The song is only one minute and 48 seconds long, but the video shoot for punk-pop trio Whole Wheat Bread’s “Old Man Samson” turns minutes into a marathon.
For starters, there are the continuous lighting and sound adjustments on the set at the Bar-BQ-Bar on downtown Orlando’s Orange Avenue.
Is the label visible on that bottle? Can someone turn it around? Is there enough fake cigarette smoke? Can someone get rid of the smoke? Members of the cast, not a legitimate actor among them, retrace their steps and movements over and over.
The video shoot for the first single on Jacksonville-based Whole Wheat Bread’s new “Minority Rules” is a career-building step for one of the debut acts on Orlando’s indie-label Fighting Records. It’s also a labor of love. The album drops in some markets Tuesday and will be released nationally March 22.
No one in the room full of local extras is being paid, unless one counts a complimentary round at the bar after the 10-hour shoot. The director and crew aren’t making much more, though they have been brought in from across the country.
“We’ve called in every favor we’ve ever had,” said John Youngman, vice president and co-founder of Fighting with partner Ryan Marshall.
There’s hope that the video will wind up on buzz-making channels such as MTV2 or Fuse, but Youngman knows that it won’t happen overnight. The band’s focus in 2005 will be an aggressive touring schedule in the Southeast and as far north as Detroit and Minnesota.
He looks across the bar, where the crew is fretting about yet another shadow.
“It’s a lot like this set,” he said. “A lot of hurry up and wait.”
No one in the band or at the label is making much money yet, but there’s determination and optimism on the set that exudes confidence in the future.
A trio of black musicians unapologetically devoted to punk music is a rarity in the vast sea of hip-hop acts. Yet it’s not a stretch for Whole Wheat Bread.
“It just came naturally,” said singer-guitarist Nicholas Largen, 23. “That’s what we listened to back in the days of Green Day and Nirvana. All of us have been into it since we were kids.”
Despite the tedium, the idea of doing a video shoot is almost unimaginable for the guys in Whole Wheat Bread.
“It’s like a dream,” said drummer Joseph Largen, 24, Nicholas’ brother. “You see the bands you love as a kid on MTV, and that’s what you wanna do. To get the chance to do it is a dream come true.”
For Whole Wheat Bread, there’s the expectation of bigger things: the release of “Minority Rules” and an anticipated showcase at this year’s South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas.
Youngman said the industry is tough, but that indie labels can still succeed with realistic goals.
“We’re not judging success like a movie on opening weekend,” Youngman said. “We’re going to be working the record for a solid year.”
Like a video shoot, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
