It's a great video and a seemingly huge project, how many days did it take to shoot?
Thanks so much! We had 2 days to shoot this video. Besides the 2 days, we had 2 days of dance rehearsal, and a few production meetings to make sure everything was in order. We didn't have any time to spare on these 2 days so we had to have our ducks in a row. The entire process really couldn't have gone smoother....it was a real gift. One of my all time fave professional experiences.
Did you always have the political visuals in mind for this video or what inspired that storyline?
Well, I always wanted a 70s, Boogie Nights type of vibe. That was all along. We went thru a few different concepts before settling on the political slant. With the endless news feeds of politicians' rhetoric, it was hard to get away from it. Since the majority of the conservatives' platform seems to always have some anti-gay agenda, I thought let's embrace that scenario and give it a happy ending. Originally, my character was gonna be a sleazy, hypocritical conservative. The whole video was gonna be a series of vignettes recreating various political sex scandals (texting interns, bathroom stalls, etc). Unfortunately, there was no pay off. I had the idea of my guy coming out and actually being embraced by the world. As a result, he gets elected as the first gay President. Since we were getting rid of those vignettes, we put the focus more on establishing my relationship w/ my "wife" and her introducing me to my future partner at the 70s party. It was also important to present the scandal that sets off the video in an honest way (yet still refraining from kissing)....the gay jacuzzi scene. When I watched back, those first few seconds of that scene made me extremely uncomfortable; but I think the content needed to stay in place. That's really the breaking point for my character to come out and be honest about who he is. Also, by making this a political narrative, we had the perfect politicians' tagline, "TRUST ME". We couldn't have asked for a better phrase.
It looked like the shoots, particularily the retro ones would have been a blast.Tell us about it.
On DAY ONE - We shot all the choreography....the dream performance and the campaign office chaos. We used all the dancers in both of these set ups.
For these, we shot in a big warehouse staging house down in downtown LA. we worked right on up till the overtime fees were just about to kick in. Being independent, and being the executive producer, those issues were imperative.
On DAY TWO - We shot the entire interior party scene in my living room and we used my side alley as a fictional driveway for when the cars vintage cars arrive.
We shot the jacuzzi scene at our director's home. On both days, we ran right up to the overtime marker. But we were able to get it all done on time! Yippee!
I understand the song "Trust Me" is doing extremely well and you are hearing it everywhere...tell us about that and what routes you took to promote it?
I approached this particular project differently than I had done in the past. First off, I really took my time assembling the right mixes for this. I have made mistakes in the past but those lessens have given me the knowledge to help me to really step up my game and do this right. :)
First thing I did was hire Cahill & Moto Blanco to do mixes. Their sound screams retro yet modern yet classic. Their mixes have such a timeless sound.
I knew that their sounds would enhance the original and bump it up a few notches. I did alot of research on additional remixers because I really wanted to expand my musical relationships and work w/ some other dj/producers this time around. That's when I was blown away by Danny Verde's work for Lady Gaga. I knew I had to get him on this. I was fortunate enough to do so.
I also had South of Roosevelt, Chicago's house djs of the moment, remix the tune into an old school dubby mix. After listening to all the mixes at this point, I decided to bring my good friend, DJ Twisted Dee on board to give us some sexy, tribal beats. Then as an added bonus, we added The Bluestone & Loverush remix; with hopes of attracting a whole different audience for me. Now the remix set is complete. I have enlisted my 2 US Promoters here to work the song at Billboard Magazine; as well as other promotion needs. Then in the UK, I have a whole team over there working the set as well.
The song had it's official breakout this week on the Billboard Dance Club Play Chart. We're hoping that w/ this well, rounded set coupled w/ the controversial music video, we should be on our way to creating some serious buzz and hopefully a healthy chart life on Billboard and in the UK.
Anything else you'd like people to know about the video?
Since I am the executive producer, no menial tasks was too small. For example, I spent many an afternoon and evening criss crossing all over LA hittin up every Marshalls, Ross, and Nordstrom Rack trying to outfit my dancers; as well as my wife's lovely conservative dress suit.
I've never been more hands on than I was with this project. I had a very clear idea of what story I wanted to tell and ideas of how to tell the narrative in a relevant way; yet in ways that aren't really seen in music videos. That's when I came up w/ the idea of the recurring NEWS TICKER so it can help move the narrative along. We only have 4 minutes to tell our story and we have to leave alot of room for choreography and 70s shenanigans.
The other device that I insisted on using was the political PSA that opens the video. This way we can establish who he is and who is wife is along with their dynamic. Ideally this will set the tone...there's some silly s**t comin'.....
Plus throw in some 70s porn styling, a relevant political narrative, sex scandals, homosexuality, self- acceptance, mainstream acceptance, and cap it off w/ a happy ending. There you have a video!! :)
I wanna acknowledge everyone who worked on the video....and all who made it possible to keep it all running so smoothly. It really was a dream team and a real labor of love for everyone that was involved. I'll forever be grateful for that experience.
I have faith that one day, the idea of having a gay President, won't be a joke. It'll be for real. I'm looking forward to seeing that come to fruition one day.
LGBTI Out Music Artists Community
Matt Zarley talks about his new music video "Trust Me"
