The 4onthefloor's frontman, Gabe Douglas, says he and his bandmates are huge football fans. "So having the Super Bowl come to Minneapolis is probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Douglas enthuses. "That's just a pretty cool thing in general."

But what's even cooler for Douglas and his bandmates is the fact that Minneapolis-St. Paul television station KARE 11 has chosen the 4onthefloor's song, "All My Friends," as its official Super Bowl anthem. KARE 11 is the Twin Cities' NBC affiliate, and NBC is the network providing the telecast for the 2018 Super Bowl, set for Feb. 4.

Janeen Vogelaar, marketing director at KARE 11, says KARE 11 is focused on making the 2018 Super Bowl about all of Minnesota, not just Minneapolis or the Twin Cities. "We were looking at a way to use the attention around the Super Bowl as a way to showcase the entire state," Vogelaar says. "Featuring the 4onthefloor allows us to showcase a local band in this Minnesota event."

The song "All My Friends" currently appears in a KARE 11 promotional video that's airing during station breaks in the run-up to February's big game. Tim Moore, a KARE 11 promotions producer who knows the 4onthefloor's drummer, Jake Quam, helped bring the song to his colleagues' attention and eventually oversaw licensing of the song and production of the promo spot.

The video was shot in an area called The Commons, just outside U.S. Bank Stadium. Douglas compliments the KARE 11 team as well as the crew from 218 Productions for making the video shoot a memorable and exhilarating experience. "We got to hang out with all the KARE 11 personalities, they got to hang out with some rock and roll personalities," Douglas says. "Everybody was just goofy and fun the whole time, and it was such a blast."

Vogelaar says that "All My Friends" is a perfect fit for KARE 11's coverage because of the song's inclusive theme. "It's about all the people of the community coming together," she says. "We wanted something that captured that feeling."

"All My Friends" appears on the 4onthefloor's 2015 album, All In. Similar to the KARE 11 vision, the original video for the song communicates a spirit of inclusivity while highlighting something distinctly hometown. "I wanted the [original] video to be fun, and I wanted it to be family friendly at least; I didn't want it to be at a kegger or something like that," Douglas recalls. "I was thinking maybe the Midtown Greenway or around one of the lakes."

Ultimately, Douglas and his friend, videographer Nate Maydole, decided to shoot the video along the Midtown Greenway. The result is a single-shot video involving scores of bicyclists interacting with Douglas and other members of the 4onthefloor as they cycle and sing the song. "OK Go and a lot of bands have done those crazy one-take videos," Douglas says. "I do like the continuous, fluidness of that."

As the 2018 Super Bowl approaches, KARE 11 will step up its coverage that showcases Minnesota, and "All My Friends" will continue to be part of that. "This is well-supported by the entire KARE family," Vogelaar says. "The whole company is behind this mission and is taking ownership of the event. It's not just a marketing ploy; it represents the mindset of our company."

Douglas says it fits his band's ethos, too. "What the 4onthefloor has always been about is bringing people in, and sharing in the joy and merriment of life," he says. "To have that be a part of the Minneapolis Super Bowl makes a lot of sense to us."

Use the audio player above to hear more from Gabe Douglas, including additional details about the production of the KARE 11 video, the making of the original Greenway video, and to hear Douglas's own Super Bowl prediction.

Resources

The 4onthefloor - official site

KARE 11 - Meet the band behind KARE 11's official Super Bowl 52 anthem

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