Video Voyageur: 3Qs with Matt Vantine

Well known for his unique writing and toe tapping production any and all Matt Vantine songs will relentlessly get stuck in your head for weeks on end, and his newest single, “Drop Dead”, is not different.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?:

I knew during the recording of “Drop Dead” that it would be my next single. It’s one of my more pop-oriented tunes with a chorus that can be easily memorized and sung. Tommy Joyner, my good friend, co-writer and producer suggested that the video serve as a backdrop to the lyrics which were displayed playfully on the screen in rhythm with the vocal melody. The song itself demonstrates a sort of stark contrast between the upbeat melody and the somewhat dark lyrical content. The final lyric in the song is “I wish you all the best, but go drop dead”. As the lyrics were being revised and finished over the melody, I knew the video could display the same sort of contrast.

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

Bob Sweeney shot this film on a Super 8 camera. He was picturing me just kind of meandering about some streets and trails in Philadelphia, seemingly lost. This concept was inspired by Ringo’s “lost scene” in “A Hard Day’s Night”. Because what you’re hearing on the song is me playing the instruments, I thought it would be fun to catch some footage of me playing the various instruments in the order that they were played in the song.

3. What was the process of making this video?

Bob and I collaborated on a few videos prior to the making of “Drop Dead”, so we were in a bit of a flow state since we walked into it knowing each other’s style. We shot this video on film, so the actual filming of it was the easy part and was done in one afternoon in August. Bob filmed me walking around the neighborhood of Manayunk in Philadelphia and then we ducked into a rehearsal studio and got some footage of me playing my parts on the drums, guitar, bass and vocals. I’m thrilled with the grainy, reel to reel style of this video. The footage of this carefree and lovely afternoon serves as a great backdrop while the lyrics are neatly (and playfully) displayed across the screen