By Ben Breier

Whatever you do, don’t come to see Tapes n Tapes next week without getting in a few practice sessions of MLB 2K7 on the Xbox 360 — or they will kick your digital ass. Fans attending the show will be able to play the game at a couple of kiosks while the band performs. The Hit N Run tour, sponsored by 2KSports, is the reason for all the attention. The band’s single “Insistor” is featured in the game, giving baseball-loving gamers something good to listen to while nailing 6-4-3 double plays.

“We haven’t challenged any fans yet; we need to practice a little more,” singer Josh Grier says. “But we’ll be ready to take on folks in Cleveland.”
The posh tour bus goes far beyond the luxuries provided by the cramped vans the band members typically finds themselves traveling in.

“Without the sponsorship, we couldn’t afford to roll in this,” he says. “I’m looking out the window right now, and it looks like someone drew a moustache on Derek Jeter. I can’t imagine how bad we’re going to get it when we roll through Boston.”

Tapes n Tapes started out in a Minneapolis rock scene sprawling with opportunity and diversity — two words that don’t often describe a place populated heavily with Caucasian descendants of Scandinavians.

“I can’t think of another city the size of Minnesota with as many viable music venues,” Grier says. “If you have a band, you can get a show. And if you can’t get a show, you probably aren’t talking to the right people. There’s a venue for every type of music.”

In the early days of Tapes n Tapes, the band lost a bassist to college, unaware that the group would take off.

“He decided he’d rather go to grad school than be in a band with no drummer,” he says. “Then, we got a real drummer. He says he’s kicking himself, but he also likes what he’s doing.”

During the creative process, Grier elects to focus on the melodies and the rhythms, almost eschewing the lyrics until the end of the process. And most of the time, the lyrics are for phonetics, not for meaning.

“I write lyrics to make the words have the right sound and have them make at least some sense in my head,” he says. “I don’t fancy myself as a profound writer, and I don’t want to detract from the music. For me, the music is the most important thing. But singing adds an interesting texture to the song.”

The group will be beta testing a lot of material from its upcoming album, the follow-up to 2005’s The Loon, which will be recorded in May at the end of the tour. But don’t expect anything dramatically different — fans should plan on comfortable familiarity, while newcomers will hopefully be inundated with a new rock ’n’ roll album.

“We tend to approach each song as its own entity,” he says. “We mess around and experiment with things. In that way, it’s just more songs by us.”
When he’s not on the road or working on new material, Grier finds himself at a data analysis job for a health benefits company. After discovering working at a record store wouldn’t be enough to meet the rent, he “went the square route” and found a job with benefits that puts up with the fact that its employee is a bonafide rock star.

“It keeps normalcy in my life to go home and have a routine,” he says. “They’re flexible in my schedule and they know I leave for months on time to go on tour. “

Fans of the band need not worry — Grier promises the band’s new corporate sponsorship won’t taint the atmosphere or tone of the show.
“It’s a good, old-fashioned rock show,” he says. “We’re excited about playing new material because we’ve been playing the same stuff for the past year and a half.”

During a performance in Phoenix, Grier remembers an encounter with a tweeker, thanks to the loose security at the venue.

“You could tell he was not right — security was not getting on the ball, and then he went out into the audience when we were supposed to play from backstage,” he says. “He cornered himself near [keyboardist] Matt [Kretzman] and was just rocking out and twitching. After four songs, security came up and took him out. “

With the new material, Grier hopes to establish a strong rock and roll show — but most importantly, he wants to fans to enjoy the music.
“We’ve been having a lot of fun,” he says.

Tapes n Tapes, Ladyhawk, Harlem Shakes
9 p.m. Tuesday, May 22
Grog Shop
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd.
216.321.5588