Matt & Kim perform at 6 p.m. Friday on the DeLuna Fest main stage. / Special to GoPensacola.com
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Whether in person or on a recording, watch a performance by Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino — collectively known as the dynamic dance-punk duo Matt & Kim — and one thing will be abundantly clear: these two people are having a blast.
That's no accident, said Johnson, who plays keyboards and sings while Schifino bangs the drums.
"It wasn't a verbal decision, but we made a decision to show how we felt when we are playing," Johnson said during a phone interview to promote the duo's appearance at DeLuna Fest. "There are so many bands who decide what they're going to look like on stage in front of their full-length mirror before they go on stage, and you see that bored, kind of 'too cool' look, which is so boring to watch. If you're feeling excited, be excited. Kim and I do this because we love it and we enjoy it, and we let it show. I know other bands make it look painful, but it's really quite enjoyable."
Given the breakthrough success the band has experienced over the past few years, it's not hard to understand why the two are enjoying themselves. Coming off winning an MTV Video Music Award for their arresting "Lessons Learned" video, in which the duo stripped naked in New York City's Times Square, they've been winning over new fans with indelible singles such as "Daylight," "Cameras" and "Block After Block."
And the enthusiasm is catching.
"If an audience is very visibly excited, that makes us more excited," Johnson said. "It starts a chain reaction that everyone gets caught up in, that can bring the show to a whole new level."
The duo brings that level of enthusiasm whether they are playing club shows, festivals or arenas, such as on their recent tour with Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance. And they credit the exposure for their surge of success.
"We've been on many festivals in the last couple of years," Johnson said. "And a lot of people will take a chance and come see us during a festival, but then will come back again and again when we come back through town for club shows. I think it's been a big part of growing this band."
As art school students, the visual side of Matt & Kim has always been a focus for the duo — but it hasn't always been easy.
"We joke about how most all of our video ideas have been that I've had, and while Kim has liked the video at the end, most of them she thought of as torture going into," Johnson said. " 'Kim, we're going to have food thrown at us for awhile.' 'We're going to take our clothes off in public.' "
But Johnson revealed that Schifino got a bit of revenge when the band filmed its video for "Cameras," featuring an epic fist fight.
"After rehearsals, where (we learned) you're supposed to throw your punches a foot or more away from the person, Kim was so excited that the first time we were on camera together, she pounded her hardest punch directly at my nose and gave me a black eye and bloody nose," Johnson said. "I think that might have been kind of on purpose."
It's been a wild ride for a pair that didn't know how to play their instruments when they started out in 2005. Johnson sees that unvarnished beginning as a strength.
"I'm extremely proud of where we've gotten to, but I sort of like the way we came into this whole thing, from an uneducated perspective," he said. "I like songs that are broken down to as close to just beat and melody as possible. I feel like if we were overtrained on our instruments, it would be harder to simplify. Coming into it not knowing what we were doing was the best possible scenario."
If you're considering checking out Matt & Kim at DeLuna Fest today, be prepared to have fun.
"We look at every show like it's one big party," Johnson said. "We put on a show where people can come and enjoy themselves, cut loose and have a party!"
