Elite Gymnastics

No band from Minneapolis has been hyped and lauded in the indie blogosphere this year as much as Elite Gymnastics. Emailing with James Brooks, one half of the electronic duo, one gets the impression that they know this. This is not to say that Brooks is arrogant about Elite Gymnastics' buzz, he just seems like an honest guy; he's smart, aptly confident, and blunt. He's also the first to admit that two years ago, he and bandmate Josh Clancy had never written a song together. 

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In fact, Clancy had never written a song, period. "Neither of us knew how to sing or had any idea how to approach the project lyrically. It was all new, it was all kind of gut-level, we were serious about what we were doing, but we were also sort of scared." It's hard to hear that fear come through when you listen to Real Friends, the four-track debut EP Elite Gymnastics released last year, or Ruin, the LP they recently released on Acéphale Records. It's sample-happy dreamy pop music, full of hooky dance synth and modulated vocals.

Elite Gymnastics' scene is the internet, and they attribute their success to it openly and credit it as a much more valuable "scene" than that of the Twin Cities. When questioned about this, Brooks responds bluntly: "At this point, people should stop being surprised when things happen like us getting written up online or in magazines, or Howler getting signed to Rough Trade after only existing for a few months, or Poliça getting booked to play a sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom for their second show ever. This idea that paying your dues in the local scene gets you anywhere is a fake idea." It's a bleak notion, but maybe he's right, however depressing that is once it sinks in. And it's more than a little ironic that Elite Gymnastics are on our Picked to Click list this year, since Brooks calls this poll an exercise in futility midway through his interview: "Every year City Pages polls people who go to a lot of shows about what new local bands they are excited about for their Picked to Click issue. And pretty much every year the band that wins breaks up or fades into obscurity almost immediately thereafter." Well, now we don't really know what to say...except, SURPRISE! [CIty Pages, October 2011]

Past Shows


Oct
22
nd
2012
Varsity Theater
Oct
22
nd
2012
Varsity Theater

Grimes

with Elite Gymnastics and Myths
Mar
13
th
2012
7th St Entry
Mar
13
th
2012
7th St Entry

Grimes

with Elite Gymnastics and Born Gold
Feb
7
th
2012
7th St Entry
Feb
7
th
2012
7th St Entry

Doldrums

with A.WOLF AND HER CLAWS and Elite Gymnastics
Jan
6
th
2012
7th St Entry
Jan
6
th
2012
7th St Entry

Buffalo Moon

with Elite Gymnastics, Night Moves and Tickle Torture
Apr
29
th
2011
7th St Entry
Apr
29
th
2011
7th St Entry

Born Gold

with Food Pyramid and Elite Gymnastics
Dec
8
th
2010
7th St Entry
Dec
8
th
2010
7th St Entry

White Hinterland

with Claps and Elite Gymnastics
Nov
13
th
2010
7th St Entry
Nov
13
th
2010
7th St Entry

Matthew Dear

with Elite Gymnastics and JONATHAN ACKERMAN

More Shows

Mar
2
nd
Amsterdam Bar & Hall

The Sloppy Boys

Dec
22
nd
First Avenue

Nick Swardson

Mar
26
th
Fine Line

The War and Treaty

Feb
20
th
7th St Entry

Skinny Lister