About to Pop: TV/TV

Who: TV/TV
Album: 'Not Enough Red'
Song: 'Fire Island Freakout'
Hails From: New York, NY
For Fans Of: Metro Station and Cobra Starship
Why They're About to Pop: New York's own TV/TV formed just three years ago when Josh Ocean (vocals/guitar), Eric Mendelsohn (guitar), Matt Walczak (bass), and Camillie Oliver (drums) began jamming together in their East Village apartment. Influenced by the likes of Jet and the Killers, the band soon scored local gigs and began building a following that couldn't get enough of their power-pop sound. In 2007, TV/TV hit the studio with producers Zach Odom and Kenneth Mount (All Time Low, Mayday Parade, Cartel) to produce their debut EP, 'Something to Get Excited About!'. The East Coast rockers were then warmly embraced by the MTV community, appearing on 'Made' and getting song placements on shows like 'The Hills' and 'The Real World.' Now TV/TV are armed with a new EP called 'Not Enough Red,' and are ready to spread their gospel on the road all summer as they embark on the entirety of the 2009 Vans Warped Tour.

I came up with the band name after learning about the Berkley film group, who pioneered guerilla-style documentary filmmaking in the late 1970s. They would get in the faces of politicians and ask questions the mainstream media wouldn't ask. I liked the sense of rebellion through an art medium. The name stuck out as something different and I felt if fit our sound, which was different from other stuff in the NYC scene. I added the slash and we became TV/TV.

NYC is probably the most influential element to our music pursuits. It is a main theme in all our songs, especially the new material in which we make references to certain parts of the East Village, where we started. It was through living in NYC that I was compelled to start the band and pursue music, and it is the struggle of life in the city that inspires a lot of the writing.

Besides staying awake for days at SXSW, I would say the craziest and worst thing that happened was having our van's transmission breakdown on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angele,s right outside the Key Club where we had just played the Warped Tour Kickoff Party.

That is such a great question. We are influenced by so many artists that there are so many answers to that question. I would say pop producers like Dr. Luke or Timbaland, also maybe Lady Gaga, but also indie rock artists like Phoenix or MGMT.

We have grown tremendously since the release of our first EP, 'Something to Get Excited About!'. We toured the country a few times before heading into the studio to write the new EP, 'Not Enough Red,' and we had grown so much from being on the road for so long. Also, I think actually being a band for a while made us realize what kind of band we wanted to be. The new music is very much the music we always wanted to make as TV/TV.

It was sort of a surreal experience in that I had seen that show so many times, and while we were filming, I couldn't believe how cliched the real things happening were.

I think it is an exciting prospect. It's fun working with cameras, but I guess the scary thing would be admitting that my life has become a reality show.

To be able to teleport anywhere I want. I love to travel and that would make things so much easier!