Video Lemonade
In a sea of livestreams, standing out has become increasingly difficult for artists. Social threads are drowning in everything from living room shows to rehearsal room shows to empty venue shows. While these may be a good way to bring in some donations and scratch the performance itch, the sheer quantity of them has deemed them a little…er…uninspired.
Thankfully, some artists have taken a more creative approach in presenting their music - new or old. They’re making music videos. With little to no social or professional interaction acceptable right now and increasing limitations on access to locations and everyday things, making an interesting music video is more difficult than ever. But some are persevering.
Here are some of the more thoughtfully imagined music videos from artists who have managed to turn lemons into lemonade.
The National Honor Society
The first single off of their album ‘To All The Glory We Never Had,’ released May 29, 2020. ‘First Among The Last’ was recorded and produced by Erik Blood and mastered by Adam Straney. The video was produced by Kyle Porter, and shot individually by all four members while in quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Andy Frasco & Friends
Covering Shania Twain’s ‘Man, I Feel Like a Woman’, Frasco enlisted a boatload of heavy-hitting jammers to appear in the lip-syncing collaboration, including Billy Strings, Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon), Natalie Cressman (Trey Anastasion Band), and Ryan Stasik (Umphrey’s McGee). The video was released in April 2020.
Tiger Rider
Even though we’ve all heard this song a million times, Tiger Rider keeps Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ interesting with a black & white constantly moving approach to their take on it. Released in June 2020.
Warren Dunes
Redefining cool, ‘Cool Mom’ was shot, edited, and directed by Jared Cortese. Released in May 2020.
Leah T
One person singing in front of a wall shouldn’t be that much fun to watch, but sometimes the simplest of approaches can be the most engaging. Released in June 2020, ‘Gone’ by Leah T was produced and mixed by Andrew Vait.