In Metallica, Jason Newsted and his bandmates had the luxury of hiring pretty much anyone they wanted to shoot their videos. But now that he's scaled back his landscape with the grass roots alternative band Echobrain, Newsted has had to bring things closer to home, which is why he recruited his pal and blossoming director Danny Clinch to shoot the video for the group's first single, "Keep Me Alive." The track is from Echobrain's self-titled debut, which comes out March 5 (see ).
"Keep Me Alive" is a sprawling cut that blends organic, jangly guitars, weeping cello and melancholy vocals with otherworldly electric guitar noises. The tune evolves from hazy and lazy to block-rockin' in a style reminiscent of latter-day Soundgarden.
"There was a lot of footage [Clinch] shot on this old eight-millimeter camera he bought for a dollar at a yard sale," Newsted said of the song's video Monday from his home in San Francisco. "It's all f---ed up and grainy and scratchy. It's just beautiful."
The Echobrain video was shot last week at various outdoor locations near Newsted's San Francisco studio, and combines performance footage with psychedelic outdoor shots. Unlike the band's promo photos and album art, which obscure frontman Dylan Donkin's face, the video will finally reveal the singer's moody mug.
"We've intentionally kept it all mysterious until now," Newsted said, adding that the video complements the band's enigmatic vision. "I wanted it to be trippy and abstract without being too arty. The music has tons of layers of different textures and players. That's how the video is, too: very bright and vibrant and colorful. Just think of 'Wizard of Oz' colors and wild poppy field sh--. Blue, blue skies, super-green greens."
In addition to shooting "Keep Me Alive," Clinch also filmed footage the band may use for a future video for the more energized track "Colder World," which is already receiving airplay at numerous radio stations.
"It's probably a little more literal than what we're doing for 'Keep Me Alive,' " Newsted said. "There's a lot of wintry stuff — cold breath, frosty faces and ice."
