Life was so much easier for bands in the 20th Century. Now, record sales are slumping, and the music video bar has been raised to near-absurd levels. Of course, against these immense pressures, people make incredible stuff.
For Austin, Texas’ David Crowder Band, it meant getting into Lite-Brite — to the tune of 700,000 pegs. Think 1200 images, 83 people working on Lite-Brite (I need more friends), and, according to the band, “2150 hours and 148 pizzas.”
It’s all creating non-digital motion — no effects used anywhere, say the band. But then, I see no conflict of interest with this site. I think the more you work with digital effects, the more you become interested in the techniques that use real-for-real, and the more clearly you see the distinctions between the two.
By the old definition, this doesn’t qualify as an indie band, by the way — while on “worship label” Six Step Records, marketing and distribution happens through EMI. But that’s kind of beside the point: this is exactly the reality of bands today. The music video is apparently self-directed, and even when distribution and A&R goes through the big guys, it often does so through small divisions focused on specific, growing niches that behave like indie labels once did.
On the viral Internets, at least, survival of the fittest is creating some darned adorable videos.