike this year's VMAs, stage crashers were welcomed during Matt and Kim's three minutes of joy, and Kim herself mounted the crowd at the end.




	Woodie Awards Show Highlights

From there, Pete Wentz — dressed casually and holding a red plastic cup (a common accessory throughout the evening) — sauntered onstage and officially kicked off the show, which airs December 4 at 10 p.m. on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU. What followed was a cavalcade of fun-loving guest appearances, energy-packed performances and plenty of enthusiastic crowd interaction.

Zooey Deschanel appeared next, running off a long and complicated story about cloning herself to find out about more bands and presenting the Breaking Woodie award to Never Shout Never. 3OH!3 turned plenty of heads when they appeared dressed in the same red-lace costume Lady Gaga wore to the VMAs, then handed the Left Field Woodie to a grateful Tech N9ne. Other winners included Hotel of the Laughing Tree (the Long Island quintet who picked up the Best Music on Campus Woodie and seemed overwhelmed by the whole fiasco), Green Day (who were absent, forcing Asher Roth to accept in their honor — which he did by leaping into the crowd while wearing a throwback basketball jersey) and Matt and Kim (who won the Best Video Woodie for "Lessons Learned").

On the performance front, nobody could quite match the manic grandeur of Matt and Kim, but Passion Pit (who whipped the crowd into a frenzy with a ridiculous rendition of "The Reeling") and the Clipse, (who brought out Cam'ron and Rick Ross for a chaotic but thrilling run through a handful of lightning-tongue verses) came pretty close. With all the flailing limbs and semi-nude people, it was easy to miss the easy poise of Death Cab for Cutie, who rolled through their "New Moon" soundtrack song, "Meet Me on the Equinox," with an arena-rock grace, clearly cementing themselves as not only the night's elder statesmen, but also the band ready for much bigger rooms than Roseland.

By the end of the evening, the crowd was soaked with sweat but still swaying and dancing and drinking. Like the best college party, it hardly mattered who won in the end (that would be Kings of Leon, who scored the night's top honor of Woodie of the Year).

Don't miss the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards, airing on December 4 at 10 p.m. on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU!

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