New York, NY (Top40 Charts) LOVE BY NUMB3RS today have shared the haunting and beautifully filmed video for "Red Sun." Watch ot Top40-Charts.com the Portland, Maine-based trio's self-directed video for the newly released first single from their upcoming in-progress second album.
Written by the band-co-vocalists DAN CONNOR and ANNA LOMBARD and multi-instrumentalist JON ROODS - "Red Sun" underlines the many charms of the group who chart a course through eloquent alternative, dusty blues, graceful folk, and rootsy rock. The clip was premiered yesterday (June 16) at antiMusic.
For the mysterious and evocative song, in which the characters undergo a transformative spiritual experience as they journey through the Southwestern United States, the group also travelled across the country to follow the path of the characters in the song.
The concept of "Red Sun," explains ANNA, "started as an iPhone voice memo Dan sent with a chord progression on an acoustic along with a chorus of him singing 'See you when we reach the shore, we'll meet up in
Vegas at Bellagio.' He wanted to write a song about a journey into the unknown. As he handed off the rest of the lyric writing to me, he asked me to consider what it would be like to be a refugee, on a makeshift raft, trying to make my way to America. That is where the journey began…and by the time the chorus hit, it was clear our destination was Vegas…the city of Second Chances."
She adds: "The characters in the song left home and everything they knew to try and create a better life for themselves…packing minimally with maybe a picture of a family member and a wad of dollar bills…just starting over completely."
"Jon and I co-directed," ANNA says. "Since I had never been to that side of the country before, I went into full research mode. Where would I hit first? Texas…that sounds good. Let's follow the Rio Grande all the way to New Mexico. What might I see on the way to Nevada? And then Jon and I got the crazy idea to book flights out to Las Vegas. We went out west with scribbled notes, a half-assed mood board, and rented a car. We bought some smoke bombs at a fireworks store on the way to Death Valley with camera gear in tow and just went for it…without any real plan or idea what we we're doing. We spent three days straight filming in Vegas, Death Valley, Mesquite Flat San Dunes, 20 Mule Canyon Road, Zabriskie Point, Dante's View and Red Rock Canyon. It was really amazing to be so simultaneously connected to nature while so disconnected from the rest of the world. Then it was time to get into character."
Meantime, LOVE BY NUMB3RS recently performed their first live show Anna explains, "We played our first full band live show in late May and the reception was incredible. The fact we started this project in the midst of a global pandemic and through all of Dan's health issues…to be in front of a live, real human audience, and to receive a standing ovation was an out of body experience. We finished the 9-song set with 'The Glory'…and right before we started playing, Dan mentioned how when he began writing 'The Glory' a few years back, it was meant to be a prayer song. Then, at the 8 o'clock hour town church bells went off like some sort of ominous queue for that gospel track to finish the set. It was so eerie. I cannot tell you how many people approached us after the set to tell us we made them cry and how moved they were from our performance. It felt so good. We hope to make music people really connect with…that's the big reward."
