A dark carnival of psychedelia greets fans in the new video from People’s Blues of Richmond, premiered exclusively on Crave. An angular, blues-infused haunt consumes the power trio’s new single “Gone Gone Gone,” produced & engineered by Mark Neill, the man behind The Black Key’s platinum-selling, Grammy-winning Brothers record.
Alternating between stark black and white and vibrant color, the Crave-exclusive clip captures the band’s seedy charisma, pulling us into a psychedelic dreamland of mysterious sirens, flophouse destruction & good ol’ drug-fueled rock & roll mayhem.
“The reason we pursued Mark—we already had a pretty firm grasp on our frenetic live sound but making a song sound beautiful in the studio is a whole other animal,” says singer-guitarist Tim Beavers. “Mark’s sound doesn’t come from a million digital studio tricks on his computer, but from a diligent set up, an intimate understanding of sound, and a belief in himself, his gear and in the bands he’s recording. Working with him, we learned how to push ourselves harder than ever before.”
Check out the wild trip of a video for “Gone, Gone, Gone” exclusively on Crave:
If the maniac intensity above grabs you by the proverbial balls, don’t miss the transcendent riot of PBR’s live performances as they burn up the road, sharing bills with an impressive collection of artists from Dinosaur Jr and Black Joe Lewis to J Roddy Walston & the Business, Modest Mouse & Gogol Bordello.
People’s Blues of Richmond co-founders and lifelong friends Beavers and Matt Volkes (bass, backing vox) began playing music together in college as a way to grieve the loss of a mutual friend. Those bleak, drug-fueled days pushed the two into a maelstrom of songwriting and camaraderie that led to their 2011 debut LP, Hard-On Blues. They followed with the self-released Good Time Suicide in 2013, the album recorded on the exact same handmade ’68 Flickinger board used to record T. Rex’s Futuristic Dragon. Immediately following this album, People’s Blues of Richmond’s lineup finally solidified with the addition of friend and powerhouse drummer Neko Williams (son of Drummie Zeb of legendary reggae band The Wailers).
After years together, on the road and off, the three are more than just bandmates, they’re brothers. It’s a camaraderie that show in their music and beyond. “No matter what, we look out for each other,” Volkes says. “If I have a sandwich, Tim and Neko get a bite, too. We’re all in this together.”
“The whole concept behind People’s Blues of Richmond,” Beavers says, “is that we all struggle, we all experience pain. Life is full of highs and lows, and we all work hard to survive. So we do the only thing we know how—we get out on the road, and we keep moving forward. We become a part of something bigger than ourselves.”
Keep up with PBR at their official site, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
