Brooklyn garage-psych quartet BOYTOY has premiered a non-music video for “NY Rip Off” today. The band has also announced a West Coast tour, starting June 26th in San Francisco. “NY Rip Off” is featured on the band’s sophomore album, Night Leaf, now available via PaperCup Music / Stolen Body / Burger Records.

Boytoy on the video for “NY Rip Off:”

The only thing you can expect from New York City is that it will blow all of your expectations. “NY Rip Off” is a British-beat inspired song that honors the battle of New York City living.

The line “New York rip off” came about in a conversation with animator Mike Wartella (Mad Magazine cartoonist/Burger Records) at one of our shows. Mike is always entertaining and has all these out-there ideas that he’s able to put in strangely articulate ways. We were talking about the hustle of living in NY; the things you have to do for money in order to supplement your art. He mentioned the “New York rip off,” as if it were already a classic saying, which had recently become a topic of conversation within the band. A strong collective consciousness abounds in a city saturated with creative brains. We all recognize that surviving and thriving are synonymous.

If you get bummed every time you get ripped off, the city will spit you out. From the outside it seems twisted, but to us it’s endearing because we’re all getting screwed together. There’s something romantic about predictability, and a swindle is never a surprise in New York. Like that Bill Withers line, “just keep on using me till you use me up,” “NY Rip Off” is a sardonic love song about taking the struggle with your head up, loving every bit of it.

For the video, we decided to push the “Rip Off” theme. It became too expensive to achieve what we wanted to do in NYC. We were working with a short timeline and had a festival and tour booked in Florida. Wartella, who was originally going direct the video, suggested that Saara make some sets in Florida instead. Using her thick black and white line style, she created some scenes to rip off New York. We shot the video in The Space Gallery, a big industrial warehouse in Jacksonville, FL run by Matt and Laura Bennet, along with Wyatt Parlette. Glenn, who had been working with the gallery owners on her Winterland festival, pitched the video concept and the crew was onboard. After a few edits and back and forths with cinematographer Addison Post, we eventually did just what New York City would do; We ripped off our entire project. So here it is, an un-music video. Whaddaya expect?

Boytoy
Tour Dates:

06/26 – San Francisco, CA @ Makeout Room
06/28 – Eugene, OR @ Sam Bond’s Garage
06/29 – Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
06/30 – Seattle, WA @ Black Lodge
07/01 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
07/02 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
07/03 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
07/04 – Reno, NV @ Backyard BBQ
07/07 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon