TVBOO Talks with Atlanta EDM [INTERVIEW]
BY STEVIE & ANASTASIIA RIDDLE
Dirty, nasty, filthy…these are some of the most common compliments we give artists in the bass-music scene nowadays. But what about “genuine”? With a music scene so oversaturated with artists just trying to make the next banger, get their name on a track list, and that seem more worried about their outfit than their transitions, it’s almost a breath of fresh air to know there are still artists such as TVBOO out there keeping everything GENUINE.
The PBR slammin’, joke crushing, self proclaimed “white trash” bass music producer is a prime example of “don’t judge a book by its cover” (although, he’ll be the first to tell you, his “cover” ain’t no BS either). TVBOO never takes himself too seriously, but when it comes to his shows, the man ain’t joking around. Experience one TVBOO set and you’ll be hard pressed to not to respect the thought and time that he puts into everything, from his edits, to his remixes and even to his custom visuals.
We got a chance to meet up with Mitch and pick his brain for a bit before he killed his set at Believe Music Hall in Atlanta. We dug into everything from his standup comedy to mosh pits and even discussed which state has the (arguably) best food scene! If you enjoy this interview and want to listen to an even more uncensored version with TVBOO being the one asking questions, check his weekly podcast TVLKS with TVBOO!
TVBOO: Howdy, y'all! Welcome to TVLKS With TVBOO. I'm sitting here with Anastasiia and Stevie… *laughs*
Atlanta EDM: First off, tell us about yourself, how did you get into music?
TVBOO: Basically, there was this radioactive spider that was in a lab when I was on a field trip. And I got bit by it and once it happened, I could kind of feel the vibrations. And I was sitting there with my hands on my sister's door, just listening to what she was doing, you know, just as we all do, and I could feel the vibrations from my neighbor next door. And I went over to my neighbor next door, and the parent and the child were getting it on, but they were getting it on to psytrance and I was like, “Whoa, this is so cool.” So, I joined and that's how I found electronic music.
Atlanta EDM: All right. Well, I was really expecting you to say something about being into metal… *laughs*
TVBOO: Ahhh okay. What was the question again? *laughs*
Atlanta EDM: How'd you get into music? Like in general?
TVBOO: Okay, so for real. My dad was a big rock fan, listened to a lot of Skynyrd and Zeppelin and shit like that. I thought it was really cool. My brother at a young age introduced me to Blink 182, System of a Down, Korn, bands like that and that really stuck with me, so I became a drummer. Metal was really easy. Whenever you're a bad musician like me… I’m not saying metal is easy, but it's really easy to just do chugs, you know what I'm saying? So me and some buddies would get together and do chugs and I would follow on the kickdrums. And then I was just a metalhead for a while and then I was about 17, I was underage and I went to a Bassnectar event and I got touched. And after that I was just into it, ya know? As a 17-year-old getting touched at a Bassnectar show, as one does. Yeah, so that's basically how I got into electronic music. *laughs*
Atlanta EDM: But did you listen to any electronic music when you were into metal?
TVBOO: I used to make fun of it! Used to talk shit about dubstep and DJs. I used to make fun of all those “Chodes” and now I'm a Chode myself.
Atlanta EDM: Do you think EDM mosh pits will ever be on the same level as hardcore pits?
TVBOO: I actually enjoy EDM mosh pits more, if I’m being honest.
Atlanta EDM: They're nicer?
TVBOO: Yeah, it's like you can go in there and not worry about dying or breaking your nose. There's something about just getting so hyped to a point where you just want to jump around and push people, but in metal pits, it's like, “Alright, I'm about to just throw my fucking hands in and tell people to stay away from me and I’m gonna hit somebody and as soon as I do, I apologize about it, make sure that they’re good.” Makes no sense. Why don’t just go in there and push each other around and have fun and just get hyped? I like that. I like the EDM mosh pits more.
Atlanta EDM: Push pits?
TVBOO: Yeah. When I was younger, I probably would’ve said the opposite.
Atlanta EDM: Yeah, I used to make fun of the push pits and then I was like, “I don't want to get punched in the head anymore.”
TVBOO: Yeah, dude, I don't want that!
Atlanta EDM: Alright, let's say something crazy happened, you had to completely restart your music career but you could only make either Tropical House, Moombahton or Synth Pop?
TVBOO: I'm doing Tropcore, baby. Tropcore, okay? It's like Crabcore but with tropical shit.
Atlanta EDM: What would you call yourself?
TVBOO: Tropaholics. Or Trop City, or Trop House. Any one of those are perfect, dude. TropTop, Trop That Ass on My Face, Trop-Bootyl
Atlanta EDM: Alright, so staying on hypotheticals, let's say the year is 2025, TVBOO is now the sole owner of the New Orleans Saints. You somehow managed to get the first five draft picks but you can only choose DJs and producers, who are you drafting and for what position?
TVBOO: Fuck me! Alright, dude, honestly, Michael from SFAM. I'm drafting him as a quarterback. We talk so much shit on the internet all the time but that’s just what homies do. That motherfucker is accurate as the motherfucker as a quarterback dude. I don't really think there's that many athletic DJs though, but Digital Ethos, he used to play hockey, so I’ll probably get him as a cornerback. I'd probably get Dirt Monkey as a punter. He seems like he's got good feet. Alright. I'm gonna draft Subtronics as a cheerleader. And I’m gonna get Excision as a coach.
Atlanta EDM: Excision would be a badass coach.
TVBOO: Wait, no! I'm selling my ownership to Liquid Stranger just so he can teach us all the lessons. Okay, that's my choice.
Atlanta EDM: So, being the funniest dude in bass music has really set you apart from the crowd in my opinion, who are some comedians that you enjoy or that may have inspired you to start doing standup?
TVBOO: Dude, Jim Jefferies because everyone's soft as fuck, right? Like certain words, you know? I mean, not even anything offensive. Words where it just makes people go, “You can't say those words.” Not like anything racist or offensive. There are some words you just can't say, right? And I like comedians that can talk about that stuff. There’s that line of things you can't cross, but they take that line and they push it. I feel like Jim Jefferies does that so well. And Dave Chappelle. His last special had a fucking 1% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was one of the funniest specials ever fucking made! It is the funniest fucking thing, it’s so good. And that's what I like about comedy, because in my head I know that I have no hate for anyone, I'm not treating anybody different ever, right? We're all goofy as fuck. Everybody. I don't care if you're white, black, old, gay, straight. Everyone has something to be made fun about. These people aren't making jokes to offend, they are making jokes to laugh. And I like to think that with comedy, there's no limits and things can be funny. The second we start putting limits to one thing, it's just going to trickle down forever and ever. So that's why I like people like Jim Jefferies and Dave Chappelle because they say shit that you're not supposed to say, but when they say it, it's fucking hilarious and people in the crowd are like, “Yeah, you're right! This is hilarious!... Oh, wait, we can laugh about this?” I like comedians that aren't afraid to take that uncomfortability and say, “Hey, it’s okay to say these things,” because if we can’t make fun of each other...We're fucked.
Atlanta EDM: Yeah. We're getting to that point! So what would be worse, a bomb joke during a standup or a terrible transition during a set?
TVBOO: It’s not comparable, a bomb joke.
Atlanta EDM: Really?
TVBOO: It's not even comparable. You fuck up a transition, “Haha, sorry, y'all!” And everyone's like, “Wooo, it's all good! It's all good!” But you fuck up a joke, bro? Can't say, “I fucked that up. Let me just press play on the next song.” No, dude. Good luck digging yourself out of that hole. It's way harder. I have had times where I've been bombing on stage comedic wise. Because it happens! What brings me back is me talking about how fucking terrible I am right now. Or I’m like, “I'm fucking sucking right now,” then that will get laughs and that's the way you can bring it back. But people at the bass music shows dont give a fuck, they’re there to have a good time. But at comedy shows… People are judging you. They're like, “How funny are you, really?” It’s waaay tougher. A song is like 3 minutes of pressing play, a joke is 3 minutes of you talking.
Atlanta EDM: Yeah, way more personal.
TVBOO: Yeah.
Atlanta EDM: Between playing shows, teaching classes, doing standup and recording your podcast, what do you do to just unwind?
TVBOO: Honestly, the only couple things I really do to unwind… Cause touring, in a way, is a little bit of a vacation. I work harder when I'm at home. When I’m home, I'm in the studio, I'm doing the podcast or teaching. So I work harder when I'm home. When I'm on the road, I'm having fun. I'm DJing. This is supposed to be fun, right? The only things I really do to unwind is fish and hunt. I'm a big family guy, I have a huge family. I love my family, so I hang out with them a lot. Other than that, honestly, I love what I do so fucking much! When I have too much time away from work, I fucking hate myself. *laughs* So I'm like, “I'm sucking right now. I gotta get back to work.” When I’m home, I'm in the studio from like 9am to 8pm. And I'm chill with that. Do my thing, eat my dinner, go to bed.
Atlanta EDM: That's nice. So like most producers, you gotta know what's trending in the music scene, what's making the crowd go from six to midnight or what labels are asking for, but what are some trends you see happening right now that you hope stick around, and what's the trend you wish would just die off?
TVBOO: I really like the trend that's going on in bass music where it's like people are having original sounds. And it's sticking out, right? Where you're doing something a little different, people are like, “Okay, this is cool.” People like Mize, people like Space Wizard, and people like Runnit, these smaller guys who are doing their thing and people are fucking with it.
I wish the thing that would leave is the people who do videos on Twitter of unreleased songs, saying, “Should we release this?” Knowing damn well they're about to release this.
“Who wants it?” It doesn't matter if we want it. I don't give a shit if people want my music or not. I'm putting it out whether you say you want it or not. I'm putting out this fucking track because I made it and I think it's sick. So I wish that would go! It’s such cheesy shit. And people say my shit’s cheesy a lot, dude! But I'm just trying to have fun and I get it, some people are trying to have fun too, but just like that one liner on Twitter, “Should we release this?”
You know what? Don't leave me with the choice, just give it to me Crawdaddy! *laughs*
Atlanta EDM: Do you think any city can compete with the food scene in New Orleans?
TVBOO: *Whistles* Food scene? Fucking Texas. The entire state goes so hard with some food. I'm gonna be honest with you, I had the best burrito of my entire fucking life in Boulder, Colorado of all places. Which is weird because it's nothing but white people out there, it's the weirdest shit I've ever seen. *laughs* I think Texas. People will be like, “We got the best food out here,” and I’m like, “Nah, you don’t.”
Texas has the best barbecue; Texas got the best tacos. Louisiana got the best Creole-Soul Food/Cajun food! I'm unbiased. I’ll admit when I'm wrong and I’ll admit when I'm a loser, but that's on some real shit!
Atlanta EDM: Atlanta's got the best chicken wings.
TVBOO: Man, listen, tell me the best chicken wings and I’ll go check it out!
Atlanta EDM: It's a highly debatable thing here. What's the number one place you tell people to visit when they come to New Orleans?
TVBOO: They always have to go to Bourbon Street. It’s a tourist thing but it's just also such a big party, they gotta go!
Atlanta EDM: What about outside of touristy stuff? Somewhere to go eat or something that's not going to be on most people's radar?
TVBOO: Oh! I love the French Quarter, Frenchman and all that shit over there. You get more of a jazz vibe, you get more of just a good vibe. There's always danger around the corner, but it’s not nearly as crazy or wild. You can go with the family out there, if you have a kid or a little nephew or cousin. That's where my parents would take me when I was a kid and it was a good time. I don't think you should be taking an 8-year-old to Bourbon Street because they're gonna see some shit they don't need to see yet.
Atlanta EDM: I've heard from your podcast. *laughs* So lastly, what can TVBOO fans expect from you for the rest of this year?
TVBOO: I've got an album coming out, it’s a comedy album. That's a big thing. I got a collab with Griz and then I also have an EP that's not comedic. It's just a bass music EP. So that's pretty much the rest of the year. And Stuff Me Volume # of course. I'm working on my next album for next year and that's going to be a big thing. It's not comedic. But the comedy album this year is the best thing I've ever done in my life. Straight up. So the comedy album is gonna be different. There's gonna be some people who are not going to get it.I know that but I have a feeling that it's going to be the best thing I've ever done in my life. Because I feel like I've never been more proud of anything. It literally feels like me, I’ve never made anything that felt more like me than the comedy album. So that’s what the fans can expect! Just a bunch of fun music. I like fun, so it's just fun music.
CATCH TVBOO AT BASS CANYON SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2021 AT 11:00 PM PT.