Rockett Queen has unveiled the first video from their Goodnight California EP, “I Hate You.”
A fan favorite at live shows, “I Hate You” brings the story of a contentious romantic relationship to life through a simple yet highly effective concept.
“The concept was interesting to me because I didn’t want it to just be a simple, on-the-nose sexual video,” said vocalist/guitarist Walter Lee. “I wanted to touch on all the different dark places we tend to go while trying to work out our issues, whether they be from the new relationship or an old relationship, so we can move on with the new. At the same time, it shows how sometimes sex can be used as a weapon.”
To do this, “I Hate You” juxtaposes images of a boxing couple with steamy sex scenes, illustrating the dichotomy of the relationship, while also interspersing shots of Rockett Queen’s dynamic on-stage performance.
Watch the video:
“I’m extremely happy with how the video came out,” said Lee, who took on the directorial role along with Bruno at Snap The Picture, whose previous work includes Vogue, Neiman Marcus, MTV, Wall Street Journal and Tiffany & Co. “Bruno has such a great eye for detail and style that it was for the most part easy to film. Everything from his lighting to his scene-stealing camera work really brought the whole project together. The only thing missing was a final scene where I wanted to light the inside of his studio on fire for a climactic ending to the video, but he was having NONE of that, so we went with an alternate ending!”
The video took roughly two months to film and cast, a task that was beginning to feel hopeless.
“It took a special quality to really get the point across and we spent forever trying to find the right leading lady and man,” Lee said. After nearly giving up, Lee connected with former Playboy model Summer Ayala, who took an interest in the role. “After discussing the treatment with her and joking about how perfect she would be with her past experience in acting and modeling, surprisingly she jumped at the chance to do it. Even better she knew the perfect male lead in Devin Northrip an actor/model signed to her agency. With Devin’s background in MMA fighting he really added a lot to the fight scenes.”
Rockett Queen’s brand of straight-up, honest rock ‘n’ roll has garnered the quartet a great deal of critical acclaim and Top 40 airplay. Performing for more than 25,000 music fans, the band’s energetic live show has won over a devoted fanbase.
Goodnight California is available now via Fade To Silence Records.
