Nathaniel Motte is one-half of the Boulder-based band 3OH!3, which is scheduled to play at the Colorado State Fair Sept. 7. He recently gave a phone interview to the REV 89.
Q: How does it feel back to be back in Colorado? A: It’s been a while. We’ve gone back and forth a little bit over the summer but not for more than a couple of days at a time. It’s awesome. It’s the best place in the world to come back to, the best weather and the best people.
Q: Do you like the snow? A: I do like the snow. I like having real seasons, too.
Q: What kind of music do you listen too? What influences, or inspires you? A: I think it’s a variety of music. We grew up listening to a lot of different stuff. Our parents got us into blues and rock and classical and jazz and stuff and then on our own we came into hip hop and techno and stuff. I think it’s maintaining a variety of stuff that you listen to for fun.
Q: Which classical composer do you like? A: I like a bunch. I like Chopin; he’s really one of my favorites
Q: How do you set yourself apart from other artists like Eminem? A: I think primarily we don’t rap that much. There are only a few songs that we rap in. I think primarily most of our stuff is kind of more pop and dance oriented than most people.
Q: What’s the greatest experience you have had on the road so far? A: Playing shows in cities we’ve never been to and there are a few thousand people there stoked to see us. It was amazing. We were presented with plaques when we went platinum single on our spring tour. That was an eye-opening moment. It’s been crazy. This spring we played for about 25,000 people. It’s just a constant, constant eye-opening thing.
Q: What sets you apart from other bands? A: I don’t know. I don’t know if we’re necessarily better than other bands. We try to maintain a fun atmosphere at our shows and have it be more of a party and a social happening and a fun time, more than anything else.
Q: What are you looking forward to most? A: I’m really looking forward to the VMA’s, MTV Video Music Awards, in September. It should be interesting to see how it works. It should be cool. Just meet some people and have some fun.
Q: What band would you ever want to collaborate with? Why? A: Justin Timberlake. He’s the king of pop. He’s one of the more talented people making music today I think.
Q: Who is the craziest between you two? A: Sean and his buddy ended up in a house of prostitution while in Denmark, on accident; Nat said they thought was a dance club.
Q: What are your plans for the future? A: We are going on a one week stint in the UK coming up tomorrow. Then coming back to film a new video for our song “Starstruck” that we remixed with Katy Perry. Then we’re going up to Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia in the fall, then coming back and hopefully having some time of and getting back down to writing some new songs.
