Mayday! came into the public eye last spring when the video of single “Groundhog Day” became one of the most-viewed videos of all time on YouTube, with a little over two million hits in two days. Now producer Plex sits down with us to talk about the group's new album release, and how the smash YouTube success has affected their fanbase and their future plans.

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GIANT STEP: You seem to like to use holidays in your titles. Talk about the significance of the group’s name Mayday! and how, if at all, that connects with "Groundhog Day."

PLEX LUTHOR: Actually that’s a coincidence. We like the urgency – the “right now factor” of the word Mayday!

GS: How do you and Bernbiz work together to create your tunes? What is your process like?

PL: I’m the producer and he’s the mc, but the way we work is more like a band atmosphere than separately. Nobody has veto power. We both throw our opinions down, but I probably get the final say in the music and he probably gets final say in the words. The one rule in the studio is that we have no rules.

GS: How did Cee-lo and Craze get involved with Groundhog Day? How much input did they have in the final product?

PL: Bernbiz wrote the hook and he sought out Cee-lo through mutual friend. Cee-lo liked it and laid it down with his own style. All this happened way before the Gnarls Barkley thing, so Bernbiz showed an incredible amount of vision. And Craze is an old friend and personal inspiration to me.

GS: The success of your video “Groundhog Day” came when your label put it on YouTube. What led to that decision, and how has the success on YouTube affected your fan base?

PL: It was kind of crazy – we literally woke up and the video had above a million clicks. From there it grew its own legs. We knew it was a solid piece of work, but it opened doors that we couldn’t imagine. Our fan base got more eclectic, and we still can’t put finger on the demographic. We don’t seem to have an average “type” of fan. We have middle-aged people, young people, guys, girls, everyone. But everyone that we know has helped us promote the album. Everyone has been really good to us that way.

GS: Some groups like to include long descriptions of their musical styles and influences on their websites and bios. Your whole style of music is clean and organized and “no bullshit,” much like the sparse descriptors on your website. How would you describe that in your own words and what are your musical influences?

PL: People know that the band has an input in the bio, so we were going for something more mysterious. We figured people would know by how it was presented to check it out. We took the stance that it was more beneficial to use mystery and intrigue since we didn’t have a bunch of money behind us. In terms of musical influences, we try not to be close minded to any type of music because we can learn from anything – even if it’s just a little piece of music.

GS: Obviously, due to its phenomenal success on YouTube, “Groundhog Day” is the tune to garner the most public attention. Is it your favorite tune on the new album? If not, which is and why?

PL: I’m really excited to see how people react to the new album. We didn’t follow any format. It’s definitely not like anything that’s out there now. I’m interested to see what develops. As for my favorite track, I think it’s probably #8 “Beef.” I don’t know. I still play it, and I still get little goose bumps. I play the music as much as possible to gauge the longevity – that’s how you can tell what’s good.

GS: In these days when many labels are still slow to even put their videos on YouTube, SouthBeat not only released the video but used clever marketing techniques designed to get viewers to watch the video. Do you have some similar innovative ways that you are going to market the new album?

PL: I don’t know what they’re going to do – I’m sure they’ll think of something. It’s definitely not going to be your normal promotional package.

GS: What lies ahead after the release?

PL: Well, we’re planning to tour. We have a few deals we’re planning to work out in Australia, Japan and the UK, but we’re definitely a performance band. We like to gig whenever possible. We’ve already started on a second album and whatever’s good we put aside. We’re going to be here for awhile.