Mondays suck, but we don’t care because today, we’re excited to premiere Denver dream pop quartet OKO TYGRA’s new music video for their single, “Glass Jaw.”
OKO TYGRA began with a head injury. Some time ago, lead vocalist and guitarist Joshua Novak was involved in an accident that left him with in a life-threatening state of cranial carnage. Spoiler alert: he’s fine, but when confronted with that near-death experience, he decided that something needed to change in his life. And thus, OKO TYGRA was conceived, the result of Joshua throwing caution to the wind and doing what he really wanted to do. And thank god, because OKO Tygra’s hazy, atmospheric psych-pop is fucking good.
Though they’ve only been together for about a year, they’ve headlined all their first shows, opened for national acts like HIGH ENDS and were the only band to represent Colorado in last year’s CMJ in New York.
OKO TYGRA are releasing a 7ʼʼ vinyl on EggHunt Records (White Laces, Sun Machines) in March, which they’re working on with Snake Rattle Rattle Snakeʼs, Wilson Helmericks. And if their record sounds anything like the dark and stormy lovechild of Slowdive and the Cocteau Twins that characterizes “Glass Jaw,” we reckon we’ll be burning off the grooves of that vinyl.
With regards to the video, well, … sometimes you’ve just gotta make a music video with a plastic hand stroking a Barbie’s face with all the earnest tenderness of lovers reunited after decades of war.
Check it out and scroll down to read our exclusive interview with the band:
You guys have only been together for about a year now, and have had more success in that short amount of time than most bands have in their first several years. Do you suffer from any young-band problems? Not really. Although we have only been together as a band for about a year, we bring years of past experience to the table. This time we are incredibly focused, and I guess you could say, we aren’t taking any of it for granted. It’s been our plan from the beginning to make huge strides with OKO TYGRA, and we are. I think we got all the trappings of young-band-problems out of the way years ago. Now, we just wanna make music.
Touring for a young band is less of a shiny, fun cross country adventure and more of a “family of six crammed in a busted minivan” trial of endurance. What are some standout moments from your time on the road? You couldn’t have said it any better. We found that we all became sort of the sitcom versions of ourselves on the road. We quickly discovered who we all are in this and how to deal with each others personalities. Luckily, we all get along. But we’ve only been out on tour once, so the best moments are yet to come. Stay tuned.
Tell us about the video for Glass Jaw. Where did you guys get the idea for that? Did one of you have an illicit relationship with a Barbie ever? We wanted to keep a level of ambiguity and mystery intact, while remaining true to our dreamy aesthetic. And that’s what we ended up getting. But the video was all the doing of Russ (guitar). We gave him creative license to visually interpret the song. He’s good at that. As for the doll, there is speculation that the two of them had illicit relations during filming. But we refuse to comment until we know more.
Using the classic A-Team dynamic: who’s The Face, who’s The Muscle, who’s The Brain, and who’s The Wildcard? Basically, which one of you is Mr. T? If we had to say, I think we’d agree that Neil is the face, Josh the muscle, Jeremiah the brain and Russ is the wildcard. Although, the only person with Mr. T attitude is definitely Neil.
What’s one commercial you guys would reeeally hate to have one of your songs played in? Probably a McDonald’s commercial. Because they would want to use the song for free, or trade it for #cheeseburgers. And that won’t work, because Russ is a vegetarian.
Best sex song? Glass Jaw by OKO TYGRA. Duh!
What does the future look like for you guys? Where do you think you guys will be in three years? We are excited that Jeremiah has been brought on as an official member of the band, so we hope to really dig in and write a bunch of new songs together. Other than that, in three years time, we hope to be sipping champagne out of a Grammy and touring the world.
If you come to LA, how badly do you want to stay with us in our small, cat-filled apartment? We didn’t want to beg, but were just about to ask if that would be ok with you…
If you want more OKO TYGRA, check them out at their SXSW showcase on Wednesday, 3/18.
