DAAP Girls have done it again. Another amazing video is in the books and this one is the most creative yet! The video tells a story of five young people on the cusp of adulthood enjoying a last weekend together. Unbeknownest to them, they are being viewed by the ghosts of their future's past. The video incorporates aspects of romance, nostalgia and magical realism to tell an alternate, complimentary story to the song. Straying away from the usual conventions of "music videos" there is no band performance and stars an alternate cast. The video also blends classic in-camera tricks, DIY pyrotechnics and light digital effects. For “Molly” DAAP Girls collaborated with local creatives, visual artist (Philip LaVelle), graphic designer (Josh Jacob) and videographer (Sean Steininger).
The second video for Tape Songs is being premiered tonight in Japp's Annex at 10p in between DAAP Girls performances for Final Friday. Guess who has a sneak peak for you? That's right, we do! I sat down with Stuart MacKenzie to chat about their newest creation.
Who came up with the concept for the new video, "Molly"?
Philip LaVelle, a visual artist from Cincinnati who also happens to be a best friend of mine from summer camp were having some late night drinks at Neons. I pitched him an idea for a video based around our teenage experiences and we ran home to my girlfriend's apartment to sketch some ideas. Afterwards he created a story and context with help from graphic designer/editor (and another summer camp friend) Josh Jacob.
How was it to be placed on fire? Are you ready to switch careers from rock star to stunt man?Being on fire is actually fun. I was stressed at first because Josh and Philip "learned" how to do it on Youtube--but they tried it out on Josh first! All it took was a couple swigs of whiskey, a super cold pair of wet long-johns and some brake fluid.
Any insight on who "Molly" is? And how do I get a song named after me?
Part 1 Molly is an amazing human being that Philip and I knew at summer camp, we both had huge crushes on her. The song is actually filled with real life snap shots of my time with her. Part 2 The easiest way is to make a DAAP Girl fall in love with you!
It seems fitting this video is being released at the end of summer. Most I feel look back nostalgically on the summer, especially the ones in which we had less responsibility. What have been some highlights, things to look back to, this summer for DAAP Girls?
The biggest highlight was definitely playing Bunbury. But, you know, we live for the summer. We've had so much fun writing our new record in our Newport apartment/squat that nostalgia and tomorrow are hard to tell apart. A few days ago after band practice Jay and I took our skateboards out after rehearsal and we both wiped out hard. Severe injuries aside, we understood that our time and our lives are a fluid thing.
Anything else you would like to add about the making of, crew or cast?
Lots of great memories from making the video. We invented the quarter-mile generator pull, dragging an electricity generator over cow paths. Fun Fact: The house scene was actually filmed at night! We got the van stuck in a field for a day and had to push it out driving 30 miles per hour backwards for a half mile through a wet wheat field. As beautiful as the fire kites look in the video they were even more gorgeous in person. Joe Diedenhofer fed us a delicious DIY breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. The capture the flag game was nice and rowdy as well. Really everyone involved was great especially Josh and Stephanie Kenneweg who let 70 weirdoes crash their house and farm. My personal favorite memory was watching Jay (who's impervious to Poison Ivy) clear a field of that devilish plant with his bare bands while we all took "tugs" off a plastic jug of Ancient Age Bourbon.
DAAP Girls
Japp's Annex
Final Friday
Friday August 30th
9p
