Old Man Wizard Post “I Prayed” Video
We are now past the release date of what’s purported to be the final Old Man Wizard album, Kill Your Servants Quietly (review here). It came out last week. I’ve said a fair amount about it already, and will say more if I can manage to nail down a time to interview guitarist/vocalist Francis Roberts — the logistics issues being mine, not his; West Coast is a real challenge for me these days amid regularly-scheduled afternoon parenting clusterfucks — but so far as I know, nothing I’ve said to this point has involved sacrilegious hot dog eating contests or anybody taking a guitar solo naked except for a bit of ketchup, mustard and the strategically-placed instrument itself. I guess in that regard it’s a good thing the video for “I Prayed” came along.
I suppose the clip, directed by Reece Miller, is NSFW, unless you happen to work in an environment cool with partial-nudity and sacrilege — and if so, congratulations on that job — but its oddness, stonefaced tongue-in-cheek approach suits the lyrical cynicism well, and it’s one of several cuts on Kill Your Servants Quietly that deals directly with the topic of religion. The line “God is not your friend” here foreshadows a later title on the record to the contrary, “God is Your Friend.” With the album’s title-track in between “I Prayed” and “God is Your Friend,” and the lyric there, “Your love of god is a narcissistic fraud,” questions of friendship would seem to answer themselves one way or the other between the various speakers in each piece.
In any case, the level of absurdity here is enough to remind me of The State, and I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it as a compliment, and the song rules, so until I can get that interview done, here’s another excuse for me to post about a good record.
Enjoy:
Old Man Wizard, “I Prayed” official video
Frontman Francis Roberts comments:
“Reece (the guy who made the video) and I have worked together on countless projects and this came out of one of many absurd brainstorming sessions we’ve had. We were originally going to crucify me on a tow truck but couldn’t find one to rent, and ended up having a hilarious conversation about other things that would be grotesque parodies of religious images. That led to the idea of me playing Jesus Christ: Hot Dog Eating Contest Champion, with a classic white robe covered in sponsorships from condiment brands, but we went with the creepy priest look since I didn’t have time to grow my hair and beard back out. This is where we ended up!”
Old Man Wizard is:
Francis Roberts – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Synth, Samplers
Andre Beller – Background Vocals, Bass Guitar, Violin
Kris Calabio – Background Vocals, Drums, Percussion
