PREMIERE: Music Video for "Velvet" By Calico Blue
We're giving you an exclusive first look at Calico Blue's new video for "Velvet," a track off their 2017 album 15 Sunrise. Before you dive into the video below, first get to know the band a little bit better by reading through our Q&A with members of the band. John Bergin, Sarah Addi, and Billy Hickey talked us through the process behind the video, which Addi directed and filmed, plus so much more. Check it all out below!
Kicking things off, can you talk a little bit about how the band first formed and started working together?
John Bergin: Billy and I grew up together and both ended up at UMass, while Sarah and Eli met at UMass and started writing the songs that made up most of our first self titled record. Fall 2014 rolls around, it’s my birthday (happy birthday idiot!). I invite Eli who I’ve become friends with, he brings Sarah with him, we all meet in my tiny bedroom and hang. The next week we all meet up again and jam, like the vibes, and keep em going til this moment right now.
Who do you consider to be some of your biggest influences and inspiration from a songwriting standpoint? What about influences on your stage presence?
Billy Hickey: I take influence from folks like Buddy Rich, Mitch Mitchell, Josh Block, and Animal from The Muppets. Stage presence is all about convincing the crowd that it’s okay to have fun at a show, like they can smile and dance and not feel bad about it because that’s the whole point, silly!
JB: My core influences come from bassists like Thundercat, Chester Hansen of Badbadnotgood, Esperanza Spalding, Paul Bender of Hiatus Kaiyote - these folks who trip and spit all over the fretboard like those notes owe ‘em something precious. I always want my stage presence to exude an effortless catharsis, something that I’ve seen in a lot of jazz, King Krule, Frank Ocean; you are an active participant in a type of struggle and ending that struggle with smiles or yells or falling over or silence - it all has weight. I want to show people that they can carry themselves when they think they’re too much.
Sarah Addi: For me It all breaks down to tone, writing and stage presence. For my tone I used to sing along to a lot of the male singers I grew up listening to: Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson. So I think I developed a lower tone for a female singer. I really got inspired when I found Beach House when I got older. I feel like I totally try and emulate her tone; just peppier I guess. For writing I’ve found that it’s more stream of consciousness. I rarely sit down and try to write anything specific; I always just blurt stuff out and it ends up being the things I think about but just can’t usually put into words. For the performance, I’ve always loved Blondie. Debbie Harry has such a captivating presence; she’s a badass.
For the music video for “Velvet” that we’re premiering today, Sarah Addi of the band directed, filmed, and edited it. What were some of the challenges of being so invested in the project, and on the flip side, what did you find rewarding about taking such a DIY approach on the video?
SA: When you’re so involved it’s hard not to want to make everything perfect. I knew from the start I wasn’t going to have the time, technology or budget to really make what I wanted so I had to keep telling myself that however it turns out, it’ll be cool. Something I found super rewarding was working with a bunch of friends. Everyone was really down to help me and deal with me just giving directions which was super cool of them. We have always been a DIY band so this video is really a reflection of the heart we put into everything and the support from all our friends.
When coming up with the concept for the music video, were there any specific movies, other music videos, or other visual art that you looked to for inspiration?
SA: The main idea came from the “Master of None” Beach House music video. I just liked the whole feel of it looking like a high school play. I also got inspired from the early videos of bands like MGMT or The Growlers where they produced their own home music videos and ya know, some of them weren’t great but look where they are now; and I’m sure they’re really happy that some of those early videos exist.
This single comes from your 2017 album...have you guys already started writing the next album yet?
JB: We have a handful of songs being polished, and another (much larger) handful of ideas that we’re sitting with. Something’s coming!
BH: The tunes all live in the ether, we just gotta pluck a few more outta there and it’ll be done.
Who are some of your favorite new bands or what are some new albums you all have been listening to lately?
Twen’s Live Album
Unknown Mortal Orchestra “Sex & Food”
Alvvays “Antisocialites”
Leon Bridges “Good Thing”
Naked Giants “Sluff”
Spirit Ghost’s “Skeleton Surf Rider”
The Nude Party
Bane’s World
Babe Rainbow
John Mayer
Holy Wave
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Do you have any shows or plans for tour this summer?
JB: Not this summer - Billy and Sarah are in Austin, I’m in Chicago, Eli’s in Massachusetts; it’s gonna take a little bit longer (but not too long) for us to all be back in the same time zone and then we’ll start scheming.
Anything else coming up this year for Calico Blue that we should look forward to?
BH: I’m gonna see how fast I can chug a gallon of water!
JB: A single?! In the works?! If not that, I just got a new film camera and think I took a really tasteful nude on my first roll, excited to see if that pans out.
SA: Solo projects! I think most of us are independently writing and performing while we wait to reunite!