What does the devil say to David Myles, or is David Myles the devil? Filmmaker Griffin O’Toole looks to answer these and other questions with his new video for Myles’ latest single.
Matt Carter
When done right, music videos can be a fun bunch of nonsense. It’s all about interpretation, right? In his latest video, filmmaker and director Griffin O’Toole gives us the David Myles we’ve been craving – the bad boy!
Come on, admit it. I can’t be the only one to wonder where the fault lines are in New Brunswick’s beloved pop crooner. There has to be a few rough edges in his Fred Astaire-meets-Dream Date Eagle Scout Leader public personas. Come. On!!
“Being too tight doesn’t work for me,” Myles says. “I love letting off a little steam and having a good time on the weekends. It’s often when I feel the most alive. But I’m also well aware of the shortcomings of doing that too much. Why are the things that can ultimately harm me so irresistible? Is this the Devil talking? ‘Cause it sure feels good.”
While it may be a complete work of fiction (hoping the opposite over here!), O’Toole’s interpretation of what could happen when Myles finds some time for himself on the weekend makes for some “pretty good TV” as the saying goes.
As he softly sings the opening line, “I come alive on the weekend,” we see a work weary Myles patiently watching the minutes pass, ready to punch the clock on another work week. That’s when all hell breaks loose – Myles style. Beginning with some convulsive interpretive dance, the chemicals start to take effect. Colourful hues of pink and blue start to appear mere seconds before a portal to hell opens. Accepting an implied invitation from He Who Shall Not Be Named himself, Myles proceeds to boot scoot his way to the dark side where he drunkenly (?) attempts to stagger his way out of a Band On The Run searchlight before storming into band practice (late, I’ll have you know!) where he then proceeds to intimidate his bandmates with highly aggressive toe tapping, between-verse scowls and split second rock stances. Fearing for their livelihood, his bandmates respond by attempting to match their master’s intensity. The whole thing wraps up with Myles getting into a mafioso style 4×4, and blowing the scene, presumably in search of his next fix. Or maybe I have this all wrong.
“The opening line, ‘I come alive on the weekend,’ paired with the title of the song was the instant inspiration for the Devil Talking video,” said O’Toole, who directed and edited the video. “We wanted to do something playful with the video, really capture that weekend possession of partying, maybe even overindulging at the end of a long week. The energetic performances, the instrumentalists on-stage dueling, the campy dancing sequences; it all made for a truly fun day of filming.”
Devil Talking is the third single from Myles forthcoming album of the same title set for release May 24.
