The Minneapolis based group Best Friends Forever took over the KVSC performance studio this past Monday for an hour of cuteness that was simulcast over the airwaves of UTVS and KVSC for Monday Night Live. Their unclassifiable brand of love pop had everybody shaking their hips and bobbing their heads in unison as they played old favorites and material slated for release on their next album. Quirky and adorable was the flavor of the night, as BFF churned out songs about being in love with a ghost, falling into an ice hole, that handsome Orlando Bloom fellow, their unrequited love for Abraham Lincoln and just how much the two ladies adore each others company.
BFF is comprised of real life best friends of twelve years, who parlayed their love into the band, which has been around for ten. Jes Seamans plays bass, Bri Smith strums guitar and pounds the keyboard, while they alternate singing sweet nothings to each other. They’re joined by Jo Rand, who kept pace with a grin at his drum kit.
“Jes and I are originally from Crosby, but we spent a lot of our formative years hanging out in St. Cloud,” said Bri when asked where they’re from. The two of them are longtime friends of KVSC music director Chris Hontos, who hosted the affair on MNL with a hilariously dismissive demeanor and completely irrelevant interview questions ranging from “what’s your email address” to “do you still enjoy root beer?” and “Bri, would you ever drop Jes in the river?”
“It’s hard to describe,” said Jo about the genre blurring sound of the group. “It crosses lines, it’s fun to listen to. It’s pop, rock, dance, prog. I guess it’s really indie pop with an emphasis on dance.”
“Our very first show was opening for the Microphones,” said Bri about working with the lo-fi masters off of indie label K Records. “They were really receptive. We’ve had so much support from other bands while touring. They’ve all been really great about coming up to us and telling us they like our music,” said Bri.
“Even in Minneapolis I’ve noticed that every show we’ve played, one or two people would come up to us afterward and talk to us about the music and how they planned to check out our myspace page,” said Jo.
The line-up for the group has always included Jes and Bri, but their drummers have changed a few times over the years. Karl Rotto is gone from the group, with Jo stepping up to bat.
“I’ve been in a few other bands from Milwaukee,” said Jo when asked about his musical history. “I had a solo thing, but I never really performed. I just mostly recorded in my bedroom. I was involved with the group The Flying Party, and the predecessors to that band like The Kyoto Protocol and a few others.”
Jes went to school in Milwaukee where Jo and she had some overlapping friends, which led to his joining the BFF ranks.
“I’ve been with them for about four months, since late September,” said Jo referring his joining the flock. The three of them look as though they couldn’t be happier playing together, with Jo fitting in perfectly with the flow and style of the group.
BFF have had a handful of releases (an EP, a split 7” with Everybell and Whistle, and a split cassette tape with Terrorclops) on the Minneapolis label Say and Stay Said. Recorded at the Sound Gallery in Minneapolis, their self-titled EP came out in September of 2004 and has been floating around the airwaves and finding itself in small record shops across the country.
“We’re good friends with the guy who runs it,” Bri said about their time at Say and Stay Said. “It was very casual.”
The trio has also utilized myspace to its fullest as a way to get the word out about their shows and giving fans an opportunity to hear tracks from their EP and forthcoming LP.
“It’s actually been pretty awesome. It’s really good for making connections in other cities and touring. It’s really helpful for staying in touch with other bands we’ve met while touring,” said Bri about their page at myspace.com/bestfriendsforeverandfriends.
“We’re working on a full length for Plan-it-x Records. We started recording it about a week and a half ago. We’re hoping to have it out in late or early spring,” said Jes regarding their much awaited follow-up to their self-titled EP.
“We’ve set an unreachable goal of being done by the end of February, but I feel like we need a goal like that or it could so easily take until right when we’re going on tour,” said Bri.
“We have an East coast college tour in mid April and then we hope to cover most of the country on our summer long tour,” said Jo regarding the plans for the immediate future.
The group has made its way across the U.S of A. a handful of times. Stopping in Oregon for the Portland street fair in 2005, they stepped in for Yacht (a.k.a Jona Bechtolt) of The Blow, another cute love band with loads of Net buzz. In Virginia they rocked a roller rink for a festival called Best Friends Day, jamming behind the snack bar.
“They’re funny sh–. They’re just f—— good man, they got their sh– together. They’re good looking and hilarious, what’s not to like?” said Chris Hontos after the MNL performance. He’s not the only one who enjoys their happy tunes, either.
“I enjoy them because they put me in a very good mood because they’re very happy and carefree. They seem to enjoy what they do,” said Ryan McNamee of St. Cloud, who stopped into KVSC to catch the performance.
If you’re hankering to see them live, they have a concert lined up for Saturday the 3rd of February at the Foundation night club on Hennepin in Minneapolis starting at 7:30pm, and just in case you missed the clapping, cuteness, or goofy facial expressions Bri likes to make while performing, the MNL performance will be repeating regularly on UTVS. You can hear four tracks from them at their myspace page, and a few more at www.say-and-stay-said.com.
“How BFF Breaks It Off With Movie Stars”
“How BFF Breaks It Off With Movie Stars”
“My Head In Front Of Your Head”
“BFF’s Theme Song”
“BFF’s Theme Song”
Originally published in the University Chronicle.
Jason Schueppert
