After following up with Wil last March on his return to the US for RnB Magazine,which you can check out that interview here, things in the US literally went crazy. Somehow during these last few months, Wil has made super sexy video for his song “The Window”, which I interviewed him on the making off  and created a passionate and heartfelt song, ” Got So Far To Go “, which beautifully states the concerns and message at this time. Check out and enjoy both videos, along with the his interview with Dawne Gee for WAVE TV, in Louisville, Kentucky.

On the Making of  “The Window”

I love this video- what a super fun, sexy, funky song and video! Where did the concept come for the video?

So glad you dig it! Yeah, this one was easy to envision because the song already tells such a strong story. I was inspired to write the song, ”The Window,” after visiting the Red Light District in Amsterdam for the first time. It just struck me how similar we all are to the ladies behind the glass there. Everything in the window is all flash, but behind the scenes many of their lives are all messed up. Most of us are no different, we just traded the red light for an iPhone selfie-flash and an Instagram account. (laughs) I wanted the video to show both sides of that story – the glitter and glam, but also the struggle. The rooftop to me represented a giant mega-phone…it was like shouting out to the whole world at once…full transparency. You know, glass wide-open and here’s the full story. So having the band there to tell that story, and then to have them all be female musicians was a nod to the ladies we were talking about in the song. Also, the female model pictured on the kick drum head for the rooftop scenes was another nod. The faux fur that we were wearing was an homage to the Beatles who shot their “Don’t Let Me Down” video on the roof as well. There were lots of little elements like that that I think added some meaningful layers to the video.   

I know shooting can look one way when you’re doing it and then have a different vibe once you see the footage—did you guys stick exactly to the plan or did some new magic come about in the edit?

For this video, I had created a full-on treatment with still images I had taken in Amsterdam and even some footage I shot there. Once I had everything storyboarded in a visual,  video format, it was easy to communicate to the film crew and camera operators what was needed for each shot. I was able to scout out some great locations and create the vibe that I had envisioned in my mind. We used the treatment that I made on the film set to mimic some of the actual footage and stills I had compiled. I had my laptop set-up there and we would reference shots from the treatment and then use angles and lighting tricks to recreate the looks. Was so fun to do! The video ended up looking almost exactly like what I had pictured in my mind, but this is not always the case. Usually, I’ll have at least a general plan for what I want to achieve with a music video or film shoot, and almost always the shot that I thought would be the “money shot” or the “planned” shot is beat out by a better shot that just happened accidentally. Those “accidents” are often where the magic happens! We definitely had some “accident moments” when we shot this music video that were not part of the plan, but added so much vibe to the overall vision.

What is your favorite part of the video—cinematically?

Oh my God! We had so much fun making this video. It was shot on two different days. My absolute favorite shot happens at the 5:33 mark of the Extended Version cut where the sunset creeps directly into the shot as a move across the roof during my guitar solo. This was one of those “accident” moments! We were originally going to shoot the guitar solo scene in a completely different location and do some visual acrobats around it to spice it up. I wasn’t even going to film the solo on the roof. But I was really feeling the song at that moment and I automatically went into playing the solo just naturally and thankfully the camera crew captured that moment. When I saw it back on the dailies, I knew that was the money shot!

Funniest thing that happened on set?

Wow! We had several for sure! In fact, we’re planning to make a little blooper reel to release with some behind-the-scenes footage soon. One of the funniest moments was when we were striking the set at the end of the rooftop shoot. The crazy thing about shoots in downtown LA is that there is often a “hard out” which means you have to be out of that particular spot by a certain time – no exceptions because the elevator operators in those old buildings go home right at quitting time. We had all of this band and film gear on the roof – drum kits, guitars, amps, dolly rigs, lighting that took hours to set-up and we were running late trying to beat the deadline. The location manager, who knows nothing about music or gear, got nervous and grabbed the drummers hi-hat stand with her cymbals on it and started heading for the exit door. One thing about hi-hat cymbals, they slide up and down on a skinny metal stem to open and close. The location manager didn’t know this, so right at the top of the long steep stairway that leads off the roof, she tips the stand down and the cymbals come sliding off of the stand and crashing down the steps!! (Laughs) I think they touched like every single step on the way down. Loud as hell! Sounded like a punk rock band going hard for a battle of the bands contest. And the look on the manager’s face like… “Oh my God , what have I dooooonnnee!!??”  (laughs).  The drummer was not happy.

Public events have kind of stopped right now, but is there anything coming up to tell us about?

Yes, this is a big challenge at the moment with COVID-19 concerns and all of the clubs and venues being closed. Thankfully, I have my own recording studio in the Arts District where I am able to work safely. We are in the process of setting up that space to perform shows live online. Hopefully, we will be able to make that happen later this month. We will also be looking into recording the remaining songs for the Globetrotter:Side B album remotely online. People can hear more about the story and get updates by following me on IG @wil.key or signing up for the newsletter on my website: www.wil-key.com

Photo credit Red Riot Films (Lenny Vitulli)