Lo(u)ser (pronounced Loser) dropped their newest song on bandcamp and spotify earlier this week, and released a video to accompany it today (Thursday, October 5) titled If You Find Me. The song starts off a little faster than I was expecting, with a repeated single note and some vocals, but it quickly grows to the type of ska that best defines Lo(u)ser- an exploration of mental health struggles with catchy, witty lyrics and a synthesized electronic element that often includes chip-tune and 8 bit video game tones. It doesn’t take long before the rhythm has you humming along with the beat. If You Find Me features Max Gerlock from the Bay Area indie pop band, Super Cassette, joining on some vocals. Incidentally, Super Cassette also just released a single promoting their debut album which is set to release soon.
There are elements of video games in all of Lo(u)sers videos, and this is definitely no exception, with Chris wearing a ghost costume while being chased around the city by a PacMan. The videos always feel as if they are as much of a part of the song as the music itself with the chiptune elements of the music making the video experience more encompassing.
For anyone who have not heard of Lo(u)ser yet, you may have heard of Chris Graue, the only actual member of the band. If you’ve paid any attention to the ska scene for the last decade- especially the bands from California- you’ve almost certainly seen Chris Graue’s work. While working in and with bands, Chris realized that most bands are really bad at promoting themselves through videos, so he started filming videos for bands, and now has nearly 100 videos to his credit. Chris has shot music videos for Reel Big Fish, Scott Klopfenstein, Littlest Man Band, NOFX, The Abruptors, Fishbone, Mike Park, Top Secret Robot Alliance, Mustard Plug, Bite Me Bambi, Amy Gabba and the Almost Famous, We Are The Union, and so many other bands. Chris is also the producer for Fat Mike of NOFX’s podcast. In addition, his song “No Hope” appeared in the Kevin Smith movie Clerks 3, and he will be performing on the “Jay and Silent Bob Cruise Askew” next February.
As mentioned before, all of Chris’s singles have music videos. Every music video for his own music also features a significant connection to video games, from “Set it all on Fire”, whose entire video was made as an actual playable level with Super Mario Maker 2, to “Sound the Alarm”- where the video is a spoof of Fall Guys. Chris can frequently be seen in his videos in a Luigi outfit from Super Mario Bros.
In addition to his normal singles, Chris put out one single that is only on YouTube. It was recorded for a special charity called “sing me a story”, where children in need write and illustrate stories and artists make a song of that story to raise money. The only video for that song is a live performance, but it is both heartwarming and hilarious. You can find the song here, and although there is a link to the charity in the description of the video, it can also be found here.
While he has made videos for dozens of bands, his passion has always been music and community. Ironically, someone so dedicated to the community decided that their music career should be a solo project, and so Lo(u)ser (pronounced loser) was born. However, his dedication to community has led to nearly half of his songs featuring other bands, now having singles that feature We Are The Union, The Ruffolos, Scott Klopfenstein and Aaron Barrett (both are original members of Reel Big Fish), Suburban Legends, and now Super Cassette.
Finally, for anyone in California, you can catch Lo(u)ser live in concert on October 6th with Eichlers in Chino, at Maximum Ska and P fest in Modesto on October 7th. Also, Lo(u)ser will be playing the afterparty at the Sacramento Gamer’s Expo on December 16th.
Chris’s website is available here including links to a playlist with many of the videos he’s made for other bands, his social media, and tickets to upcoming shows.
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