When they haven't been busy rehearsing, recording, or playing out around town, five Valley bands -- The Prowling Kind, Andy Warpigs, The Hourglass Cats, The Prowling Kind, Fairy Bones, and The Haymarket Squares -- have been busying themselves in recent weeks planning and filming music videos for their latest tracks. Some are quite epic, while others are visual feasts and maybe even a bit strange, and each is unique in its own way.
The Prowling Kind, "Melted Together"
The Prowling Kind released the video for their track "Melted Together," from their debut LP, Tennessee, earlier this month, and it has already garnered more than 1,400 views on YouTube. It's also a really great song that lets The Prowling Kind show off their blend of rock and blues.
The video, directed by Frank Thomas of Visual Concept Media and partially shot at midtown Phoenix's QCumber Vintage Shop, is filled with lush imagery involving a fantastical journey into an otherworldly realm by lead singer Mickey Pangburn. The video starts with the band entering the store to browse, followed by the songstress finding a dusty book of fairy tales and winding up getting sucked into the story. She finds herself running around in dark, fairytale woods where the entire environment is controlled by the goings on within the store. The video is tremendous.
Fairy Bones, "Anything" Shot by Shaunte Glover and directed by Fairy Bones frontwoman Chelsey Richard, the music video for "Anything," on the band's 2013 self-titled EP, shows the singer sitting on a porch reminiscing about a past lover, played by Sister Lip drummer Ariel Monet.
The video progresses to Richard heading to a bar (The Rogue in Scottsdale) with her bandmates and seeing Monet with another woman. The video is cut with scenes of Richard preparing for the night and of the band playing the song.
The aforementioned Fairy Bones EP was well received by the local music community, and the band intends on releasing another video sometime in March. In the meantime, they're working on a new album at Flying Blanket Studios in Mesa.
Andy Warpigs, "Drown My Baby" Andy Warpigs video for "Drown My Baby," off his debut album, Folk Punk Yourself, was filmed and directed by the local rapper Hot Rock Supa Joint and premiered earlier this week.
It's a spastic, comedic romp that features shots of someone who we can only assume is Warpigs' girlfriend (in the context of the music video, at least) going on a rampage while withdrawing from drugs, including drowning a baby and butchering a cat. In between all the clips of infanticide and catricide are clips of Warpigs playing with his backing band and walking around a trailer park, which seems oddly appropriate.
Though we obviously don't endorse such acts of foul play, which are presented in gonzo fashion, the music video is crazy and goofy and matches the manic energy of Warpigs' music.
The Hourglass Cats, "The Prospector" Desert reggae outfit The Hourglass Cats also joined the slew of recent video releases with their track "The Prospector," which they dropped on February 10, coming off their yet-to-be-named sophomore EP that's still in production. The song steps away from the soft reggae tunes that THC has used for their video in the past, and features a tune that is far more rock and roll.
The video was shot recorded and mixed at the Skypoint Production Studio, and the band went with a music video that features them playing the song, as opposed to the aforementioned Prowling Kind and Andy Warpigs' videos that were more in the high-concept vein.
The Haymarket Squares, "Gateway Drug"
As for The Haymarket Squares, they released the video for their ode to marijuana, "Gateway Drug," which appeared on last year's Riotous Ruckus. The video, like "Drown My Baby," also was shot in a more comedic way, with the Squares playing their song in a vintage trailer while what appears to be a smoke dances around (or maybe it's just lens flares).
The video was directed by Dan Devivo of "Two Americans" fame and was delayed during its creation in the summer of 2013 for various reasons. Some of the footage was lost and replaced by stock footage of marijuana prohibition, bits hewn from the anti-pot flick Reefer Madness, and newsreel clips. But that didn't put a bummer on the video in any way as it makes for a fun watch, which is almost as joyous as seeing the Squres play the song live.
9 Tips for Using A Fake ID To Get Into A Show Here's How Not to Approach a Journalist on Facebook The 10 Coolest, Scariest, Freakiest Songs About Heroin The 30 Most Disturbing Songs of All Time
Like Up on the Sun on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest local music news and conversation.
