betcha band
[Photo by: Joey Brodnax]

Everything you’re about to see in Betcha’s “July” video is completely real

Nashville pop-rock quartet Betcha have a big summer planned, and their new video “July” exclusively premiering today with AltPress is just the start. 

Vocalist/guitarist Charlie Greene, guitarist Ben Booth, bassist/keyboardist Taylor Dubray and drummer Chase Wofford all share a house in “Music City” and set their music video stage up right at home. You may not believe it, but the visual was made with no special effects outside of funky lighting and fun props. In typical summer fashion, the group even used fireworks to conclude their video.

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A lot more is in store for Betcha, including singles leading up to an EP set to release in the fall. The undeniably catchy rock tune is perfect for summer playlists that still need a little bit of edge and a heavy dose of rock grit. Check out AltPress’ full interview with the band where we learn how they really made this insane video below. 

The video for “July” was created without the use of any special effects. How did you create this stunning video? What inspired you to take on this concept?

We have been wanting to work with our good friend Max Lenox for quite some time. He was the lighting director for the band Kaleo when we toured with them back in 2017, and [we] have remained good friends with him since. We basically just had him come over and get as weird as possible with his laser setup in our living room. He adjusted the speed of the lasers to match the beat of the song so that all the effects were in time. Even when we were filming it, everything looked so trippy that we couldn’t believe it. With the basement/winter scenes, we got bags of “fake snow” [grounded styrofoam] and threw them into fans as they were caught by the lasers. This gave us a bit of the winter wonderland vibe we were going for in the front half of the video. The concept of the video was moving from dark to light and having the sets represent a change of seasons. We thought the lasers would be a perfect space filler in the narrative, highlighting the strong contrast of dark vs. light.

How did you prepare your house for a full video shoot? You decked out walls and rooms with vibrant flowers and vines, which is a contrast between the opening black-and-white shot in the bathroom. What inspired the creative direction of the different scenes? Does the overall imagery present in the video speak to a larger message in general or with the song?

It was pretty weird timing how everything came together set-wise. We’d been planning on covering our home in branches, flowers and vines to represent springtime but weren’t sure how we were going to get them all. Oddly enough, there was a massive wind storm in Nashville about three days prior to the shoot. Our neighborhood and our director Joey [Brodnax]‘s neighborhood had a ton of trees and branches down all over the place. We took all the seats out of our van and made countless trips picking up branches until the whole living room and stairwell was covered. 

We think the imagery does speak to a larger message. There’s black and white all the way to a bright daylight firework show. We wanted our changes in mood, from somber to energetic, to match the progression of our surroundings in the video. 

Which part of the video was the most challenging to create and why? Which moment are you the proudest of pulling off without any special effects?

The hardest part was by far the fireworks shot at the final chorus. We only had enough fireworks to do one take. Our director Joey and guitarist Ben were in charge of lighting them and then shooting/performing the chorus six seconds after. It was pretty windy outside, so if one of them couldn’t light their half of the fireworks, the shot would be ruined. Luckily, we got it right. The shutter speed laser stuff was incredible, too. That was all credited to Joey and Max, though. A lot of that technical film stuff goes way over our heads. 

What personal experiences, if any, helped shape the lyrics to your track? What do you hope listeners take away from the song’s narrative?

The song itself is about accepting that the lows in life are inevitable, but good days always seem to circle back around. When they do, we should embrace them for all they are. Prior to writing this song, [we’d] had a bit of a low year with [our] mental health and could feel a sense of positivity moving into the summer of 2019. [We’d] also had a quote by Mac Miller stuck with [us] that says “I want to [be able to] have good [days] and bad days,” which [we] interpreted as wanting to experience life for all it is.

[We] hope listeners can find a connection with what [we’re] saying lyrically. It’s OK to be down and upset, but eventually you’ll look up and [will] have found way out of it. Be proud of yourself and ride that positive energy. When you are listening to “July” and the chorus hits, start jamming out—windows down, volume up. It’s a rock ’n’ roll song, baby!

 What can fans expect in 2020? What do you hope to accomplish this year?

Of course with being a rock band, nothing fills our soul more than touring and making new fans on the road, but with everything going on in the world, we just wanna start getting as much music out to people as we can. The plan is to keep putting out singles through the summer and release our next EP this fall. We feel like this collection of songs is our first real statement of who we are as a band, a sound we’ve been working toward from the start. Honestly, getting that out to everyone will be our biggest accomplishment as a band yet.