021 We Want Quality

...when it comes to recreating a fake car wash in a university parking lot. The second of five fond memories of the 1600 or so days in Hey Mercedes is...

02 The Quality Revenge At Last Video Shoot

I’ve heard both sides of the debate. So depending on whatever side of the dividing line you stand, I deserve the credit or the blame for the concept of the Hey Mercedes video for Quality Revenge At Last. I had two ideas that I pitched to the directors, Maureen & Matthew. The first involved me being attacked by cats and tied up in yarn, possibly as revenge for my previous hatred of the feline species. (I now love them to death. To death!) They loved it and I preferred it, but we all agreed that getting the cats would be an expensive problem... So plan B involved a boy (that didn’t necessarily have to be me) in the middle of the screen lip synching. At some point, he’d start moving forward into a tunnel, as on a track. Then comes a dousing of water, then soap, then he would pivot to the left and right, all the while looking forward and mouthing the song. It would be at this point that you’d realize.... hey, this guy is in a car wash for people... The end of the video would be the dry, newly clean boy, being picked up by a girl who pays for the service. The point would be: the boy did something wrong and the girl needs him all cleaned up before she continues on with him. They loved it... although, we agreed that we’d have to refine it so that we were all in it.

Fast forward a few weeks and our dreams had become a surreal reality. They had set up a small tent in the parking lot of an LA university. A pick up truck was parked in it, pulling a flatbed trailer. There were lights, cameras, a bunch of props, a large crew (maybe 25?), and even a lil hospitality table with an ungodly amount of Red Vines. This was the first true video that any of us had ever done and i think we were a little awestruck by the spectacle.

Also waiting for us was a bevy of fake instruments. Ever wonder how the drummer can hit the drums and cymbals at full force and still be able to hear the playback? It’s because it’s a prepared drumset. The drums were full of padding making a strike to the floor tom no louder then a knock on a door. The cymbals were fake as well. And there was no need for a kick drum pedal. No one would see it anyway... Wonder why in God’s name Mike and I are playing Fenders in it? Well, it was because they were unable to find fake SG’s. The guitars we played were hollow and devoid of electronics and more than ready to take a bath. And the last lid to blow off is: in order to have the video appear to be moving in slow motion yet have the lip synching and drumming still be in time... the playback has to be much faster. Which means we were playing along to Alvin & The Chipmunks' version of “Quality Revenge.”



I give Maureen Egan & Matthew Barry so much credit for making this happen. I have a feeling it was the most difficult video shoot they have ever done, and you could see the frustration in their eyes at times. When we were wet, that was it, we were wet, so the video had to be filmed sequentially and the initial soak would have to be perfect the first time...

It wasn’t. The playback was going, the truck was moving, the clapper was clapped, we were lipsynching in fast motion, and at the given time, Matthew yelled “Water!” The two “hosers” couldn’t really hear him so well, so one went full power and the other barely shot anything. Cut! And then panic. I was pretty wet and the grey shirt would take a long time to dry... Luckily, Damon had an extra grey shirt and it fit me, so we gave it another go. Point being: i’m wearing a different shirt at the end and during the first soak, my hair is still a little wet from the failed shot.



I also chose to take my shoes off so they wouldn’t get ruined by all of the water. Imagine standing in socks and trying to fake rocking out in the back of a moving pick up truck. The bed of those things is a line of raised columns. I twisted my ankle. Many times... The next step was the soap, which i have to admit was a lot of fun to have layered upon you. Not too fun to eat, though... And then the soapy curtain, the roller, and finally the fans. By the time the fans were employed, it was night... and it was cold. Really cold. The end of the video was a frozen nightmare. Our hands were numb and we were still getting squirted with cold water! I distinctly remember Matthew jumping up and down to the beat of the song, orchestrating all of the movements with the furvor of a sweating coked up conductor. “Water! Fans! Go! Yes!” was mixed in with him yelling out lyrics for everyone to hear over the playback. Was he excited about the video? Excited that it was almost over? Just trying to keep warm?




We were all pretty relieved when it was over. It was a serious amount of work and the fact that the finished product looks sorta seamless points to the professionalism of the process. It was a learning experience. The first video. The last video. I didn’t want to be on The Price Is Right, but if I had to be on MTV, well ok. (side note: I don’t think it was ever shown on MTV, but it did get a healthy amount of airplay on Fuse.)

Watch the video HERE ( low / high ) courtesy of Vagrant Records and feel free to click on the thumbnails above for bigger shots! Thank you David McHenry for the pix.

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