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Aug 27, 2013 By Michele Yamamoto

The downtempo Los Angeles trio White Dove showed their creepy side in “Sister,” the first video from their recently released The Hoss, The Candle. Well, we’re happy to say that they have a sense of humor as well, and we’ve got the exclusive video premiere to prove it. Their new video for “Come On Into Hell” features the band traversing the dreamy desert landscapes of Southern California on their way to a small gig that will set everything right with the world—a light-hearted journey that’s dark around the edges.

According to guitarist Jack Long, lead singer and songwriter Alex Johnstone dreamt up the concept for the video that saw the band as “power poppers, born to rock, trying to make it to a gig.” Or as Johnstone describes the video: “Three cool power pop dudes must make it through the supernatural desert to arrive at their gig on time and vindicate the power of rock and roll!”

Director Ryan Reeb set the video (mostly) in a classic car against rear projection footage of iconic Joshua Tree. Reeb confesses, “I’ve always wanted to shoot something using a rear projection screen style like Hitchcock, Tarantino, etc. So, when the band was accepting of that, I was very excited. It was also a nice opportunity to go back to some of my favorite parts of Southern California like Joshua Tree. In another life, I was a lizard on a rock.”

But don’t be fooled—the band suffered for their art. “The desert is hot,” Johnstone explains, referring to the footage shot on location in Lancaster. “It’s even hotter when you have a wig on, a mustache glued to your face, and a bandage around your chest.”

Did I mention it also features some fantastic hair? Judge for yourself. And then read the Q&A with White Dove and director Ryan Reeb.

Michele Yamamoto (Under the Radar): Give a one-sentence summary of what’s going on in the video.

Ryan Reeb: To cope with her recent rejection, Alex J (70’s Power Pop legend) finds solace in carpooling with her band mates on a journey to an unassuming live venue performance.

Alex Johnstone: Three cool power pop dudes must make it through the supernatural desert to arrive at their gig on time and vindicate the power of rock and roll!

Where did the inspiration for the video come from?

Jack Long: The way it worked out was really cool. Carl and Ryan Reeb had met each other through a gig and Ryan asked if he could work with us because he really liked the music. He had a very specific look in mind with how he wanted to use certain cameras, lenses and a rear projector. Around the same time Alex had been kicking around an idea where we were these power poppers, born to rock trying to make it to a gig. So the video ended up being a real amalgam of these two things. Ryan reined it all into this place which was even cooler than we could have imagined.

Reeb: The tone of the song ultimately drove the look of the video. However, it was largely a collaboration between myself, the director of photography (Craig Bauer), and the band. I wanted to make something that everybody involved in the project would want to watch and be happy with. The charm of the video really came together when we incorporated the best ideas from the group. I’ve always wanted to shoot something using a rear projection screen style like Hitchcock, Tarantino, etc. So when the band was accepting of that, I was very excited. It was also a really nice opportunity to go back to some of my favorite parts of Southern California like Joshua Tree. In another life, I was a lizard on a rock.

Ryan, what was it like working with the band as compared to other bands you’ve worked with?

Reeb: They were very receptive to all of my suggestions. If we didn’t agree on something (which was rare) we met in the middle. In the end, we have a better product to show for it. In the past, I have shot purely my own concepts as well as concepts that were 100% the artists. Whenever I have the chance to work with true artists like Alex, Jack, and Carl, I eagerly embrace collaboration. It’ really is the most fun part of the entire process for me.

Did [the band] learn anything or experience anything new on this particular shoot?

Johnstone: The desert is hot. It’s even hotter when you have a wig on, a mustache glued to your face, and a bandage around your chest. Classic cars are very high maintenance but beautiful. I also learned that my idea of how I look as a man in my mind and how I actually looked once I was dressed up as a man are really different. I really kind of needed a mustache otherwise I still just looked like a girl. Ideally, I wanted to look like one of those waify guys in tennis shoes and a baseball shirt, but let’s just say I was given the gift of womanhood. I had to bandage myself down, and it was not comfortable in over 100 degrees.

Where was the video filmed?

Carl Harders: The shots where we were actually in the desert were done out in Lancaster, and the majority of the background plates that are projected behind the car were shot in Joshua Tree in mid-July!

Long: Yeah, we learned that if you want to do a desert video, do it in the winter!

Let’s talk about hair. Did you style yourselves? Or was there careful consideration given to the excellent use of hair, facial and otherwise?

Johnstone: I am so happy that you gave kudos to the hair and facial hair styling. We sweat and suffered so that we could look that good (ha). I looked at photos of bands like The Raspberries and Milk ‘N’ Cookies. We are supposed to look funny. I guess I wanted to make fun of these guys I had made up in my head, and I saw them as power pop dudes that had funny hair but are also kind of badasses when you get down to it. I’m not making light of the bands our look is inspired by. I love those bands. I just kept looking at their hair and thinking, well, I need to be a guy and I need to have hair like this. And I just knew that’s what needed to happen. It’s probably who I wish I was. I’m a little sick of how seriously people take themselves in music right now, and I think part of me wanted to wrangle free of that world. In the end, these characters won me over and made me realize that all that matters is rock and roll and friendship. Sincerity won in the end. We made it to the gig on time and all was well in the weird universe.

Long: Eric Carmen’s hair on the cover of The Raspberries album Starting Over has got to be one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. It looks like Davy Crockett’s hat mixed with a wolf or something. We were listening to that album a lot and wanted that hair, but the wigs were cheaper than going to a salon.

Do you have any remarks or observations about the video that you’d like to share?

Johnstone: Ryan and Craig Bauer (the DP) are amazing and talented. They are really going to go far, I feel lucky that we got to work with them.

Long: I really wanted to keep the car. We rented it from this vintage car rental place. Let’s just say it was unclear as to how far we were allowed to drive the car outside of the city, but Carl hopped in and drove it straight out to the desert. It wouldn’t start at one point and we were afraid we had run out of gas in the middle of nowhere… It was crazy.

Harders: I just want to thank Ryan and all his talented friends that helped us with the video. We couldn’t have done it without them. As far as the car is concerned, I’m glad I never have to see it again.

Reeb: I think we all really enjoyed the time spent in the desert. There is something special about being alone in a vast nothingness that made this experience a little more personal to everybody. I’m pretty sure one of our locations was a transient meth den. It was littered with shotgun shells, empty bottles and broken glass.

(www.whitedovela.com)
(www.ryanreeb.com)