As March 2001 was approaching, it was beginning to
look like a rather exceptional month. The first good news was that The Young
Fresh Fellows were going to release their long-awaited new album, Because We
Hate You (Mammoth Records). The second good news was that the band would not
only be doing a small tour to promote the album… they would not only be opening
for the newly-reunited legendary Soft Boys… but best of all, the tour was going
to come to my neck of the woods (Baltimore, Maryland). Yes, March was looking
good. But things got even better!
A little background: I first heard YFF in 1984, not
long after the release of their debut album, The Fabulous Sounds Of The Pacific
Northwest. I liked their style and their sense of humor, and for years I often
included songs from their albums on my college radio show. But it wasn’t until
their 1989 album, This One’s For The Ladies, that the Fellows crazy-glued
themselves onto my list of favorite bands (their next album, Electric Bird
Digest, would later be added to my desert island list just days after it’s
release, where it has remained to this day).
I only got to see the Fellows perform live once. They
were the opening band for The Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1989, a tour that made a
stop at the long-defunct Godfrey’s Famous Ballroom in Baltimore. Despite the
obvious lack-of-attention given to opening bands by soundmen for major label
headlining bands, the Fellows, in my opinion, blew the Chili Peppers off the
stage that night. An awful mix and a lame crowd couldn’t stop them from
delivering a set of energetic, well-crafted, catchy pop songs, proving them one
of the greatest live rock bands ever. (I found out recently that the Fellows
returned to Baltimore a few years later, but I must have been out of town,
because there is no way I would’ve missed one of their shows if I had known
about it).
So March 2001 rolls around, and I noticed on the
Mammoth website that the Fellows tour begins in Baltimore, then goes to nearby
Philly, then to nearby Washington, DC. That means the Fellows would be in the
region for 3 days! I quickly sent an email to Mammoth suggesting that while the
Fellows were in this area, I get together with them and we make a music video. I
offered to take up no more than a few hours of their time and none of their
money. Around the same time, Dizzy Records CEO/Go Metric editor and
fellow-Fellows-fanatic, Mike Faloon, contacted me to say the Fellows are coming
nowhere near where he lives (North Carolina), and could he come to Baltimore for
a visit and a Fellows show? Certainly. Dizzy records released a compilation that
included my band and YFF (Day Dreaming In An Empty Station Wagon), so knowing
Mike was in contact with Fellows frontman, Scott McCaughey, I asked him to
forward my music video idea onto the band. The next thing I know, Scott emails
me saying he likes the idea, let’s do it!
At this time, I should point out my rule about making
music videos for free. I am a filmmaker who creates for enjoyment rather than
money. I will gladly offer to make free, no-budget music videos provided A). I
like the band; B). I like the song; or C). I’m friends with the band. (I only
ask for money if it costs me a lot to make the video, but as long as I shoot
video instead of film, it only costs me a few bucks, which is worth it if it
means I get to work with a band I like).
I scurried to secure an interesting location I had in
mind to shoot the video, but to no avail. Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium was in
the process of being demolished, and the ruins would’ve made a great backdrop,
but the parking lot was fenced and the demolition company wanted nothing to do
with me. Other ideas met similar fates.
So the day of the band’s arrival (Monday), my plan
was to set them up in the park across the street from my house and make a
sort-of Magical Mystery Tour music video, complete with bubbles, odd props, and
lots of people dancing around in animal costumes. For lip-syncing purposes, I
made a tape of the song (Barky’s Spiritual Store) slowed down 50%, so that when
the footage was played back at regular speed, the band would appear in
fast-motion. I had a small crew of Mike Faloon (in town for the show), Todd
Rohal (who was bringing most of the animal costumes from his job), and Dan
Krovich (a co-worker anxious to be involved). We were all set. All we needed now
was the band, who were supposed to call when they got into town. We waited and
waited…
That night at the show, I met Scott McCaughey in
person. “Thanks for putting me & Faloon on the guest list,” I said. “No
problem,” he answered, “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to call you today. We
flew in late and had to round up the van & rental gear we’ll be touring
with. By the time we were done, we had to get to the club for soundcheck.” I
videotaped portions of the show from the foot of the stage (some of that footage
has since been released by Mammoth as part of an EPK). The band was fantastic!
The set was too short. They had to clear the stage to make way for The Soft
Boys. It was not a smart move on the Soft Boys part, having YFF open for them,
because as good as The Soft Boys were, it would’ve been hard for any band to
follow the energetic, funny Fellows and come out on top.
After the show, I proposed Plan B to Scott: “We could
reschedule the shoot for tomorrow before you head to Philly.” “No can do. We
have a morning interview in Philly.” “Well how ‘bout Wednesday afternoon? You
have to drive through Baltimore to get from Philly to DC.” “OK, let’s try that.”
Plan B is in effect.
On Wednesday, Baltimore was hit with one of the worst
rain storms in recent years. Luckily, I had lined-up a back-up indoor location
to use in case of rain. Unluckily, Scott had lost my number, so the Fellows
drove straight through Baltimore on their way to DC. That night the Fellows
delivered another fantastic, but short set. I talked to Scott after the show:
“Thanks for putting me on the guest list again.” “No problem. Sorry things
didn’t go as planned today.” “That was a great show, but I wish I could see you
play a longer set some time.” “Well, then you should come to the Hoboken show
tomorrow night. When Friday night’s show with the Soft Boys sold-out so quickly,
many of our fans couldn’t get tickets, so the management at Maxwells booked us
to headline tomorrow night.” It was tempting. “I’ll even put you on the guest
list for it”, he added. Now it was even more tempting. “Maybe we could try once
more to shoot the video, this time in Hoboken on Friday morning.” The temptation
was too much. Plan C was in effect.
So Thursday afternoon, I left work early, threw a
bunch of stuff in my van and headed to Hoboken. Keep in mind I’m not the young
scenester I once was, and that I had already been out in smoky, noisy rock clubs
two nights that week. On the way to Hoboken I came down with a fever. By the
time I hit New Jersey, I was tired, I was miserable, and I was lost. I had a
hard enough time finding Maxwell’s, but I had an even harder time finding a
place to stay, a place to eat, and a place to get gas. It was 11:30 PM before I
got settled and headed back to Maxwells just in time to catch the Fellows set.
Sure enough, they played for what might have been two hours, mixing in fun
covers with songs from their entire 20 year history. The show ended with a 15
minute version of Mo Gorilla that featured Scott trying to break through the
wall on the side of the stage, singing & drinking at the same time, before
rolling on the floor & pulling the drum kit over on himself. My head was
burning up, my throat ached, and I felt nauseous & dizzy, but I was so glad
I hadn’t wimped out and missed that show!
Scott had told me that since the band was playing at
Maxwells two nights in a row, their equipment would be locked up at the club
during the day. So somehow I had to make a music video without the band’s
equipment. Luckily I had come prepared. In my van I had packed my own drum kit,
a lion costume, and a 4 foot tall plastic spine (a prop & costume left over
from Plan A). That night, I sat in my dingy hotel room, unable to sleep with my
head on fire, and storyboarded how I envisioned the video for Barky’s Spiritual
Store.
Friday morning, with barely any sleep, I checked out
of the hotel, got some breakfast & fever medicine, and waited outside the
Fellow’s hotel for our planned noon meeting. Let me just say that if you have a
few hours to kill in Hoboken, NJ, make sure you have an FM radio handy, because
WFMU is a fantastic station, even during their on-air fund drive. As noon
approached and there was no sign of any Fellows, I left a message on Scott’s cel
phone. Then I decided to ring one of their rooms. I ended up waking guitarist,
Kurt Bloch, who didn’t seem coherent enough yet to help me out. So I decided to
slip a note under Scott’s door saying that I was sitting in my van in the
parking lot. Just as I was doing so, the door opened and out stepped Scott. He
immediately began rounding up the others and told them to meet us down in the
parking lot, where Scott and I would be shooting footage of just him until they
showed up.
Up to this point I had been worried my persistence
might annoy the band, but they couldn’t have been nicer or easier to work with,
and hanging out with them was the icing on the cake after being able to see them
live three times in one week. So armed with a digital video camera, a few props,
& a fever, I began directing what I later found out would be the Young Fresh
Fellows’ third music video ever, despite close to 20 years in the business and
umpteen albums. On a very windy afternoon in a dirty hotel parking lot in
Hoboken, NJ, I tried to make the most of an extraordinary opportunity the band
was granting me.
I began by shooting footage of Scott lip-syncing the
song by himself. Since drummer, Tad Hutchinson, had limited time to be involved
in the shoot, I asked if he would wear the lion costume. That way someone could
double for him if I needed him in a shot after he had left (which sort of
happened; bassist, Jim Sangster, puppeteers the lion head in some shots, while
in others, Scott dances around wearing the lion head). Tad agreed, so I shot
some footage of Scott lip-syncing while Tad played my drums wearing the lion
costume. Then I shot some footage of just Tad. Eventually Kurt and Jim joined us
and I started shooting the group shots that I had storyboarded. Tad left, and I
continued shooting the remaining three until we were all confident I had what I
needed.
We only spent about an hour and a half in that
parking lot, and I only shot about 20 minutes of footage, before saying goodbye
and heading back to Baltimore. I returned directly to work despite the extreme
need for liquids & sleep. A few weeks later, I drove to Richmond, Virginia
to get some shots of the song’s namesake store, Barky’s Spirituals, an outlet
for religious paraphernalia. Over the next few months I would try to edit the
video when time allowed, but it wouldn’t be until mid-June before I had a
version I was happy enough with to show to the band & label.
In the finished version, I ended up throwing out the
storyboards in favor of quicker editing. Likewise, only one shot of the Barky’s
storefront is used, and the sped-up motion effect is barely noticeable
considering how much effort went into it. I managed to work in several morph
effects to spice up a few shot transitions. The band had asked me to work in
some of my live footage, particularly during the guitar solo, but I opted
instead to keep the entire video instruments-free (except for the drum kit). It
certainly did not end up being the project I had originally envisioned, but
personally, for something made on zero-budget, with a one-man crew, in a couple
of hours, I think it turned out alright. True to the band’s style, it’s just a
simple non-glossy-style (aka non-MTV) music video.
I sent copies to Scott and Mammoth. Both parties
seemed pleased with the results. Mammoth is owned by Disney, and anyone who’s
ever dealt with Disney knows that they often go to extreme measures to protect
themselves from the lawsuit-happy. So I had to remove the shot of the actual
Barky’s storefront because of potential legal problems (like the fact that I
never got permission to use their property in the video). Mammoth plans to
eventually make the video viewable on their website (www.mammoth.com), but in
the meantime, they’ve submitted it to MTV2 in hopes of getting it shown to the
masses. So call that request line as often as you can. Bring it to Carson
Daily’s attention. Wouldn’t it be a blast to see a good band’s no budget/no crew
music video make it into rotation, striking a much needed blow for cool bands
and low-budget filmmakers everywhere!
Watch the Barky's Spiritual Store music video on the Universal Trendsetter website (direct link)
.