Premiere: Todd Sharpville – “Brothers” featuring Larry McCray
In a Blues Rock Review exclusive premiere, watch the brand new music video for Todd Sharpville’s “Brothers.” The track features a guest appearance from Larry McCray. Sharpville and McCray have been friends for over 30 years.
“When he (McCray) knew the studio dates I’d booked to record the album in Rhode Island with Duke Robillard, Larry called me to say he had a night off in his schedule and would like to fly over from Detroit to spend a little time with me at the studio to catch up. At that stage, he had no idea that my album was going to focus on my time in the mental hospital; we hadn’t discussed it. The moment I put down the phone I realized I ought to write something for the both of us to do together because Larry had been part of my hospital experience. (he called me most days when I was there to show me moral support).”
Sharpville adds, “Besides which, in all the years we’d been friends, we’d never recorded together before and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. The one thing that wasn’t working for me was the lyrics for the verses. I decided to take a risk…Larry and I would spend the evening together once he arrived in RI and then record our duet the following morning. I decided I’d wake up the following morning at the hotel an hour before I had to wake up Larry, and allow the lyrics to come to me naturally. I trusted the universe to take care of it for me. Hey, presto, I woke up that morning and it took all of 10 minutes to write those fresh lyrics down! Went to reception, printed them up, got some coffee, and woke Larry with coffee and our lyrics for the day. The studio experience itself was so effortless. It took all of a couple of passes; the vast majority of the song came from our first take. That’s what generally happens whenever we jam together.”
“As far as the video was concerned, that Fozzie and Kermit ‘moving right along’ thing was burning a hole in my head, so I decided to find an original way of visualizing it. I’d referenced dogs with the chorus lyrics: ‘blues hounds, chained and tethered, howling at the moon together’ (and am a devoted dog owner), so it made sense to find a way of portraying the whole thing visually from a canine perspective. My ex-tour manager had recently introduced me to Kevin Baldwin, an Oscar-nominated British animator who’d worked on my favorite BBC-TV series, an animated black comedy called ‘Monkey Dust.’ I reached out to Kevin, asking if he could work with me in a Hanna-Barbera style (who’s output comprised much of my childhood viewing), and the rest as they say, is history! “
“Brothers” is from Sharpville’s upcoming album, Medication Time, available May 20.
