"Although I didn't write this song, it spoke to me in a way that made me feel as if it was my own story,” Brandon said. “I found myself playing it over and over again in my bedroom, remembering situations that I've been through.”
Check out the video for yourself below.
The video and song tackle themes of riches, but moreso than anything else, we get a dizzying experience of one engaged couple's fight-or-flight response to a major threat to their hometown, a concept that the director says came to her pretty whimsically. "I came up with the concept when I was high on anesthesia and codeine coming up from having my appendix removed. Then we shot it exactly as written. That's why it is...the way it is."
It's an exciting take on what Collapsing Scenery members Don DeVore and Reggie Debris, who consistently intermingle between music, art, film and politics, say was already a dream come true. "Ninjaman had some ideas he'd been using in freestyles and spat over our instrumental and just killed it. It still gives me chills just hearing him drop his catchphrases on our record."
Collapsing Scenery's upcoming full-length LP Stress Positions is definitely something to look forward to. For now, check out the incredible visual for "Money" below, an office exclusive worldwide premiere.
The last time I saw you ...I was in the pain at the end of the last office party, because of the jalapeno infused tequila. My friend got a bottle of it, and I was pouring it all over— drinking it, and when I went to get up I couldn’t see at all.
Was that in the middle of the performance?
It was our last song! It just got all over my face. The burning lasted for about two hours, It was fun.
So how often do you do performances like that?
That was was sort of special because it was for a party but when we do a proper set we usually go for 20-30 minutes. Since I’ve been signed with Cult Records I’ve slowed down how many I do just because of how physical it is.
I feel like you would need a couple days to recover.
For my first year of playing in New York, I was playing a lot but I busted my knuckle, my rib, and my toe. I actually still need to get an X-ray for my toe. I was at Baby’s All Right and I was reaching for what I thought to be an AC unit but turned out to be nothing. Fell down, and landed on this girl. I've slowed down just so I can stay alive.
You said you were slowing down but your performances are insane! How do you survive?
Protein shakes everyday and some stretching. You really have to find that balance and stay healthy especially in New York. I love to have a drink and dance to a good DJ, but at the same time need to get work done. Also, the type of shows I do are a little difficult, because I’ll have my friends text me telling me that they’re drinking and getting pumped at 5pm.
Have you done shows sober?
Yeah I have but even if I’m sober it still takes up all of my energy. Before each one I really try to mellow out and stay healthy because there is always that potential that I will hurt myself.
Do you have any rituals?
Not really I just like to get a massage.
How long have you been in New York?
Three and a half years.
What brought you here?
I’m a foreign correspondent for VICE, so I shoot a lot of vice documentaries and travel back and forth. ...I usually do things with Noisey which is their music channel. In Australia I’m a bassist in another band called Eastland. Promiseland has always been like a side project just because of the nature of the shows.
What got you started doing film and music videos? Did you watch MTV?
Just music video hits, I used to love getting up early to watch Rage. I mean when I got older it turned into getting home drunk and Rage would start. Rage is an Australian video hit channel, we didn’t really have MTV unless you had cable.
Is there one video that you can remember?
There used to be these techno remix of the X-Files theme song, the intro and the outro was the same. I remember using a VHS to record it every weekend.
What is your songwriting process?
For the Promiseland project I was working with a producer in Australia, we kind of just sent each other things back and forth so I would just send him different samples and beats from that he’d do a mix.
That seems like a really fluid process because I feel like when two artists are working closely together things can really blow up, not always productively.
I think that only happens when people are fixated on having one band. Growing up in Australia it's really hard for bands to tour so you don't really become as precious about it being “the band”. It’s a really big circle and everyone is in other bands so you kind of learn to do a bunch a diffrent things. I feel like that happens with most of the punk bands, it seems to be like a community.
Like my release with Julian Casablancas— he saw that video that my manager sent him of me playing at the Bowery and hanging off the roof. We met at KGB bar at like midnight and I played him a couple songs which he really liked. I tried to re-record the vocals… But he was like ‘Naw they sounded cool’ which was pretty funny.
What is Casablancas like?
He’s really lovely and really calm! It super flattering for someone like that to think my stuff is really cool.
