Bennett’s the backdrop for Microlip’s new video
THE Beatles wrote that they get by with a little help from their friends and Portadown’s own Microlip could now pen a similar anthem after shooting their first music video in the town.
The five-piece made up of Neil Guy, Jaime McDonald, James Wilson, John Mulholland and Mick Carvill, spent two days filming for their latest track, ‘Making Money’, at locations all over Portadown - with the shoot’s main focus on Bennetts Bar.
And despite a modest budget for the shoot, the guys managed to call in a favour with one of their friends, none other than ‘Shameless’ actor, Aaron McCusker, who played the central character in the music video.
“Aaron’s a friend of mine, so I called in a favour,” explains singer Jaime, “He was always someone I had in my head for a role in one of our videos.”
Keen to feature in the guys’ debut video, Aaron flew home from England during a break in filming for the Channel 4 drama series which took place over a weekend, paying for flights out of his own pocket.
“We wanted to reimburse Aaron for the flights but he was having none of it. Instead he asked us to make a donation to a children’s charity,” said Jaime.
The premise of the video is that Aaron plays a man who is an ‘Average Joe’, down on his luck, who gets to experience the life of a rock star while he dreams. Two weeks in the planning, the video was shot by Lurgan man, Darren Lee of Maverick Renegade Productions - another friend of Microlip’s - at various locations throughout Co Armagh including The Argory and at a local property which has a private swimming pool.
A vintage car, a Mustang, also features in the shoot along with, not surprisingly, a bevy of beautiful girls, a casino table - all the hallmarks of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
The band are full of praise for Darren, whose credits include working with pop group LMFAO and Justin Beiber at the Belfast EMA last year, for creating the ‘vision’ they had for ‘Making Money’.
“I knew that Darren would just get it straight away,” says Neil, who reveals that despite the fact the band weren’t required for every scene, they were on set for the shoot’s entire duration.
The band were in front of the cameras for their live performance at Bennetts, cheered on by a 300-strong crowd of fans who turned out en-masse for a chance to appear in the video.
“The atmosphere was fantastic. We had to play the track five times in all and yet the crowd were still up for it,” says guitarist James.
“We had to turn people away in the end; so many people turned up,” adds Neil. “And already people were saying that they love the track.”
The reaction bodes well for Microlip, who say the track marks a “wee departure” from the sound of their debut album, Sliver Lining, with a “bit more of an edgier, dance feel” as Neil puts it. The band are hoping the video, which is due for release around March, will be picked up by the music channels and raise their profile in the Republic and across the water.
Microlip want their fans to be in no doubt of their ambitions: their sights are firmly fixed on breaking into the music scene in southern Ireland and touring the festival circuit in mainland UK.
But they’re also keen to let their hometown fans know how important their support means to them. “We’d like to thank our local fans for everything so far. We were meant to play a gig at Tir na nOg before Christmas which unfortunately had to be cancelled, but we’re hoping reschedule that at some point,” says Jaime.
The video is currently being edited and Microlip are urging fans to pay close attention once it has been uploaded online. “Let’s just say that there’s a wee ‘twist’ in the story,” says Jaime.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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