We keep looking for silver linings in the pandemic. I think we found one tonight – the conceptual music video. We spoke to Ryan Sturgis of True Facade Pictures about his latest video The World Has Gone Insane by Empty Hearts. (I recommend you watch the video below, then the conversation.)
The band features Elliot Easton (the Cars), Clem Burke (Blondie), Wally Palmar (the Romantics) and Andy Babiuk (the Chesterfield Kings) with some behind the scenes collaboration with Little Steven Van Zandt. They gave him freedom to do what he wanted and it’s amazing to see how innovative one person can become during a quarantine. There must be something clever in the water in Mankato!
He started with the notion that money has overtaken American culture, replacing even morality. Then he set out to match the stanzas of the song with video snapshots from the last decades of the last century (1970s, 80s and 90) to today to trace the impact of greed on our world. The video reflects the progression with surprisingly little political bias, which helps us recognize ourselves as well as the “others” in the transition. Spoiler alert: he ends the video on a positive note.
We also got to hear about the incredible list of people with whom Ryan has worked and those he’s interviewed from Hal Blaine and Charlie Watts to local luminaries like The Last Revel. Ryan has great stories and a wonderfully infectious positive attitude.
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