LA band Taxi Doll have been on my radar for quite some time ever since I heard their rocktronica number “Be With You” awhile back. They have been really working the TV syncs lately and gaining a lot momentum from doing so. I caught up with Taxi Doll to talk about getting exposure from being played on the television, their name and look and what their thoughts are on electro being big in 2009. Enjoy.
Well hello Taxi Doll – where are you answering our questions from today?
We are answering our questions from our studio in Hollywood!
Tell me about your latest song and video for “Be With You”. It’s got a very 90s Republica sort of feel to it if I must make an immediate comparison…
Thanks for the Republica comparison, we love that band. We wanted to write a fun bouncey song to kinda give the “Here and Now” record a good balance of light and dark tunes. This song actually has several incarnations. The version we did the video to, is a remix version by Josh Harris, an amazing producer / remixer who added the perfect blend of dance and rock to that version of the song.
Love Josh Harris! Now you must have been excited to get your song featured on Paris Hilton’s BFF TV program and On MTV’s The City. What did you do when you heard your song being played on the telly?
We had a little viewing party with our friends. I think Gregg got hooked on that show after watching the episode our music was in, but i think its just because of the pretty girls [Laughs] !
“Be With You”
A lot of bands in America are really going after TV sync deals to get noticed. What sort of feedback did you get after your songs appeared on BFF? I see you’ve also had some syncs on Laguna Beach and Veronica Mars too…
Yeah, we are really grateful for our TV and film placements! They have exposed us to a variety of new fans and MTV shows are really great about promoting the music on their shows. We usually get some really nice comments on our MySpace page after these shows air. It’s been a good way to measure the reaction to a particular song of ours and the audience of a particular show.
Do you think it’s a little sad to have to rely on televison these days to get noticed as a band or is just part of the evolving way we discover music in the year 2009 now.
It would be nice if there was more variety on radio, but by way of TV/Film and the web, more avenues have opened up for the indie artist, which is not a bad thing. Artists are adapting to the ever-changing climate and with that come other opportunities and other ways of finding fans. And fans may find artists that they usually may not come across otherwise.
So where did you get your name Taxi Doll from?
Well its named after the bouncy dolls on the dash of cabs. I think the first time we said it out loud we knew that name was the one. I think we have a giant list of band name suggestions somewhere that’s pages long… Taxi Doll just felt right…
I love your whole “red and black sleek” look. What would you describe as “the taxi doll” look?
Thank you. I think we just gravitated to those colors and started sticking to those colors for our live shows – we like to coordinate. The art director for the CD packaging pretty much read our minds and chose the color scheme without us even saying anything. It was pretty amazing. He should start one of those psychic hotlines.
Tell us about your new album – it’s out now right?
Yes it available now on iTunes, CDBaby and all the other usual places. With a variety of songs for whatever mood you are in and a few re-inventions of the staple songs we play live. New version of one of our first songs “Look At What You Get” was featured on the Xbox game Forza Motorsport 2.
Do you think 2009 is a big year for electro with Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys both releasing new albums?
Seems like electro is getting bigger every year. You can hear elements of the genre in every thing from new Christina Aguilera to some of the brand new hip hop on radio. We’re pretty big fans of both groups. We’re glad it’s gotten so widespread. Depeche Mode is a big influence on and I think they are the reason Gregg got into synths and producing.
So what’s next for Taxi Doll after “Be With You? Any new single you’ll be working?
Yes we are finishing up a new video and remixes for “Notice Me”, and a remix video for “Give You More” – new songs in the works too.
Thanks for your time – any parting words for our EQ readers?
Check out our new album and hit us up at www.myspace.com/taxidoll and say hi!