by It’s not heavy metal, but goddamn is it good. The Picturebooks duo has released the video for their new single, “I Need That Oooh,” and if it doesn’t have a sexy-Nevada-outlaw-biker feel to it, I don’t know what it has.
“I Need that Oooh” can be found on The Picturebooks’ new album, Home Is a Heartache, released March 2017, via Another Century. The 14-track album was recorded in the band’s garage, where they regularly refurbish and repair motorcycles and choppers. The album captures a raw, rich, and real energy evoking the room’s natural reverb, industrial aura, and spiritual spark.
Currently, The Picturebooks are on tour in Europe and the UK with Monster Truck. For more tour information, go here.
Vocalist/guitarist Fynn Claus Grabke explains of the track and video:
‘I Need That Oooh’ was written on a parking lot somewhere in Wales by a beautiful river. I had the idea while driving to Cardiff. I was singing into my phone recording this idea that I heard in my head. ‘…I Need That Oooh…Oooh…’ and all of the sudden we stopped and brainstormed everything into the iPhone. We knew immediately what we wanted it to sound like and how we wanted the production to be for that song. It’s a 30-minute memo where we completely wrote the song with lyrics and everything right there and then. Two weeks later we went into our studio/garage and recorded it. The song is about looking for inspiration, looking for that ‘Oooh!,’ being bored, having writer’s block, and all the stuff that comes with it. Like most of my lyrics, they are improvised.
We shot the video out in Yucca Valley and Pioneertown in California. Next to us performing in the middle of the desert, the video is about us riding our choppers (one of them is a bike that we built ourselves and the other bike belongs to one of our buddies in the U.S.) In the video we’re riding bikes, we meet this hitchhiking chick, we blow up stuff on the side of the road, getting lost… looking for inspiration, pretty much what the song is about in a way. We just loved the visuals and didn’t want to get too crazy with a story line and stuff. After all, none us are good actors or anything like that.
While we were filming though, my dad (who is also our manager, producer, live mixer and camera guy) got hit by a truck when we left him alone for 10 minutes. It was a hit and run. He was just sitting down on the side of the road checking some of his footage he filmed earlier while it happened. He broke 10 ribs, got 9 fractions on his spine, he punctured his lung, tore some ligaments in his left knee and cut up his elbow pretty badly. He was rushed to a nearby hospital immediately and let’s just say we were lucky we had great insurance. Anyways, three weeks later this guy manages to be back on his feet and with the help from our friends in the skateboarding and chopper scene, we finished the video and things turned out for the better. We’re so thankful for everyone that was involved in the making of this video and we had the best time up there in the high desert. Good times. Life is so freaking weird man.
About The Picturebooks:
The German duo — featuring Fynn Claus Grabke [vocals, guitar] and Philipp Mirtschink [drums] — performs enticing blues-saturated heavy rock, with Fynn playing on obscure vintage guitars he bought from thrift shops around the world, while Philipp beats a drum set that consists of the largest possible drums that he hits with heavy duty felt beaters. The set has no cymbals whatsoever and instead includes a few self-made percussion instruments with huge chains, bells, and more.
Home is a Heartache is the band’s sophomore release and Another Century label debut.
Home is a Heartache is available now.
Rock Hard \m/
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