Those planning on attending Binghamton University’s annual Spring Fling should expect nothing short of a party. At least that’s what Far East Movement’s Kev Nish told Release in a phone interview earlier this week.
Kev Nish (whose real name is Kevin Nishimura) is part of the electro-pop group whose fame skyrocketed last fall with the radio release of “Like a G6.” The band will be taking the main stage at BU around 8:30 p.m. after DJs Super Mash Bros. and before emo band Taking Back Sunday.
“People coming out to the show, they should just have a good time,” Nish said. “We mash up the hip-hop, the pop, electronic, alternative rock.”
Far East Movement is currently in the middle of a college tour. The band has already performed at Harvard and Eastern Illinois and got nothing but love from the students they performed for. A few of their singles had gained popularity through websites like www.fratmusic.com.
“We like to give the credit to the college students for the reason why ‘Like a G6′ took off,” Nish said. “We’d go out and do shows, people would know the songs even before they had radio play.”
Though Nish only attended junior college so he could get an internship at Interscope, he and his fellow bandmates relate to the college party scene.
“Yeah, we are [big partiers]. It’s where we get inspiration from,” Nish explained. “We like to make music that feels a certain way. We’ve just got to keep it fun, have a good time.”
One of their favorite memories of touring plays out like the plot of “The Hangover.”
“We had a stop in Las Vegas, it was a crazy night,” Nish said. “But next thing you know, we couldn’t find Proh anywhere, we had his phone too.”
The group looked at various clubs and bars for the missing bandmate before calling it a night. They returned to the tour bus to find him there, passed out, with his shoes on.
The band has done a lot of different types of tours, from music festivals to opening for Lady Gaga in Japan.
“It’s all the same, when people come out, they come out to have a good time. It’s an experience, the concert feeling. It’s been high energy, a lot of love, a lot of fun,” Nish said.
But there is one definite perk of college shows — crowd surfing.
FEM has taken its love for students to a whole new level by creating a contest to win a private concert. To enter, students must create a 30-second video to the band’s new song “If I Was You (OMG)” featuring Snoop Dogg, upload it to YouTube and then email it to omg@fareastmovement.com.
The band will show up at the winner’s dorm room or apartment next semester.
Far East Movement has gotten a lot of buzz lately, especially in the Asian community. Some blogs have reported they are the first Asian artists to go No. 1 on Billboard.
“Personally we don’t have the facts, but some people have told us that and we’re extremely grateful,” Nish said. “Race has never played a role in the music. We grew up in L.A., we made music that was inspired by our lifestyle.”