From the moment coronavirus reared its ugly head and music artists found themselves quarantining in their homes like the rest of us, the question has always been – what’s the best way to get new music in front of our fans? And yes, LANCO had the same question.
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But the double-PLATINUM band had a totally different answer.
Because while a number of artists have chosen to use Zoom-like music videos to premiere new music in these days of the pandemic, the country music hit makers decided to use Percy Priest Lake in Nashville to create a music video for the acoustic version of their hot single “What I See.”
“It’s the ultimate example of a social distancing video,” chuckles LANCO frontman Brandon Lancaster of the music video, which exclusively premieres on American Songwriter today. “The actual idea came up on a text message group we have together. We are guys that travel around the world shaking a lot of hands, so at the time, we were really being serious about quarantining from each other. We knew we couldn’t be next to each other to record this video. But then it dawned on us to go out on the lake with our guitars and do this thing.”
And luckily, they also had some watercrafts at their disposal.
“About a year and a half ago, Dierks Bentley gave us Sea-Doos as a gift, so we had those,” Lancaster says. “I have a pontoon boat and (LANCO bandmate) Tripp Howell has a fishing boat and (LANCO bandmate) Eric Steedly has been fixing the engine on his boat, so we were just excited to all get on the water.”
And heck, Brandon’s brother even had a drone.
“My brother Devon couldn’t wait to get some footage with the drone while we were all out there,” recalls Lancaster. “We actually recorded our parts on cell phone audio. It took a few takes and we were done. Luckily the water was calm that day so we didn’t get moved around too much.”
Indeed, the rootsy setting of the video pairs up perfectly with the touching song that shines even brighter when done acoustically.
“I love when we are able to let a song breathe,” says Lancaster of the song which is currently LANCO’s most-added single of their career. “It showcases the lyrics and the melody and the instrumentation of it all. I’ve always felt that if a song can’t stand alone with just a guitar or a piano, I don’t know if it’s a strong enough song. It’s got to stand on its own.”
A follow-up to LANCO’s 2x PLATINUM multi-week radio chart-topper “Greatest Love Story” and critically acclaimed GOLD hit “Born to Love You,” “What I See” focuses on the idea that beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder.
“Someone might not think much about their town and and all those little details that they see everyday, but all those little details are part of their story,” says Lancaster, who wrote the song alongside drummer Tripp Howell, bassist Chandler Baldwin and Jeremy Spillman after being inspired by a stop they made to a small town dive bar while out on tour last year. “That’s what we wanted to write a song about. It all depends on how you see it.”
And yes, everyone seems to be seeing their status quo a little differently in light of the continuing coronavirus crisis.
“The song has always had a nostalgic feel, but I think that’s really evident right now,” says Lancaster. “There are not a lot of things going on right now, so more people have a tendency of looking back. Plus, no one is taking things for granted anymore. They are realizing that we should have always been appreciating the little things all along.”
