UPDATED: Whiskey Folk Ramblers’ first music video features Fort Worth’s Where House

by Jessica Harp

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See the video here.

FORT WORTH — Like many bands trying to survive in a bad economy, Fort Worth folk noir band Whiskey Folk Ramblers is hoping to make its mark this year.

On February 4, the band will premiere its first-ever music video for the song “Gamblin’ Preacher and His Daughter” from the album ...And There Are Devils. They hired friends Brandon Schwindt and Nayt Jones of AstraLab Media to helm the production, with the hope that the small budget would produce big results.

“In the scene and the economy and everything that is going down now, if you need to make this kind of art happen, the best way to do it is to work with your friends who are capable,” Schwindt said. “If you can’t pay them cash, you can pay them your services. That is what it comes down to.”

Whiskey Folk Ramblers have had an ongoing relationship with the guys of AstraLab Media since the release of production company’s film September Bird in 2010. The band’s accordion player, Richard Lee Davenport, provided the score for the film, and Whiskey Folk Ramblers performed at the premiere. All involved in the production of the music video thought it was only right that Schwindt and Jones would co-direct their first music video.

“It is almost like they did us a favor by helping us out with the video,” lead singer Tyler Rougeux said. “We did them a favor with the score. It is kind of like teamwork ... We could have gone other routes, but that was the only one that made sense.”

Instead of traveling to Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, or Nashville -- cities the band considered to find people and places for the perfect music video -- Whiskey Folk Ramblers decided to look right in their own backyard of Fort Worth. They wanted to make the video as local as possible, using music venue the Where House as the location of the shoot, using actors in the area who were willing to work for pretty much nothing.

“It is amazing how much stuff is outsourced [in Dallas],” the video’s producer Wayne Floyd said. “There is such a talent pool here. There is like a honey pot of sweet talent in this whole area. Why would you go to the store to go buy honey when you have a pot of it right in your own kitchen?”

The not-yet-released video follows the lyrics of the song about the gambling preacher and his daughter. The beginning of the video looks like an old-school tent revival, with the lead singer as the preacher. The preacher's daughter is off to the side, making eyes at a guy she shouldn't be with. We won't spoil the details, but the story takes a vengeful turn.

On a tight budget, the band safety-pinned and stapled the tent together instead of sending it out to be sewn. “The struggle is half the battle, but that also inspires the individual to keep going and keep trying,” Schwindt said. “If you are having a struggle for money, so what? That only makes you more creative.”

The premier of Whiskey Folk Ramblers’ music video for “Gamblin’ Preacher and His Daughter” is Saturday, February 4 at the Where House in Fort Worth. The band will perform, along with Sealion and St. Louis band Kentucky Knife Fight.

UPDATE: Here is the video:

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