VIDEO STUNS FOR LOCAL GROUP HI, MOM
By Chloe Teagarden
Hi, Mom is an exciting new pop-punk group crashing the already hot local music scene. Consisting of Bailey Zindel, Julian Grenz, and Henry Diem III, from Sacramento, CA., Hi Mom is "hi" on their new video, which just had its world premiere on BVTV Spetember 1st.
Bailey and Julian have worked together in different local projects in the past, such as Altessa. Julian is also currently in Demon In Me, signed to Standby Records, and Bailey has created album art and merchandise for bands such as A Lot Like Birds and Hail The Sun under the Halfheart Media banner. Their debut music video, directed by Andy Chen, has a lively, distinctive look. Frontman Bailey answered a few questions about the new project.
The video, album art, and promotional pictures all have a very specific aesthetic, what made you decide on this color palette?
I didn't decide on a certain color palette specifically - I've always been a huge fan of pastel colors and I really didn't want to do anything dark. When we did the video for Leave the Light On I got these pastel colored balloons and then ended up narrowing that same pack down to three colors when we did the photoshoot. I really latched on to the imagery of the balloons and the confetti because it felt cohesive and it was something I felt comfortable building around without representing the music disingenuously
What was the idea behind the video?
I knew I wanted to do something performance-based, and really liked the idea of cutting between me singing to the crowd going crazy and just me singing to the girl. Andy (the director) did a lot of concept development on it too.
What is your favorite line of "Leave the Lights On"? Why?
My favorite line in Leave the Light On is "I almost got away with leaving you and not really caring at all" - I worry a lot that I can be a callous person because I struggle to develop emotional connections with people and I end up hurting people more than I'd like to because of that. I wanted to explore that I was more upset at my inability to care than I was at hurting/losing this person
When did Hi, Mom first start writing and playing music?
I wrote and recorded an entire album in 2016. I regained a lot of clarity at the tail end of a couple years of being in a weed-induced haze from the minute I woke up in the morning. The project existed as a solo project until I met Henry in August of 2016 and we started jamming and then Julian seemed like the obvious addition a few months later. I would say we've been rehearsing with our current lineup since January.
What are your biggest musical influences as a band?
Green Day is my personal favorite band and is largely responsible for me getting into music initially. I don't feel like I draw songwriting inspiration from any artists too specifically, but some of the artists that have impacted me most are Manchester Orchestra, Fountains of Wayne, Bayside, Alkaline Trio, The Avett Brothers, Weezer, The White Stripes, My Chemical Romance, etc. - Manchester Orchestra especially has massive dynamic shifts in their songs and I've been drawing a lot from that in the last couple songs I've written.
What does Hi, Mom have planned for the future?
Right now we're gearing up to start playing shows. We have a few tentative things lined up locally and are working to set more stuff up. We just shot two more music videos a couple weeks ago so those should show up sooner or later. We're doing as much as we can, just trying to keep the momentum going and hoping that people will be as stoked about our upcoming releases as we are.
You can purchase "Leave The Light On" on iTunes or stream it on Spotify.
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