We recently connected with Greg Burmeister and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was in high school at the turn of the century when I started making weird videos on a 8mm camcorder. I wrote and shot a MacGyver spoof and made a backwards music video by rewinding the footage on the camcorder while recording it to a VHS tape. Shortly after I did this, Coldplay released their “Scientist” music video, which was very similar to the video I made. At the time, I was convinced that Coldplay ripped off my idea and used the digital editing software that I didn’t have access to to make a higher quality version of my masterpiece, though I later realized that Spike Jonze had also directed a backwards music video for The Pharcyde a few years prior. While I may not have been the first person to have this idea, the fact that I was able to achieve it with nothing more than a cheap analog camcorder and a VHS recorder made me realize that I was a talented and innovative artist, and that I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m originally from Minnesota, where I played loud rock and roll music and was heavily involved in the local music scene, and in 2011 I bought a one-way ticket from Minneapolis to NYC. I had less than $2,000 to my name, no job lined up, and nowhere to live, but I had been wanting to move to NYC to play loud music and attempt to become consociated in the TV industry, and wasn’t going to wait around any longer. I even got a tattoo that says “Makin’ Mo” – it was supposed to say “Makin’ Moves” but I didn’t have time to finish it because I had to make moves and get to NYC.

I only knew three people who lived in NYC, so I crashed on one of their couches for a few weeks until I found a room to rent in a tiny dirty apartment in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, where I was mugged within a few months of living there. Welcome to New York! Anyway, I now had a place to live, started playing in a psychedelic rock band, and met a friend of a friend who got me a job at the Late Show with David Letterman. Though I don’t trust many people, I’m very adept at meeting people, and I was doing exactly what the ink on my leg suggested – makin’ moves.

While working at the Late Show I met dozens of like-minded people, and those relationships led to more production work on other TV shows, as well as the opportunity to be a cast member on a truTV show, and I eventually went on to work as a full-time video producer for a few media companies and a variety of digital publications.

One thing that sets me apart from others is that I am an alien. Not a person from a different country, but an actual extraterrestrial (we’re not all short green dudes with large heads). Not surprisingly, my creative style has always been influenced by Tim Heidecker. When people watch the videos I produce they often say, “I’m laughing, but I don’t know why.” It’s because my alien brain often produces ideas that trigger conflicting emotions within the human brain. One time Jerry Foley, the director of the Late Show, came up to me and said, “Hey man, I was watching some of your weird public access videos and they’re great. I don’t even know how to describe them, but you’ve really got something here.” Ah yes, the alien had once again mystified the human brain.

For further insight into my alien life, check out the band I played in back in the mid-2000s called Cue the Doves. We released two full-length albums about space and extraterrestrials.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I used to think that I needed to create art with the audience in mind and focus on how other people would respond to it, though once I decided to focus on making music and videos that I was proud of, without worrying about what other people would think, the more other people enjoyed my work as well. I recently saw an interview with Ruck Rubin, in which he said “Do what you love. Make things that you love and you be the audience. You can’t make art with someone else in mind.” I wish I had heard him say this 20 years ago, but I’m fortunate to have figured it out on my own at some point.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is seeing the positive effects my work has on others. For example, one time I received a DM from someone who had been to one of my band’s shows over a decade ago. She said she was going through a really tough time, and listening to one of our songs on repeat helped her feel better and get through it. I mean, making money is cool and everything, but if I can help people feel better and be happier then I’ll take that over money any day – because when I’m dead it won’t matter how much money was in my bank account, but my art will continue to positively affect people and I take comfort in that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greghello/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gburmeister
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GregBurmeister

Image Credits
Mindy Tucker