New Video Coming Soon

For anyone who might be curious to know what I've been working on lately, among other things I have been toiling over a video that I am making for my most recent single. It's a song called Do You See What I See, a song I wrote back in late March when the Covid-19 crisis first started hitting us hard here in the US.

Like many of you I found myself in shock, having had my world virtually turned upside-down. Almost overnight I went from having a full schedule of performances booked for the spring and summer to having virtually nothing. It was devastating to say the least. Meanwhile, I sat at home looking at the news, observing how the corruption of our nation's government and governments around the world seemed to be running rampant in exploiting the vulnerability of the situation to advance their agenda.

The lyrics of the song reflect the events of that particular moment; things have changed so dramatically and rapidly in the days since then that some of the references might seem damn near anachronistic now, just a mere few months later. By and large though, everything is still relevant, especially now that the already astronomically abysmal Covid numbers here in the US once again seem to be on the rise: rising unemployment and economic hardship, reversal of federal environmental regulations, growing civil unrest and divisiveness amongst the varying sectors of American society.

All of this occurred before the sequence of events that were catapulted into motion by the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor - just the latest names added to a long list of names of Black people murdered in this country for no reason other than their Blackness. The resulting protests and demonstrations were not something directly referenced in the lyrics of the song, but I tried to pay homage and honor the spirit of this call for social change in the imagery of the video.

If you've been following my music the last few months, you may have seen a video I produced for a song called Just Us. These were lyrics I wrote directly in response to the Arbery murder, calling to mind the old adage "Ain't no justice, just us!", a reflection of the frustrations and anger that African Americans have had to carry around with us for generations in the face of persecution and brutality, followed by indifference and inaction on the part of the justice system. The lyrics of this song also include the line, "We've been the victim of the world's greatest crime, yet there's more of us out here doing time," which is a reference to the legacy of slavery and the continuation of that legacy into the current era of mass incarceration of people of color in America.

I soon found myself with enough song lyrics and musical ideas for an entire album, or at least an EP. So I have been working with the guys in my band ("Cowboy" Ben Alman on bass and keyboards; Eric Vincent on guitar; Zeke Martin on drums) to complete an album that is a reflection of the times we live in, much in the same manner that Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On? was a reflection of those times (and also still quite relevant today!) I'll share more about that project soon, as I am hoping to have it completed and ready for release before this month is out.

My plan is actually to have two different versions of the Do You See video. The original concept I had was to cut together a montage of news clips that reflect each of the topics being addressed in the lyrics of the song, along with other pertinent imagery, jumping quickly from one clip to the next just like someone changing the channels on their television. Taking into consideration that there is a good chance such a video might end up getting flagged for removal on various platforms due to unauthorized use of certain video clips, I am also putting together a second cut of the video that features just me and the guys in the band laying down our parts in our respective studio spaces - a format that by now we are all quite familiar and comfortable with.

I am by no means a great video editor; I am quite limited in both my skill level and access to the most sophisticated equipment/hardware. However I felt it was important for me to get these videos made as a way of emphasizing and calling special attention to the ideas and concerns expressed in the music. Back in March, sitting there alone in my studio, taking in the surreal imagery of the moment - I truly felt compelled to ask: "Do you all see what I see? Am I the only one? Has this world gone completely mad, or is it just me?"

Witnessing the events of the last several weeks, the outcry for Black Lives, the call to make amends and atone for the sins of our nations past (and present), the all out rejection of maintaining the status quo just so we can feel like we are able to get "back to normal" - thereby completely missing the opportunity provided to us by this current crisis to reevaluate and truly make the nation great - it became all too clear, that I am indeed not the only one who sees what's going on.

Once this video is done and the album is released, I expect to work on just one more video in promotion of this EP project before I hang up my video director/editor hat for a good long while and go back to concentrating on the music. Both versions of the video should be done quite soon and you can expect to see them sometime next week. Watch this space for more info!

If you haven't yet heard my song Do You See What I See? you can listen to it here: