Franz Ferdinand are serious about a lot of things: building an impressive vocabulary (name another band that uses "feckless" in a song), dressing in matching striped shirts and — as evidenced by their upcoming DVD — the ancient Japanese art of karaoke.
The band's still-untitled DVD (due November 22) will include two custom-made karaoke flicks, for the tunes "Take Me Out" and "Dark of the Matinee," which allow fans to sing along while images of couples bounding through flowery fields or getting loose at a dance party play onscreen.
"The karaoke videos are really cheesy, abstract stuff. Like, a couple running through a field, people partying and dancing, all sorts of weird stuff," Scott Lyon, the "creative director" behind the DVD, laughed. "They're proper karaoke videos, to get people singing and dancing. They're all good fun."
Lyon — who just directed the noir-ish video for Franz's "Walk Away" (see "Franz Ferdinand Take A 'Walk' In Black And White, Hitchcock Style") — oversaw the assembly of the double-disc DVD, which is loaded with live footage (taken from Franz performances in New York, Los Angeles, London, San Francisco and Glasgow) and also includes interviews, a documentary on the band, behind-the-scenes footage and tons of hidden extras.
"There's so much stuff on it. Lots of live stuff. There's an entire show at [London's] Brixton [Academy] and an entire show from San Francisco, plus a compilation of different tracks at different venues all around the world," Lyon said. "There's also lots of really early performances, from the Glasgow Art School and Pianos in New York City, to much bigger arena performances.
"There's a film called 'Tour de Franz,' which is an on-the-road documentary, little bits that the band has filmed themselves, plus footage of them demo-ing stuff for the new album, and jamming before soundchecks, so you can hear the new songs coming together," he added. "Plus there are loads of Easter eggs that the band filmed while they toured the world. It's really comprehensive and a lot of fun."
The only thing Lyon isn't sure about is what the DVD is going to be called, though he's got a few ideas.
"I thought at one point it was going to be called 'Tour de Franz,' but I'm not sure. The jury's still out on all of that," he said. "They might just go with a rather boring name for it, though. It might be self-titled, or it might be called something like 'Franz Ferdinand Live.' Who knows?"
