Skip to main content

The Witzard Presents: Alex Hager's Blink-182, Taylor Swift & Guns N' Roses-influenced Debut Single, "Drive Me Crazy" & Sam Akina-directed Music Video (self-released)


"'Drive Me Crazy" was filmed in two days in the greater Seattle area. It was filmed by my friend, Sam Akina, who is responsible for many of the Dell commercials you see on TV. Despite his serious experience, our wardrobe consisted of thrift store [finds] and the actors were my volunteering friends. Our concept was to create a music video in different Pop culture scenes, as if someone was changing channels on a TV screen," self-described Pop-Punk singer-songwriter Alex Hager hailing from Gig Harbor, Washington wrote within a recent stream of emails. "I was responsible for some of the more ridiculous ones, such as the soap opera and fragrance commercial scene. Our props were very low-budget and my buddy invited me to use his house as the set. It was the craziest experience ever and the greatest feeling, having my friends show up to star in my own music video. It’s awesome how everything came together," Hager continued; a wide array of colorful scenes, which include clever illusions to Full House, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, a 1930-40's silent film, campy 80's Romantic Comedies, cheesy soap operas, sultry Calvin Klein-esque cologne commercials, The Bachelor/ette, Sesame Street, and early 2000's MTV Punk Rock bands, such as Blink-182, Sum 41, and Avril Lavigne.


"Drive Me Crazy," which unfortunately, isn't a Pop Goes Punk-leaning Britney Spears cover, is 20-year-old Alex Hager's debut self-released single; "it was initially produced in Nashville with Daniel Grimmett & Christian Fiore. But it’s most worth mentioning Jordani Sarreal & Mark Simmons, who produced the final piece at Pacific Studios in Tacoma, WA." When asked what some of his greatest influences were while creating the track, Hager responded: "'Drive Me Crazy" definitely has been influenced by a few things; the most obvious, a girl. It’s a reminiscent story of my first relationship—about a beautiful girl who was jaw-dropping at every sight. Late one night when those nostalgic vibes kicked in, I typed out the verses on my phone. The chorus was actually from a different song I had been writing, but when I put them together, it gave the story a new life. As for musicians who inspire me, Blink-182 is probably the most obvious. When I was 14, I essentially thought I was Tom DeLonge. I [pulled] some riff inspirations from The Edge [U2] and Slash [Guns N' Roses] was the motivation to start strumming. While I admire all of them greatly, I feel like I’m paving the way to find a fun, radiant new sound!" "Drive Me Crazy" is simply a stand-alone single, but Hager is currently working on yet another new single and says he will likely have an album completed within a few months.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

3 Feet High & Rising: Band of Bearded Brothers Cellar Door Moon Crow Unleash Rollicking Single "Whistler" from Upcoming Blues Rock EP (Bandcamp, self-released)

Whistler by Cellar Door Moon Crow British Rock 2-piece band Cellar Door Moon Crow mysteriously found and Followed The Witzard (@SharpCheddar856) on Twitter a few months ago. Their Facebook About section simply lists a brief, yet fitting, mission statement: "Band ~ Beards ~ Brothers Goodwin brothers Phil & Tommy . Sheffield, UK " and their accompanying Biography section contains a similar refrain: "Band ^ Beards ^ Brothers," as well as their Bandcamp page. There really isn't much else to be known about twin brothers Phil & Tom Goodwin , aside from the fact that they make infectious, down and dirty Rock "N" Roll —all entirely written, recorded, produced, and mixed in-house by Cellar Door Moon Crow (CDMC) themselves. CDMC 's Bandcamp page often tags their musical output as " British Rock , Rock, Blues Rock , two-piece band, Sheffield " and I would best liken their sound to a stylistic mix between The Black Keys , Thir

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of