The Indies is not traditionally a place that celebrates cover songs, however, every once in a while that rule is broken for something very special such as with this emerging 14 year old female guitarist and singer from Georgia named Callista Clark.
In these two different one shot music videos featured below, her guitar skills and the uncontrived genuine soul of her vocals are excellent as she covers two Michael Jackson songs: Billy Jean and PTY. Enjoy!
Callista Clark - Billy Jean (Michael Jackson Cover - Acoustic Funk)
Filmed by Junior Pereira, this music video below is to the song by Burt Byler & the Bearded Souls titled Slave Dog. Burt Byler's Twitter page description states: "Carefree Mississippi folk singer turns protester."
More music videos by the group may follow on this network, starting with this earliest music video by the group. Enjoy!
Jess Bishop is a songwriter, singer and guitarist from Brighton, England.
Even though this is a rough/raw and under-produced recording, shot by a single camera on a tripod with no operator, the beauty of the music written by this artist and the musical spell she can cast is apparent and transcends any lack of production.
Jess Bishop wrote this song and she is accompanied by Max Rafferty (formerly of The Kooks) on guitar. It was filmed in Port Isaac, a fishing village in Cornwall, England.
The Indies presents The Kills and the music video directed by Ben Strebel, to a their rendition of the song titled List of Demands (Reparations), originally written by rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, slam poet, writer, and actor, Saul Williams. In reference to The Kills covering the song, Saul Williams wrote the following letter:
The entirety of my creative career has been bent towards disrupting the dumb-down of the listener. As a kid, growing up in NY in the 80's & 90's, I was a dedicated rapper and a dancer. It was on the dancefloor that I learned that music with a political bent made me dance harder. When I felt like the music spoke to me and to the times, and if the beat was right, I could pull off the moves and acrobatics that i found impossible without. So given the opportunity to record my goal was always to make hardcore dance music using the formula that inspired me: punk energy, mind-fucked beats, & political courage. Even in poetry, I've been driven by the desire to disrupt and engage the reader or listener on the same grounds. "List of Demands (Reparations)" was written with these direct intentions. Fuck up the dancefloor & open a mind. I've always been a huge fan of covers & re-interpretations. I always felt envious of the way the 60's generation shared songs and ideologies. Jimi singing Dylan. Rotary Connection singing Otis Redding. The Stones singing the blues. This is all part of the beauty & power of music and it reverberates deeply in me. All this to say, I'm honored. The times are divisive, particularly under poor leadership, yet the voices of the politically disenfranchised are louder than ever. The amplification of these voices gives rise to new insights and a chance to break away from the normative thinking and behavior that has held women, people of color, and the poor, in a holding pattern for centuries. The role of the artist in these times is crystal clear: be present, be courageous, put your heart on the line.There's a passage in a Maya Angelou book which says, "Anything an artist writes should be written with the urgency of what they would write if someone were holding a gun in their mouth." That gun is every divisive tool that politicians, lobbyists, nationalists, and their short-sighted followers use to silence us and thwart human, female, & ecological progress. Progressive music, on the other hand, disarms, uplifts, & harmonizes. That Bob Marley refrain, "Hit me with music" is straight from the trenches and exemplifies the kind of energy and sound we need to disrupt the dumb-down. I liked The Kills before they chose to cover LOD. If they can feel themselves in that song it's because they are as much a part of it as I am.
SYCDVK, pronounced sik-duhk, is a Denver-Colorado based indie rock band with a soulful psychedelic/jazz edge. The band weaves in an out of genres and may remind listeners of Blood Sweat and Tears, meets Frank Zappa, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Chicago and at other times, obscure, but great guitarists like Frank Gambale and/or Carl Verheyen.
This band is seems to presently be way under the radar, but is very worthy of a bigger audience, especially people who like new music with integrity and an old soul.
The video featured below is for SYCDVK's song titled Pie. It was directed by Peter Warekois and stars Hellen Boyer French. Enjoy!
Director: Peter Warekois
Actress: Hellen Boyer French.
Alien 1: Nic Jay
Alien 2: Tony Milano
Key Grips: Nick Milano and Chris Geary
Editors: Michael Potts and Peter Warekois
Produced by SYCDVK in conjunction with Image of Colorado
Location and Props provided by Nico Pisani and Jenny Filipetti
Please support The Indies on these social platforms:
