The Caravan are ruling the music video game lately, most recently with “What Up Steve,” a lyrical takedown of Harper against the backdrop of north end Halifax. Even earlier was “Words That Make You Feel Good,” a video that got immense traction on that tastemaker of tastemakers, Reddit. The making of “Words” is a story of ups and downs (and upvotes).
“We were really surprised to receive a MuchFACT grant our first time applying, especially since we aren’t a very established band,” says Mike Ritchie, guitarist. “After they saw the video, however, they told us that they weren’t going to air it. So we were pretty disappointed about that---we just put it on YouTube. The director [Gesar Mukpo] had been promoting it a little and put it on Reddit without telling us. He had a catchy tag line: “liquor store clerk told me he was a rapper, so I made this video for him.” I guess people were expecting a really bad video, but were surprised that it was OK, so it took off and was voted on to the front page for a day. We got lots of love and great compliments and made a bunch of fans from all over the world.” As of printing, total views of “Words” hover around 175,000---this outpouring of internet love is the perfect response to rapper Kyle McKenna’s positive lyrics.
Although the views are steadily climbing, the attention is still a surprise to the band. “It’s funny, between this and ‘What Up Steve,’ we’ve had more press and attention in six months than in six years combined playing as a band,” says Ritchie. “We’ve been totally independent with no manager or booking agent or whatever, so it’s taken us a long time to get organized with stuff, but the next year will hopefully be a big one for us.”
With an album release at the Seahorse on the horizon (May 24 with Acres and Acres), it looks like he’s right.
Gold Winner “Words That Make You Feel Good,” The Caravan, director Gesar Mukpo
Silver Winner “Brian Wilson is A.L.i.V.E.,” Rich Aucoin, director Noah Pink
Bronze Winner “Death and Taxes,” The Stanfields, director Aram Kouyoumdjian
