West Midlands alt-rock band Blank Parody recently unveiled the video for their new single Marching Through The Smoke, out now.
Mirroring the song’s lyrical themes of setbacks and struggle, the spectacularly shot video pursues the band as they navigate their way through the unrelenting terrain of Dartmoor, kitted head to toe in military air-force gear. Matching the frenzied tempo of the track, the video ends with arguably one of the most unique band performance settings you’ll see this year.
The song, produced by Jim Pinder (Fightstar/Bullet For My Valentine) and mastered by Geoff Pesche (Pulp) at Abbey Road, is an exhilarating rock anthem from the Birmingham four-piece.
Hitting the road and playing shows all over the country, Blank Parody are primed and ready to break down the doors of the UK rock scene this year. The quartet play this year’s Camden Rocks Festival on June 3rd, London’s Alleycat on June 18th and have a second wave of dates to be announced. Check out the video fro Marching Through The Smoke below!
We managed to catch up with the band;s guitarist Liam as he talked about the latest music video and more!
So you’ve just released the video for Marching Through The Smoke, how has this initially gone?
The response to the new video has been phenomenal. The video’s been out a week and we’ve already hit 6,000 views, the amount of people tuning in is just going up and up by the minute. The response from fans has been wicked, people really seem to be digging this one. We knew from the minute we saw it back, the ridiculously cinematic final shot in particular, that we’d created something that far surpasses anything we’ve done up to this point. To see that paying off is such an awesome feeling.
Can you tell us anything about the single?
The single is really a dance song whilst lyrically being a battle cry for perseverance. The chorus lyrics stem from my great grandfather who was a paratrooper in the battle of Arnhem and we’ve applied the same sentiments to our efforts to soldier on as a band. Being in a small band trying to break on through is one of the most frustrating and difficult things, especially when the band consists of people as passionate and motivated as we are. It takes a lot of energy to keep on getting back up and kicking that door down so I guess the song is an ode to willpower.
How was it like working with Jim Pinder?
Jim is a top geezer to work with, he’s super clued up on what he’s doing and he’s just the coolest guy. From the minute he heard our early demos he knew exactly how to reign in all our ideas and add his own spin on the tracks. His input is literally the difference between a top sounding demo and a fully developed Blank Parody song. Even not being in the studio right now we’re constantly firing demos and ideas back and forth. He’s really into the band so to have somebody so passionate on board who also has his levels of experience and skill is something we’re really lucky to have.
So how pumped are you for Camden Rocks and of course the Birmingham gig in the evening?
We’re buzzing. It’s gonna be madness but in a good way. We’re gonna have to set off early from Birmingham to be ready to get on stage at 1.30 at the Crowndale, then we’ve got to get all the way back to play the alternative stage at ValeFest at 7pm. Keep an eye on our social media pages on that day, we’re gonna be doing plenty of live streams to keep you updated with how the mission is going.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Muse. We need to get Matt Bellamy back into writing riffs. The bloke teaches me everything I know then goes all gospel on me? Not my cup of tea. We need massive fuzzy guitars back on the scene pronto!
What was your funniest moment while recording the video?
There’s some really mad outtakes from when Joby got hit by the van. Connor (Drums) had to drive the van at him at about 30mph then slam the breaks on last minute to make it look convincing when Joby jumps onto the bonnet. Joby was relatively, shall we say, uneasy about this manoeuvre and the results on camera looked like someone trying to do a dodgy insurance claim only for their conscience to kick in halfway through. So Connor gets out to show him how it’s done and get’s his mate Deano to drive the van at him full pelt and just dives onto the bonnet. Dead melodramatic, like he’s Bruce Willis or something. If it had only fit the context of the video for Connor to have been the one getting hit the thing would have been nominated for a Taurus Stunt Award by know I reckon.
What is the rock scene like in the West Midlands?
It’s all kicking off here. The heavy scene is thriving as always, Dead Hands, Without Grace and Crime and Punishment 2011 are constantly tearing it up. Then there’s some really interesting indie and psych artists like VEDA, Yung Jimmy’s Big Ideas and The Pagans breaking through. It’s a pleasure to be constantly doing shows in places like Birmingham and Wolverhampton, every gig you get to play with someone or some band who just make you so excited to be a part of such an intricate and accomplished live music scene.
What were your first gigs that you went to?
The first gig I ever went to was S-Club 7, back when they were all the rage. The first proper band I saw though was Muse at Wembley performing HAARP with My Chemical Romance supporting. The bar from then on has been set so high, I still rewatch that live DVD back and even ten years on I don’t think I’ve ever seen a performance and a stage set up quite that extraordinary. On top of that I also got to catch the Cure at Reading and Pulp on their reunion tour. Those shows were really formative and have been super influential to me as both a performer and somebody whose part of a band who, one day, wanna play shows that big.
Will there be even more new music released this year?
We have our debut EP due later on this year and you will be seeing another video containing one of these songs very shortly. Until then just keep watching and streaming our existing videos and singles over and over and over. Just stick them on loop and listen to nothing else.
We have a ton of recorded stuff that we’ve been sitting on for quite a while now so get hyped for it, it’s been a long time coming. We can’t wait for you all to hear what we’ve been up to!