By now, you’ve probably seen the video that went viral a couple weeks ago, called “Bring On Brady”. It was a huge hit in my house, and seems to have been a hit all over Maryland. Come to find out, one of the guys in the “band” that made the video went to the same college I did. So I tracked down Matt Robins to get the scoop:
Joe Polek: So you and your wife have taken Baltimore by storm… your YouTube video of your song “Bring On Brady” has over 370,000 views, and has been featured on BaltimoreRavens.com, 105.7 The Fan, and many other places. My 5 year old and 2 year old, (and my Patriots fan wife) have been singing that song for the last week. How did this all come about? Who said “let’s make a Ravens music video”?
Matt Robbins: Well we made a video last year called “Purple Friday” and we had some friends that loved it and encouraged us to make a new one for this year. We were actually going to do it for the Broncos game but Sarah (my wife) got sick and we put it on hold. If the Ravens advanced we said we’d make a new one for the AFC Championship game. It was only fitting it was the Patriots again.
JP: Where else have you heard the video being played? Did you ever think it could go viral like it did?
MR: Gosh, we’ve heard it on Jim Rome’s radio show, on a ton of New England blogs (they live up to their reputation, by the way), ESPN’s website, 106.5 The Mix in Baltimore, WBAL radio and TV, a lot of local media outlets here on the Eastern Shore, Mashable.com’s front page, and a bunch of other places that I’m sure I missed. Not in our wildest dreams did we think this would happen! We didn’t make a video to get recognized, we just did it for fun and to support our team. It’s been wild.
JP: One of the things I love about the video is the cast of characters. When you first play the video, we aren’t sure if your wife will have a good voice or not… she does! Then, the hats… they are priceless. Just pause the video at the start and you aren’t sure if this is a joke or not. But the older man is great on the guitar, and you are real good at background vocals and bongos. It’s actually a really good song, musically. And lyrically, it’s great. How did you decide on which song to tackle, and how did you come up with the lyrics?
MR: Well the song choice was rather easy. We wanted something freakishly catchy that would stick in your head and “Call Me Maybe” fit the bill, along with rhyming with Brady. The rest basically wrote itself on my work commute over the next few days. The Ravens and their fans embrace the underdog mentality and that’s kind of the heart of where the song came from.
JP: So I’m guessing your family is die-hard Ravens fans… how long have you been cheering them on? Do you have season tickets?
MR: Haha no, no season tickets. Not really in our budget right now. My father, Stan, and I liked the Ravens since they’ve come to town but haven’t really been rabid about them ‘til 2006. A good friend of mine’s father, our pastor, was a huge Steve McNair fan from way back in college at Alcorn State in Mississippi and followed his pro career closely. When my buddy heard McNair was coming to the Ravens he got excited and said, “Let’s be Ravens fans!” So we followed them a lot more closely and were rewarded with a 13-3 season. We were hooked! Granted the next year wasn’t nearly as nice but when we get into something we REALLY get into it! My wife was born near Dallas so she’s actually a Cowboys fan first and foremost, but she has embraced the Ravens as her AFC team since she moved here when she was six. She actually started cheering for the Ravens (when they weren’t playing her ‘boys) long before we got together, but I think I helped intensify her fandom a little. 😉
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NJxOUcwPV4[/youtube]
JP: You also have another video called “Purple Friday” which is a parody of Rebecca Black’s “Friday”. It hasn’t taken off like “Bring On Brady” did, but it’s still very creative. Now, your brand new video is “Tonight”, which is a parody of Fun’s “Some Night”. Are you playing off the success of “Bring on Brady” and hoping to get another viral video?
MR: It’s always hard to follow up with anything when expectations are so high so I’m keeping myself grounded. It would be great if it took off but that’s not really why we made it. We just want to support our team and get the fans pumped for what will be one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent memory! I think the “Bring on Brady” video will certainly help it get exposure and I’d be lying if I said that didn’t excite me, but I would trade all the viral notoriety in the world for a win next Sunday!
JP: Good answer! We are all hoping for a win! Well, I’m a fan of you guys now… I’m hoping for big things in the future! Got anything else planned?
MR: Well my wife, Sarah, and I make up the duo Beauty for Ashes and we were in the studio recently recording an original song that we wrote for our twin 2-year-old girls when they were dedicated at our church. It’s still in the mixing and mastering phase of production but it should be on iTunes within the month! It’s called “I Promise” and we’re really excited about it.
If you’ve been living under a rock, and haven’t seen their video’s yet, check out their YouTube page HERE
I’m looking forward to a Super Bowl Victory song next!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBB459b-WuI[/youtube]
