3OH!3: Sex and Botox Keep the Relationship Going

Ask just about any millennial to finish the sentence “Tell your boyfriend, if he says he’s got beef…” and there’s a good chance they’ll answer “That I’m a vegetarian and I ain’t fucking scared of him.”

They may not remember the song nor the artist’s name, but they’ll immediately be brought back to the nostalgia of house parties, questionable decisions and original recipe Four Lokos.

And you know what? The guys in 3OH!3 are just fine with that. Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman have been playing their electropop bangers (like the aforementioned “Don’t Trust Me”) for two decades now — all while constantly touring and releasing new music — and they see no reason to change things up now.

We caught up with the duo backstage at Riot Fest in Chicago. Our conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.

Tar: We've seen a rise in 2000s millennial culture coming back — of which you guys have provided the soundtrack for — so what’s it like to see this revived interest in some of those early bangers? 

Nathaniel Motte: It's been amazing. We've been touring and releasing music the whole time, so it's a crazy perspective to see that stuff. We still play those songs every time we play shows, because we want to give the people what they want. Our shows are a collection of a lot of old music, so to see it come back around is amazing. We had a “RICHMAN” dance trend that popped up this year, and some of the people that were doing it weren’t alive when that song was coming out. It's really surreal and rad.

What’s it like seeing these fans who are now parents and stuff react to the songs like “Don’t Trust Me,” which define their college experience or their youth? 

Sean Foreman: It's cool. Honestly, with that song, the heavy lifting is done by the audience for sure. We start the verse and you hear it loud. Everyone knows those lyrics, which is very flattering. I've got a kid in preschool, and a handful of those parents came out to the show with their kids on their shoulders doing the 3OH!3 hand sign. It's just different, man. There's shows where we have like multi-generation — even sometimes three generations — of people at the show. We just want to rock a party, so I feel like it works. The kids are jumping around, enjoying the bass and the production, the parents are singing the lyrics and the grandparents are drunk as hell.

What's been the key for you guys to keep touring and keep making new music year after year? 

Foreman: Botox.

Motte: Really good sex between us. A lot of work done.

Foreman: Botox and Ozempic.

Motte: And effin’. A lot of strong, passionate date nights. We do little date nights every now and then. 

Foreman: You’ve got to reinvest in the relationship. 

Motte: You’ve got to make sure to check in, communicate and then do it to it.

How different is it for you playing a festival as opposed to a club show?

Motte: Logistically, it's different, but it's fun. We embrace those differences. We always have. The ethos that we approach it with is always the same. It's always like “Let’s just rock a party.” It's less of a performance and more just making sure that everybody who comes out has a smile on their face and has fun. We lean into our older music and play a smattering of new stuff just to make sure that people have fun. Especially on a festival like [Riot Fest] where we're on a bit earlier. We’ll just warm up the crowd for the headliners and make sure they have a great festival. 

What’s it like to look back on those first couple of albums that are coming up on 20 years old now? 

Foreman: We made that album when we were 20, basically. So it's kind of crazy that the album's as old as we were when we made it. We're cooking up some special stuff. We have some new music that we're ready to release, which is going to be fun. Hopefully we’ll get out and play shows for people that want to hear it. Like Nat said, we're not a band that shies away from the fact that people are coming out to experience some nostalgia for the songs that we wrote 20 years ago. We're not like “Oh, we wrote a new album. We're only playing that front to back.” We want to have fun and play the songs that people know. It's always nice to celebrate something. Being around for that long is an achievement in itself. We're just happy to still be doing it.