BY MARK GODFREY
Off The Bar & In TV, or #OTBITV for social media purposes, are a group of friends that have combined their two biggest passions and packaged them in a refreshing and unique way.
Football and music have crossed in many variations before, but Trigz, Caez, Lullaby and Mac have brought this longstanding relationship bang up to date by visiting football clubs from across the UK, from various divisions, and performing and documenting a rap freestyle about that very football club.
With various professional players, managers and even chairmen taking great appreciation to the guys efforts, the footballing world appears to very much be their oyster.
If you are curious about hearing “Bars about Barcelona or Barnet, Flows about Fluminense or Fleetwood, or Grime about Grasshoppers or Grimsby…” Check out episode one featuring Wycombe Wanderers from their YouTube series here: https://youtu.be/3bhrdDPREQ0
Lullaby explains “We’ve been working on music projects together for years, had a fair response on an “underground” level and regularly felt the strains that all independent artists come up against in all genres, more so when myself and Caeza became family men.
“But even through less productive periods, we are always bouncing ideas off each other.
“Caez and Trigz both played for big clubs at schoolboy level, Chelsea & Arsenal respectively until 16, Trigz later went on to play non-league.
“Myself, I’m very much more an armchair/terrace/ Football Manager fanatic, and between the three of us there has been countless hours of laughs and heated debates about many aspects of the Beautiful Game.
“As many good ideas come about, we were talking things through, and OTBITV was formed.
“Having worked for Coventry City, I developed a love of lower league football, appreciating the power these clubs have in their fanbases, and also acknowledging that too many fans solely focus on the top 20 teams in the footballing pyramid.
“Off The Bar & In TV is about us matching our musical talent with a football fans passion, shining a light on more areas of the game than mainstream media covers, and having a jolly good laugh in the process!
“At time of press, we are seven episodes in and have received strong response from fans, players, managers and even chairmen, as well as other respected people in both sports and music industries, and we will continue growing and expanding on our ideas, and in turn doing the best we can to deliver entertaining content for those that care to join us on our journey.
“Next steps for us are growing the channel, whilst putting out music projects alongside it, the first of which is Trigz’s solo project ‘Super Saiyan’.
“Favourite experiences so far are tricky to pin down, as it’s all been amazing, but watching Accrington Stanley at home was pretty cool, and The New Saints was special, because they dominated on the pitch and the Fish & Chips was top notch!”
To check out any of OTBITV’s social media accounts and videos, visit any of the links below
https://www.youtube.com/OTBITV
https://www.facebook.com/OTBITV/
https://www.instagram.com/otbitv/
