Music Video Monday is coming in hot!
Today, we’ve got a world premiere from Sweet Knives. The group grew out of the wreckage of Lost Sounds, the legendary Memphis band that counted the late Jay Reatard as a founding member. Alicja Trout, Rich Crook, and John Garland got back together and added Eli Steele and Lori McStay to write and record new music. “Sweet Knives’ new batch of songs sounds different from the Lost Sounds dark-wave synth punk sound,” says Trout. “With this song in particular Rich [drums] wrote the core of the song and the guitar solo, then I built the melodies and lyrics from there. It’s a new approach for us. We don’t want to sound like Lost Sounds. We are a new band, though our set still includes a few old Lost Sounds songs.”
“I Don’t Wanna Die” has a personal meaning for Trout and the band. “Jay, as we know, died of substance complications. All of us are concerned for our health, and I think I speak for the band that we want long, healthy lives; we don’t want to live recklessly and have our lives end early as Jay’s did,” she says.
The video was directed by Laura Jean Hocking, shot by Sarah Fleming, and stars Shannon Walton as a pilot facing a bad situation. “This was a really enjoyable collaboration,” says Hocking. “The concept was Alicja’s idea, but I was given free rein. I’m very attracted to the image of a woman set adrift alone in the world.”
Music Video Monday: Sweet Knives
Sweet Knives sets out on a two-week tour of the Southwest and West Coast this week. Here’s where you can catch this don’t-miss live show.
-Friday, June 14, Little Rock, AR – White Water with Stifft Beat
-Saturday, June 15, Oklahoma City – Blue Note with Psychotic Reaction
-Sunday, June 16, Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad with The Ordinary Things and nowhiteflag
-Tuesday, June 18, San Diego, CA – Whistle Stop
-Wednesday, June 19, Long Beach, CA – 4th Street Vine with Assquatch
-Thursday, June 20, Los Angeles, CA – Cafe Nela with Guilty Hearts and Tenement Rats
-Friday, June 21, San Pedro, CA – Recess Ops with Lenguas Largas
-Saturday, June 22, San Francisco, CA – Parkside with Control Freaks and Dots
-Monday, June 24, El Centro, CA – Strangers
-Tuesday, June 25, Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room with Lenguas Largas
-Wednesday, June 26, Tuscon, AZ – Club Congress with Lenguas Largas
-Thursday, June 27, El Paso, TX – Monarch Theater with Lenguas Largas
-Friday, June 28, Austin, TX – Barracuda outside with Lenguas Largas, Wiccans, more tba
-Saturday, June 29, New Orleans – Circle Bar with Manatees and Dummy Dumpster, Ponk Dance party DJs
If you’d like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com
