"I think it's pretty uplifting, rad, and nostalgic, which is the kicker," says singer Stefan Pruett. "And the video leaves you with a strangely genuine feeling, which is what we were going for. We didn't want to be cool."
The band teamed up with creative collective Image Armory, based in Los Angeles, to shoot and edit the video. Pruett's longtime friend Bud Bennett heads up Image Armory, and Bennett's family members, including Boss Frog singer Jack Bennett, helped round out the cast of kids who get the lucky opportunity to shoot and direct Peachcake's video-within-a-video. Some of them are students at Cactus Shadows High School, where Pruett attended, and keeping the music video locally tied was important to Pruett.
"In this roundabout way, the video embodies the small town (Carefree) we grew up in, which the song is partly about," Pruett says. "It makes it feel really earnest."
Pruett originally wrote the song as a tribute to his late brother, but since it was released on their EP, This Wasn't Our Plan, the track has evolved to become an anthem for inspiring Peachcake's fans to follow their dreams.
"[I hope people feel] that youthful exuberance they once had, if they feel they've lost it, a feeling of importance and commemoration of the power of nostalgia, but most of all the inspiration to go out and do something fun and awesome, even when the odds, the money, the time, the life feels against you in some way," Pruett says. "We only have this form of existence once, so we must do our best to trump all obstacles and triumph in the glory of fun."
The song seems to be resonating -- Pruett says the track has been added to Top 40 radio stations across the country, and local listeners can expect to hear it on HOT 97.5 FM by mid-March. The exposure the song has received certainly means a lot to the band, but Pruett says he isn't surprised by its success.
"I really believe 'You Matter' is a true hit song," Pruett says. "I've written many songs, listened to an endless amount more, and have an affinity for great pop jams, especially at the right time, and even if I had nothing to do with 'You Matter,' and someone played it for me, I would say, 'This needs to be heard en masse because it's one of those jams.'"
They'll be trying to win over even more fans when they play at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas in March, and they'll be back in Tempe on Wednesday, March 21 for a show at The Sail Inn. Check out the video below.