Hollerado's Viral Video Stars Up for 'Best New Group' at Junos

Posted on Mar 25th 2011 4:30PM by Lonny Knapp
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Royal Mountain Records

Canadian Rockers Hollerado hail from Manotick, a charming village on the Rideau Canal near Ottawa, Canada's capital city.

A very different place from the bustling city of Toronto, where the indie band will be stationed this weekend while attending the Juno Awards. The group are nominated for Best New Group.

Bassist Dean Baxter admits he never thought his band would walk the red carpet at a fancy industry award party like the Junos.

Even on their best behavior, the guys in Hollerado will inject a bit of impulsiveness to the sometimes-predictable gala dinner where their award is being handed out Saturday night, the evening before the big televised ceremony. But when asked if the band had planned any hijinks, Baxter wouldn't dish.

"We do have a top-secret idea. If you see it, you'll know."

It may seen like the band are enjoying a lot of success as of late, but it wasn't always smooth sailing for the group.

The quartet -- which also includes frontman Menno Versteeg, and brothers drummer Jake and guitarist Nixon Boyd -- grew up together, and naturally shared some rather intimate moments over the years.

"We've known each other forever. Menno gave Nixon his first guitar lesson, and Jake puked on Menno at the fair," says Baxter, referring to a messy incident regarding half-digested cotton candy with the latter memory.

With the carnival mishap behind them, the crew went on to form Hollerado, and later star in the viral smash 'Americanarama.'

In the much-talked about video, the band perform in front of a huge grid-like structure. A single volunteer inhabits each of the structure's 24 cells; as the song plays out, the volunteers perform carefully choreographed movements neatly transforming the backdrop into a screen for a giant game of pong, space invaders, and other visual gags.

Watch Hollerado's Video for 'Americanarama'
The director, self-proclaimed mad scientist Greg Jardin, captured the so-called 'Human 8-Bit Video' in a single take at a cost of a few thousand dollars. When it was released, the video became an Internet sensation.

It received mentions in Wired magazine and on MTV, popped up on countless blogs, has collected over 8-hundred-thousand hits on YouTube, and proved that creative low-budget videos often trump their big-budget counterparts.

"People were calling it a viral video, and there were responses from people who we thought would never know our stuff. We were all blown away by what a big deal it became," Baxter says.

And though Hollerado shockingly isn't nominated for a Juno in the Video of the Year, it's obvious that 'Americanarama' played a pivotal role in breaking the band, and, depending on how Saturday goes, earning them the distinction of Canada's Best New Group.