Interview : Brett Domino never falls

We talked to you guys about him some time ago with his Justin Timberlake videosong, and now Brett Domino is ready to reveal a little more about himself in this very funny interview. But wait a minute… Does this guy look like Rocco LaBête ? No way…

You seem to love the “gadget instruments”? Can you tell us about it?
I’m a big fan of unusual musical instruments. As a keyboard player, I think you can easily get bored of pressing rows and rows of the same black and white keys over and over again – so if there’s an opportunity to play the same notes with a pen (as with the Stylophone), or move your finger around an electronic pad (like the Kaossilator), or even to just make a tune by waving your hands in thin air (theremin) – that makes things so much more interesting. Frustrating though too, if you want to play anything more than ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’.

You only do covers. Do you plan to make original songs?
I already have! I mainly do covers and medleys (along with my colleague, Steven Peavis) – but we’ve also made original videos as well. I wrote a song a while ago about the dangers of various animal attacks – it’s called ‘What Would You Do? (If A Shark Started Eating You)’  - and I also released a Christmas song last year. We’re hoping to develop more original material in the near future.

You seem to enjoy the 80′s. Where does it come from?
There was some great music to come out of the eighties: Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Michael Jackson, Grandmaster Flash, Wham, New Order, Van Halen… I was born in the eighties, so I feel a connection to the decade in that sense – although I also feel like I missed out on it a bit, as I don’t remember any of it. Mind you, I imagine Eddie Van Halen’s memory is a bit sketchy too.

What happened to the third member of the trio?
Mitch Hutchinson was in the band from 2008 to 2009. My lawyer has advised me not to comment at this time.

Can you tell us about Rocco La Bête?
Rocco has just started making VideoSongs – he’s done a cover of a Tinie Tempah song, and he’s just released a single – both are on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/roclabete. His stuff’s a lot heavier than my music – all distortion and guitars and things. A lot of people say he looks like me, but I can’t really see it myself.

Rocco La Bête is a French name. Is he French?
No, I think he’s from Sheffield. Maybe he lived in Paris for a while – I can’t remember. What I do know is that the surname ‘La Bête’ translates as ‘The Beast’, whereas the word ‘Bête’ on its own roughly translates as ‘Idiot’. I think that says a lot.

Rocco LaBête

How did you discover videoSongs, and how did you get started?
I got started after upgrading my video editing software so that I could show multiple screens simultaneously – that was a big step. I’d always made songs using multitracking / layering myself playing various instruments, but it’s quite difficult to get everything across without using split-screens. Until then we’d always played everything ‘live’ as either a 3-piece trio or a 2-piece trio – but that can be very restrictive. Now there’s almost no limit to the number of layers we can add to a song and represent visually. Although I generally find it’s a pain in the arse to edit if you have any more than 20 at a time.

Do your videos follow the rules of videosong?
Most of them do, yes. Where possible we film things as we record them – however I will admit that on rare occasions we have had to reshoot certain sections for aesthetic reasons. Also, in the editing process I do sometimes accidentally use the wrong takes – the most obvious one being 03:24 into the Now 75 Medley where the lyrics are “sure I can’t help myself, I love girls”, but in the video I quite clearly say something completely different.

What are your musical influences? In the videosong community?
I like all sorts – hip-hop, rock, dance, pop – all the big names. In terms of other videosong people: obviously Pomplamoose are the daddies, and a big inspiration. I’m also a big fan of State Shirt – particularly the way his videos look, Project RnL are quite entertaining, and Mike Tompkins vocal recreations are pretty impressive too.

Brett Domino & Steven Peavis

Tags: Brett Domino Brett Domino Trio Interview Rocco LaBête Steven Peavis