Spring Break
Woodies Recognize Bands You've Never Heard Of - And A Few You Have
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: Focus
Queens-based MC Pharoahe Monch once said, "It's better to go wood in the hood than gold around the world." What Monch meant by this was that it's better to have the respect and love of the people than to sell records. This is what the MTVU Woodie Awards are all about. Drawing from the roots of indie tradition, the Woodies is the award show for the passionate connection between the audience and the music, not about the biggest stars or the best selling artists - although Linkin Park are up for two this year.
In its fourth year, the Woodies are the place where you'll most likely find your next big artist. Artists like The Killers, Death Cab for Cutie and most recently, Plain White T's all can look back and thank the awards show for helping them become who they are today.
In a recent phone interview, The Daily Campus had the opportunity to look into the minds of some of this year's nominees - singer Travis McCoy of the hip-hop/rock group Gym Class Heroes; singer Max Bemis of alternative rock group Say Anything; Meg Frampton, lead singer of indie rock group Meg & Dia; and guitarist Brad Delson of rock group Linkin Park.
"I learned to keep my zipper up."
Gym Class Heroes are big. So big that their next album features a medley of artists including Busta Rhymes and production by Cool and Dre, but not big enough that Travis McCoy, front man and master of the mic of the group, forgets where he came from.
"I won a cameo in a Jadakiss music video on [MTV show] 'DirectFX'," McCoy said. "If you sneezed, you missed me."
Nominated for Woodie of the Year, the Geneva, N.Y.-based group have emerged well beyond their humble beginnings and have experienced theur first taste of fame.
"Biggest lesson I learned on the road? I learned to keep my zipper up," McCoy said. "Not to be vulgar, but when you're touring, you can make a big, messy, entangled web meeting people, if you know what I'm saying. It was like, 'Wow, it's a smorgasbord! All these girls, this is awesome.' I got over that real fast. I realized I needed to have a little more respect for myself. I want girls to have to work for this, I don't want to just throw it out there."
In its fourth year, the Woodies are the place where you'll most likely find your next big artist. Artists like The Killers, Death Cab for Cutie and most recently, Plain White T's all can look back and thank the awards show for helping them become who they are today.
In a recent phone interview, The Daily Campus had the opportunity to look into the minds of some of this year's nominees - singer Travis McCoy of the hip-hop/rock group Gym Class Heroes; singer Max Bemis of alternative rock group Say Anything; Meg Frampton, lead singer of indie rock group Meg & Dia; and guitarist Brad Delson of rock group Linkin Park.
"I learned to keep my zipper up."
Gym Class Heroes are big. So big that their next album features a medley of artists including Busta Rhymes and production by Cool and Dre, but not big enough that Travis McCoy, front man and master of the mic of the group, forgets where he came from.
"I won a cameo in a Jadakiss music video on [MTV show] 'DirectFX'," McCoy said. "If you sneezed, you missed me."
Nominated for Woodie of the Year, the Geneva, N.Y.-based group have emerged well beyond their humble beginnings and have experienced theur first taste of fame.
"Biggest lesson I learned on the road? I learned to keep my zipper up," McCoy said. "Not to be vulgar, but when you're touring, you can make a big, messy, entangled web meeting people, if you know what I'm saying. It was like, 'Wow, it's a smorgasbord! All these girls, this is awesome.' I got over that real fast. I realized I needed to have a little more respect for myself. I want girls to have to work for this, I don't want to just throw it out there."
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