Nail finds the sound in Alabama
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 – With his band in tow, David Nail made his way to the Alabama Theater in Birmingham, Ala. to film the music video for his newest single, The Sound of a Million Dreams.
Working with director Chris Hicky, Nail worked to create the essence of music's ability to capture one's life without reducing the video to a storyline or series of obvious images.
"Everyone has that song or songs," said Nail. "That's the most amazing thing about music: the way songs can hold your life. It does for me, and for just about everybody I know... So, I didn't want this video to take anything away from the dreams that other people have in their music."
The team wanted an older theatre, something that suggested the amount of music that had been played there and the number of lives that had passed through the building. They wanted to bring to the forefront the notion of how music marking lives is ongoing. The Alabama Theater, built in 1927, was chosen, in part, because of the strong relationship Nail has had with the Birmingham market since performing unplugged at the Bama Rising Concert, a show put together by the band Alabama featuring The Commodores (sans Lionel Richie), Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley and the Blind Boys of Alabama.
"The people there are so soulful," he said. "You can feel the music moving through them, and you know it's a part of who they are. We didn't even use extra people in our video, but you can feel their passion for the songs and artists in the air."
With a stark stage and warm light, the music video begins with Nail alone onstage. Slowly, the musicians appear as their instruments rise up in the arrangement. Hicky, the man responsible for the 2010 Academy of Country Music Video of the Year (Miranda Lambert's White Liar), projects footage of Nail from the age of six until now throughout the scene. The slide show displays still photographs of his infancy onwards on various surfaces to cement dreams into music.
Finishing his tour with Gavin DeGraw, Nail now heads out on the road with Billy Currington.
More news for David Nail
CD reviews for David Nail
The Sound Of A Million Dreams
David Nail is a rare mainstream country artist who actually stands out from the rest of Music Row's regulars. Instead of leaning towards one of the two dominant styles of Nashville country, pop or rock, Nail blends country with soul and R&B.
When he builds upon his strengths, the songs shine. The single misstep, Grandpa's Farm, sounds like a blend of recent Kid Rock and Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man; which is as awkward as the comparison sounds. »»» |
I'm About to Come Alive
Newcomer David Nail cites the Beatles, Elton John and Motown as key musical influences. While his long-time-coming debut certainly leans toward pop and soul rather than traditional country, vocally the southeast Missouri native is far more Kenny Chesney with a bit of Marc Cohn and Hal Ketchum than Stevie Wonder.
It's an impressive debut for the strikingly handsome Nail, whose country career has had numerous fits and starts since arriving in Nashville a decade ago. Frank Liddell's »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: Size doesn't matter to Winslow-King –
Luke Winslow-King may have a fine new CD out ("The Coming Tide") on a long respected indie country/roots label (Bloodshot), but that didn't mean the throngs were going to fill the club. In fact, in a second night of shows in the Boston area, Winslow-King drew a handful of people. Well, make that literally two handfuls of people.
As in 10 people.... »»»
Concert Review: McGraw has plenty of fight left –
Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number one album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved at First Niagara's... »»»
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