This Superfan Made Their Own Tour Movie

Given the hunts for clues in the lead up to their debut album, Eternity, In Your Arms, last year, the countless Callous Heart patches you see at shows, and the sheer level of pandemonium that occurs online every time the band announces something, telling you that Creeper fans are a devoted bunch is like saying that water is wet. But, this past Tuesday, Creeper megafan Martin Girvan raised the bar when he released a full-length, 80-minute movie of the band’s entire set from their recent Theatre Of Fear tour, comprised entirely of fan footage that he acquired and painstakingly edited together himself.

It’s wicked. Take a look.

Such efforts don’t go unnoticed, so we caught up with Martin to find out a bit about him, why he did it and what makes Creeper fans so relentlessly dedicated...

SO, NICE WORK ON THE VIDEO! TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
"I first started getting involved with music at college, and ever since then I’ve been into doing video work. I mainly do gaming videos and stuff like that, but I started the Creeper project last month just after the tour ended and I’ve been working on that solid for that whole time. I probably spent about 60-70 hours on it in total."

THAT’S A LONG TIME. WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO THE DVD?
"I’m in the Creeper Cult group on Facebook, and while the tour was going on everyone was looking for videos from the shows. So when the Southampton show [the final date on the tour] came around, the idea came up of trying to do a fan-made DVD, and everyone thought it was a great idea. I was hoping that I might have a few people pipe up and offer to help, but I ended up doing it all myself [laughs]!"

WHAT ABOUT THAT CREEPER CULT GROUP MAKES IT SOMEWHERE THAT AN IDEA LIKE THIS CAN BLOSSOM?
"It’s just a really close-knit community, almost like a family. It’s mainly Creeper-related, but we’re also constantly talking about music we love, and about personal issues as well. It’s a really accepting, friendly place with no rules or anything... You’ve just gotta make sure you’re not being a dick and everyone will get along fine!"  

AND HOW DID YOU START PUTTING IT TOGETHER?
"I made an account on a storage hosting site, made a separate file for every song in the setlist, then invited everyone to start submitting their clips and it went from there. Someone actually managed to get a recording of all of the audio from the Southampton show and sent me that, so that’s why there’s pretty decent audio all the way through. I put all the videos together, then whatever gaps I had in the songs, I would just go on YouTube and Instagram to find the missing bits and I’d leave a comment asking if I could use it. And everyone was up for letting me use their stuff. It was really cool."

WHAT WERE YOU HOPING TO CAPTURE IN THIS PROJECT?
"I’ve got no idea actually. It really was just a bit of fun. I first saw something like this with Radiohead’s Prague DVD, which was one show, doing the same sort of thing with fan footage. I thought it’d be cool to do that one day for a band I love, and then the Creeper thing came up. I thought it’d be a way to show my appreciation for how much I love their music." 

IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT CREEPER FANS THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY FIND FOOTAGE OF EVERY SINGLE BIT OF THE SET. WHAT IS IT ABOUT CREEPER THAT INSPIRES THAT SORT OF DEDICATION?  
"Creeper are one of those bands that really connect with their fans. Every Tweet, or post on Instagram, or whatever... at least one band member replies. They’re so close to their fans. And also the whole backstory with the album, and all the cryptic tweets and posts that connect to the story... I remember everyone trying to solve the mysteries of the album. They really involve their fans."

YEAH. THEY OFFER THEIR FANS A BIT OF A CANVAS TO GO WILD WITH, DON’T THEY?
"Yeah, you’re definitely invited to have fun with it. Creeper fans are always finding new things that might connect with the story of the band, it’s great. They’re constantly annoying us by sending us on hunts for things, too [laughs]. It’s frustrating sometimes, but fun."  

DID THE ACTUAL THEATRE OF FEAR CONCEPT GIVE YOU MORE INSPIRATION TO GET INVOLVED AND MAKE SOMETHING, TOO?
"Yeah, I really liked how the show itself connected in with the album. That they had the actors from the music videos with them on stage at the actual shows was really cool. I’ve not really seen many bands do things like that."

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE VIDEO?
"There’s a part in Darling where Will, Sean, Hannah, Oli, and Ian all do this little synchronised hop that I love. Oh, and there’s a bit in Winona Forever where Will points at the camera and it syncs up really well. There are parts of each song that I really, really love."  

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR ANY OTHER BANDS?
"One of my favourite bands is HIM, and now they’ve split up, Creeper are sort of filling that void. I’m really considering doing a HIM one, though. I’ve heard whispers that there might be a live DVD of the last HIM tour, so I’ve got to see if that happens. But if there isn’t, I’d really like to do it for them. I’d definitely want to get some help if I do it again though. This Creeper one was pretty stressful at times, and the HIM one has at least six more songs to do. But yeah, I’m considering it!"


Words: Ryan DeFreitas