Releasing Rude Emerald.
As an artist one must at times allow others to color their “product”- for better or worse. It happens. The curator wants these pieces, but not those. The editor has to cut the film for an allotted time. The producer wants a sound that isn't the band. The publisher insists on more semicolons. Whatever. These aren't necessarily negatives and can bring fantastic new inspiration, but this isn't a story about that. It’s so much better.
On Sunday November 3, 2019, Pink Awful had their first real music video shoot. It came together at the last minute as these things sometimes do and was a success regardless of the final product. The people involved made it work. The volunteers who gave up an entire day of their lives made it work. So many moving parts (foreshadowing...?). So much from our beloved cinematographer. Seriously- that guy will get credit when the thing is released, but I will hold the accolades and adulation for the proper release.
Countless hours of bouncing ideas off of one another; several versions of storyboards; realizing that we do not in fact have a Hollywood sound stage to work on- let alone“professional” actors. Welcome to the world of DIY!
Rude Emerald will be released as a single with the accompanying video in the coming weeks. The song is about women being themselves and not feeling the need to apologize for that. Why would they? The unfortunate answer is all around us- a sitting president that thinks grabbing them is ok; a world where even post- Me Too victims are not believed; a world where women expressing themselves in any meaningful way may still be considered subversive. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but are you fucking kidding me?! What year is this?
I hope it felt like a safe space. I hope that what I perceived as comfort and really just not giving a fuck was the reality for the women involved. For everyone.
I was an outsider to much of the process. Sure, I helped with some ideas and moved a light when asked, but ultimately I was an observer during the shoot. What I saw was awe inspiring- and I'm not given to hyperbole. Watching strangers (at least relative ones) become friends. Watching these women work as a team through the long hours of the shoot. Watching them come alive through scene changes and digest our mission as it became theirs. Seeing how us running around like crazy people so they can be WHO THEY ARE had little to no effect on them or their performance. It was beautiful. If ever there was a thing to behold, this was it.
To the ones involved- thank you so much. Especially to Dead Ringer Analog Bar who graciously allowed us to use their oh so photogenic space! The patience, the camaraderie, the effort were above and beyond. None of it happens without you. It's just us pretending to play along to a song if you aren't there. Thank you for that. To the co-director/camera man- you are the real deal and people in this town (and others!) should know that.
I haven’t given much insight to the video and content- I'm being vague on purpose. I don't want to influence anyone's perception of our hyper-collaborative effort. I don't want you to think about anything when watching it. I want you to have my experience- watch and get what YOU want out of it. Feel the way YOU want to feel about it. Love it. Hate it. Feel nothing. We don't ask anything of you outside of watching and listening.