Back in the summer of 2015 RIDE were reforming and they were set to play their first reunion show in New York at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. I was in touch with Loz, the drummer of RIDE and he said he had this idea that he and Andy had cooked up to have Andy drag an old Vox Teardrop Phantom guitar around the streets of Brooklyn on a leash, sort of like he was walking a dog!
So with the help of my friend and A/V wiz, Bryan, who randomly happened to be in town for a wedding(He had lived in NY previously, but had moved to Europe at this point) we made it happen! A few things stand out now looking back at this project. One, the sound! Somehow Andy rigged his guitar to be feedbacking and looping through into the camera which we captured live. I did not add any additional over dubs. The other sound you hear is the, oh so cool, sound of the guitar being dragged along the pavement, which was also captured live.
Secondly it was amazing how Andy and his guitar so effortlessly blended into the environment. Nobody seemed phased at all as Andy walked by joggers, mothers with baby carriages, and just ordinary people out walking, doing their thing. Only in Brooklyn...
Lastly, I love that this piece isn't easy to label. It's not really a music video, although it has a soundtrack. It's not really a short film, although it has a narrative of sorts. I guess it's more of a performance art piece? But that's the point, maybe we shouldn't try and label it. It's just Guitar Drag...
