By Sam Lipkin, Flagpole Magazine:
Grassland, the Americana band that “crosses generations, crosses genres and will cross your soul,” shares the music video for its darkly comedic yet uplifting single “Ola Mae” today. This single is part of a waterfall release for the band’s upcoming 13-track album Patches, to be released on Mar. 4. Produced and engineered by John Keane, the album embodies Grassland’s signature style of offering something for every listener with a rich tapestry of instrumentation and songwriting.
The cinematic music video, directed and produced by Travis Ward, brings to life the story told in “Ola Mae”—one that ends in a moral of carpe diem or seize the day. The frame story was filmed at two swamp-inspired locations: the intro at guitarist Doug Peters’ family farm pond, and the outro at Keane’s house in Athens, whose property also features a large pond.
“I wrote the song ‘Ola Mae’ long before I knew that our guitarist Doug Peters had a ‘pet’ alligator, named Alonzo, in a pond located on his family’s 600-acre pecan farm in Byromville, Georgia. When Doug posted some videos of himself feeding Alonzo hotdogs—using a stick just long enough to still be cautious—I knew we had a great opportunity with a somewhat trained co-star. When Doug drives up to the pond, Alonzo swims from the other side to greet him fully expecting a snack and that makes filming logistically easy,” says Jody Daniels of Grassland.
“So, we bought a bunch of Spanish moss and hung it around the pond to create a Louisiana atmosphere. I only fell in once. The Abita beer we used in the video is made in Covington, Louisiana on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, and this particular one featured an alligator on the label. So, little things like that were used to create the right look.”
Daniels wrote the script for the music video based on the song, and Ward worked with him on best practices for visual storytelling. The outro script for the cookout served two purposes for Daniels. It was a great way to wrap up the story with character Thibodeaux’s revenge, and in real life, the cookout was a celebration of a year of hard work and finishing their album.
“We are also very fortunate to have John Keane; his work with Grassland over the years is extremely appreciated. John appears in the outro, in part, as our way of acknowledging and remembering that none of these results are possible without the extraordinary talent of others,” says Daniels.
The detail and care put into the music video is evident, as the visuals feels inseparable from the song itself. Each participating member’s personality shines through, and the heart and soul of the band itself is tangible. There are many aspects to appreciate, and Daniels shares some of his favorite parts of the experience.
“One, turning an idea into reality is always exciting, fun and satisfying. It’s the same as songwriting and recording. Two, seeing Leanne (my daughter) and Jason in their character roles and just crushing it. Three, knowing that my entire family is in that final scene makes it personally special to me,” says Daniels.