Vernon band releases first music video

"IT'S ABOUT A GIRL, A DUDE AND A FIGHT THAT'S HAPPENING"

VERNON – Everything about Vernon band Paperboy's new music video is local—except for the setting.

The music video for their song El Scorpiones transforms the basement of the Priest Valley Arena into a sleazy underground wrestling club… in Mexico.

The project was born after Paperboy scored a grant from Telus as part of the company's Summer Music Video Fund, which offers emerging bands and filmmakers an opportunity to collaborate together.

Twenty-seven grants of up to $5,000 were given out across B.C. and Alberta. Applicants had to provide an estimated cost for their video, and Paperboy's lead singer Luke Mortenson says they were frugal.

"We under sold it and asked for about $4,000. We thought we'd have a better chance that way," he says.

Along with local filmmaker Lee Watkins, Paperboy (made up of Mortenson, Cameron Lutz on drums and Braeden Otter on bass) rallied their friends, ordered some hundred Subway sandwiches and spent an afternoon creating their first music video.

Like most teenagers growing up in the 1990s, Mortenson grew up watching the Much Music channel.

"I remember really liking videos when I was growing up. Some of those videos, I felt they had a really strong story. It was different from just seeing a band play at a concert or something," he says. "My songs are really character driven. They lend themselves well to stories."

Mortenson says the creative process of blending music with film was incredible to be part of.

"It was so cool to see something we made—a song—turn into something else," he says.

The band tried to keep things simple, given time constraints and their budget. But simplicity had another purpose too.

"Everyone has a different interpretation of the song. That's the trick in keeping it simple; it's about a girl, a dude and a fight that's happening," he says.

They wanted to set a certain mood, then give viewers a chance to do their own creative thinking. The video leaves much of the story to the audience to interpret for themselves.

Mortenson says the band is already planning their next music video with Watkins. El Scorpiones, and all their other songs, are free online and the band is excited to be putting out a new album later this year.To catch them live, head to the Elks Lodge on 30th Street in Vernon at 8 p.m. next Friday (the 13th). Tickets are $10 at Urban Rebel Clothing, Electables, the Downtown Internet Lounge or at the door.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.

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