Country Setting

Where to go in the Capital Region when you're asked to direct a country music video? Saratoga, of course! 

This proved to be a good call, as I joined musician Joey Sontz for some filming in the resort city's scenic Congress Park yesterday. 

Honestly, country music isn't normally my cup of tea, so I was a little wary about taking on this particular video project when Sontz first approached me about it. What finally convinced me was the idea of supporting a fellow musician/performer in the area, and Sontz's own enthusiasm (Rachel Wellington, his co-star in the video, admired the fact that "he doesn't give up on his dreams"). It also helps to be open-minded when it comes to music—his new album, It All Begins with a Song is actually quite well-produced (Jeff DeBusk of Tennessee's The Music Sanctuary at the helm), with some strong support from Nashville session musicians. 

Joey Sontz on the set of his new
music video. Photo: Jeremy Clowe

Yesterday was another great exercise for me to bring to life a vision inspired by music. The song we worked on is "I Melt," a rather straightforward love song from the album, slated to be the next single. I feel that I managed to capture some artistic moments, without being too cliché. Also, the weather was unseasonably mild, so our wintery "set" literally melted as we continued work (thanks for the visual metaphor, Mother Nature). The footage is now set to edit (yee-haw... where the real fun comes in!). As we wrapped, I took a swig from one of the local mineral springs for good luck.

On a related note: I'm still plugging away on my own music. I've made more advances with my guitar-playing, and look forward to attempting some new things in the year to come.

www.joeysontz.com