By Jeffrey Fox, Correspondent - Posted: 04/05/17, 8:20 PM PDT
Punk rock trio Severance Package and filmmaking animator Josh Funk combined talents to bring an above-and-beyond, top-quality music video that will debut Friday at The Maltese, 1600 Park Ave.
The video release show begins at 9 p.m. Severance Package will be performing as well as local greats The Empty Gate and the debut of Licky Lips. The show is $7 and for those 21 or older.
Josh Funk, who has been a local musician himself, became even more notorious in the Chico music scene with his stop-motion animation video for The Michelin Embers song “Diggin’On.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTHxxolsgxc).
When the musicians of Severance Package saw the video, they were enthralled by Funk’s artistic quality and visual storytelling. They implored him to design an idea for their song “Scissors Gonna Cut Ya,” which is the first track from their upcoming LP anticipated this summer.
Severance Package, who formed in 2009, is a classic power trio featuring the vocal and songwriting talents of Robin and Josh Indar (Black Fork, Lott Lyzzyrd) and powered by the double-fisted percussion of veteran Chico rocker Mike Erpino (Deviants, Breakouts, Special Forces).
Elements of rock — reminiscent of X, Dead Moon and Bon Scott-era AC/DC — the band pairs diamond-hard rock riffs with dagger-sharp lyrics, delivered in stunning male/female harmony.
“We are so stoked to have worked with Josh Funk on this video,” Josh Indar said. “He’s super talented and seemed to know just what we were looking for. It was also fun to mess around with a bit of a different sound than we’re known for.”
Funk printed and hand-cut thousands of individual frames to make this buffet of cut paper eye candy, big hair and sassy characters.
“Creating this video was extremely fun and challenging,” Funk said. “I really enjoyed collaborating with the band to find a look and imagery that matched the energy of their song.”
After printing and cutting, Funk had to animate the thousands of images, then combine them in the computer to create an energetic feel that matched the band’s song.
The project took around four months, though Funk said he was working on multiple jobs at the same time.
“Near the end, I had two weeks straight, six hours a day to meet the deadline. I also hired some local artists to help cut some paper,” he said.
The song and music video bring a sweet tremor of sass and attitude.
It’s inspired by Internet drama and the universal need to remove toxic people from one’s everyday lives by cutting them out.
The band refers to the song as, “the unfriending anthem of the year.”
For more on Severance Package visit their website at severancepackage.org.
For more details about the video release show, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/255748778212132.
