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The Naked and Famous Get Fired Up Over Their 'S---' YouTube Videos

Somewhat Damaged

The Naked and Famous, ironically, never want to be famous. The New Zealand indie rockers want you to know their music but could care less if you recognize their faces.

"I think we'd be in a bad place the day we all agree that we're famous," synth player Aaron Short tells Spinner. "It's never been what we've focused on and we don't pay too much attention to the media -- only [bassist] David [Beadle] reads celebrity gossip magazines."

They may not be interested in the press but the bands do frequent Facebook and Twitter as a way to stay connected to their fans. But Short and drummer Jesse Wood explain that even then they've learned to keep a safe distance. After all, fans need to know about tour dates, not what the Naked and Famous ate today.

"We're quite set in our ways and we think about every word we put up," says Wood of the band's Twitter account. "We don't constantly throw out, 'Here's our breakfast, here's our lunch...'"

Short adds that musicians or celebrities that tweet too much "become irrelevant and not interesting anymore; it's just flooding your wall all day."

He prefers to save the online outreach for when it really counts, like when he decided to "offer something nicer than the excessive amounts of s--- quality live videos going up on YouTube," as he wrote on the band's blog back in June. In the note, he asked fans to bring cameras to capture footage of the band playing at Shepherds Bush in the UK and send it to him to compile a live video, which he later posted on the Naked and Famous' YouTube channel.

"We got an OK for people to film and rather than getting a camera crew, we told fans to go and shoot it," Short says. "It came together really well."

In terms of the "s---- quality videos" captured by concert-goers, Wood says, "It's fine if they want to capture a personal memory but you don't want to be spending the whole show looking through a screen."

"The bad thing is," he adds, "If you look for a new band and you go to YouTube straight away, a lot of people will think because of the camera quality that the band sucks live. And that's frustrating; it can paint people in the wrong light."

Wood occasionally sifts through the group's random YouTube videos but admits he always stops because of the horrible sound. "Cameras are the new version of a lighter, except they're recording instead," he says.

"There's no reason to try to battle that," adds Short. "It's just going to get bigger and bigger, and that video we did is just a good way for us, rather than stop what was going on, to say 'Here's a nice version of what you did.'"

Watch the Naked and the Famous' Girls Like You' Video

The band will have to brave many more camera-holding fans as they continue touring into the new year.

"We're looking forward to that point where we can get back into the studio and get creative with some new tracks," Wood says. "We had five days off and wanted to just enjoy being back in the studio again and get some fresh tracks going."

New tracks are gradually developing, and with every rehearsal and soundcheck, the band will continue to sneak in those new songs. Short is hopeful that post-tour they will have a game plan mapped out: "By the time we get in the studio, we should be ready."

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