When I was in high school, I was in the marching band specifically the percussion drum line. My proudest achievement was taking over one halftime show to do a marching band version of Iron Butterfly's In A Gadda Da Vida because it was basically one long drum solo.
Fast forward to today and here's David Byrne inspired by high school color guard troupes. These kids are usually found twirling banners, showing off choreographed moves and marching alongside high school band members. Now they're going to get a lot hipper, because a lucky few will be accompanied by the best musicians out there. This summer, in Brookyln and Toronto, David Byrne will present Contemporary Color, which will pit ten color guard teams against each other, with St. Vincent, Devonté Hynes, Kelis, and Nelly Furtado and more providing the soundtrack. There will also be music by Nico Muhly and (strangely?) a collaboration with Ira Glass, Mr Byrne will contribute a song as well.
The video itself is charming in the best sense of the word, feeling delightfully amateur, and showcasing the kids as being the bigger stars of the show. And rightfully so.
This really isn't the head-scratcher it appears to be. If you've ever seen Byrne live or see Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense than this should come as zero surprise. Byrne worked with one of America's best choreographers to create what is arguably the best music video of the 80's. Dance and movement has been a part of his artistic expression as much as writing, singing and playing guitar.
According to the New York Times "A co-commission of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Toronto’s Luminato Festival, the show will premiere at the Air Canada Center on June 22 and 23. The show will come to Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 27 and 28, in the Academy’s first partnership with its neighbouring arena. Tickets go on sale Jan. 28 at BAM.org. "
Even more exciting to me is how Byrne got interested. The Times article mentions that a color guard team asked to license his music for a competition. Let that sink in. They didn't just use the song without asking. They didn't cite "remix culture," as a reason to skirt the law. They asked for permission.
As a side note. David Byrne got some slack from the Sharing Is Caring crowd over a series of pro Content Creator articles decrying just how much Big Tech has ruined the livelihood of musicians. All musicians. Not just famous ones. So just in case the free culture people out there are assuming the above video used footage without permission, put your hypocrite signs away. I spoke with one of the peeps who made it, Bob Weisz. Any footage that wasn't filmed by the production company like the pizza lady, and the students, and Mr. Byrne himself was used with permission from WGI, the organization that holds color guard competitions.
Hat Tip to Tess Alexandria for brining this to my attention.
Artist: David Byrne
Production/Direction, etc: Bill Ross, Turner Ross, and Bob Weisz
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