A Vernon band and videographer are among emerging artists from across B.C. and Alberta who are about to get some incentive for their creativity.
Local band Paperboy and photographer/videographer Lee Watkins have just been awarded a grant to film a music video through the Public Records’ Summer 2013 Music Fund Initiative, supported by Telus.
Paperboy was among 1,000 artists who applied for the grant, worth up to $5,000, and members are using the money to film the video for new single El Scorpiones, to be produced by Watkins.
Described as a pounding Latin-esque story of love and heartache, the song is the title track off Paperboy’s upcoming sophomore recording, expected for release in the fall.
“We were a little apprehensive submitting for a music video grant. So far we have no visual presence as a band, which we thought would be a huge detriment to us. However, we were tickled pink when they announced that we’d won the prize,” said Luke Mortenson, Paperboy’s guitarist/lead vocalist, who joins Braeden Otter on bass, and Cameron Lutz on drums/percussion in the band.
Mortenson is also looking forward to working with local videographer/photographer Watkins, whom he describes as a major talent.
“Lee’s aesthetics are so unique. He has really developed what I believe to be his own kind of voice on the screen. I think all of us in the band are excited to be able to introduce ourselves visually to the world on something more than a shoe-string budget.”
Watkins and the band are about to start filming the video for El Scorpiones in time for Public Records’ Aug. 7 deadline.
The video will then be judged amongst other bands that received the grant.
“If we take the top tier of the cake, Telus will premiere our video on their Optik Telus channel,” said Mortenson. “As kids who grew up on MuchMusic’s videos, we’re so blessed to be able to contribute back to that pool of ideas and really just have some fun doing it.”
Mortenson, Otter and Lutz have been making music together as Paperboy for the past three years and have performed primarily in Vernon and Kelowna.
The band is playing this weekend as part of Kelowna’s Keloha Music Festival’s after party, and is about to join the lineup at the 13th Floor Block Party at Polson Park’s skate park next Saturday.
“I think we are finally getting the hang of it. At the end of the day all we ever really want to do is make music that is fun for us to play,” said Mortenson, who cites early rock recordings as a big influences.
“We draw on so many different musical wells — Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Ocean, Hank Williams — it all ends up in there somewhere.”
In the latter stages of recording their album, which Mortenson says has been an interesting and introspective process, simplicity seems to be the thing Paperboy keeps coming back to.
“The idea is that maybe holding back is more attractive than stacking layer after layer of guitar tracks or vocals,” he said. “Live off the floor, you can almost hear Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard sweating at the piano. On the other side of the coin, we’ve really wanted to do some good with our music as well.”
That said, Paperboy is currently offering El Scorpiones for download by donation on the band’s Bandcamp site (paperboyband.bandcamp.com). Part of the sales from the single will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
“Cancer is a huge part of our culture and seems to be pervasive in everyone’s life to some degree. We just played the Relay for Life and to see how a community comes together and supports each other is inspiring,” said Mortenson.
For more information on Paperboy, visit the band’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/extraextrapaperboy.
More info on the Public Records grant is available at publicrecords.org.
