Hi all, Gio here
I'd like to speak briefly on the recording of the song and video for "The Town I Live In"
that we recorded during the summer months.
Being my first video project, I took it as an opportunity to learn a bit about the different aspects
of the music video making process.
I wanted to see what would happen if I gave the project a quick turn-around timeframe
and if we worked within the parameters of a minimal amount of takes
and with not too much equipment.
With this simple approach, I was emboldened to try things in new ways.
Now the 3 points of focus for this project: song choice, the audio recording, and filming.
Song choice: Why I chose this McKinley Mitchell original ...
I chose it as a tribute to an era and genre, and as an homage to artists and bands
like Thee Midniters and Cannibal & the Headhunters that came before - out from communities like
the Estrada Courts, Ramona Gardens, the Wyvernwood Apts., and Maravilla
- kids right out of school with a familiar passion for music.
This is very much a tip-of-the-hat to all my musical heroes and influences.
The audio recording took place in a small apartment building in Lincoln Heights
with Protools, an interface, and a C414 mic.
The instrumentation consisted of electric guitar, vocals, and finger snaps.
We decided to record the guitar parts DI, meaning without a guitar amplifier,
directly into the interface.
For the vocals, we went for about 3 complete takes straight through -
focusing on the energy and feel above everything.
And I think we achieved something that feels right.
Filming:
To keep in the spirit of simplicity and experimentation we set out to the locations you see in the video
and developed a storyline or trajectory as we went along.
We filmed over the course of two whole afternoons in Downtown Los Angeles, near the L.A. River,
and the Wyvernwood Apts.
The opening shot of the video was filmed on the roof of my old apartment building on Broadway.
The closing shots where you see the orange buildings were filmed near where
my grandmother, rest her soul, lived out her last years, and near where my sisters and I would spend summers
over at our cousins' house.
It's very close to home.
It's pretty simple, and out of this simplicity I hope to help inspire other artists
to take chances with whatever resources you may have on hand at the moment.
I'd also like to mention a thank you to Anthony Russo and Jhovany Quiroz
who shared of their time and talents for the video, and a special thank you to everyone who has shared my music.
Stay tuned for what may come as we continue in elevating the work and refining the art.
Here's to new things, cheers!
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