Videodrone #22: Unreal is Here

Videodrone is a weekly(ish) feature looking at music videos from the last half century. 

Unreal is Here (1997)

In the mid- to late-80s glory days of MTV, hard rock acts found success with the power ballad: A slower song that builds into a powerful climax. These songs helped heavy bands like Motley Crue and Scorpions reach a wider audience (i.e., women) and usually translated into huge album sales. At the same time, the videos for these songs were usually what propelled them to popularity, featuring live footage, dramatic-seeming shots of the band backstage, and wistful shots of the group traveling on buses and planes. See "Home Sweet Home" by the Crue, "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison for three examples.

Fast forward to 1997. Bon Jovi managed to transcend its hard rock roots and remained successful throughout the 

90s and beyond, but many of the metal and hard rock acts that ruled the '80s saw their popularity diminish after 1991 thanks to the rise of alternative rock. One act that remained under the radar even in those giddy times for indie rock was Chavez, an NYC-based band formed in 1993 by guitarist-singer Matt Sweeney (previously of the bands Skunk and Wider), guitarist Clay Tarver (formerly of Boston's Bullet Lavolta), bassist Scott Marshall (son of director Garry Marshall) and drummer James Lo (who also played in Wider).

Signed to legendary indie label Matador, Chavez played an angular math-rock style and released its first album Gone Glimmering in 1995. Their video for "Break Up Your Band" was featured on Beavis and Butt-Head and they toured with Guided By Voices and Bardo Pond. The group released Ride the Fader in late 1996 and in 1997, unveiled the video for "Unreal is Here," directed by Tarver and Marshall (who both went on to become TV and film directors).

The video opens with the band's name in lights before a show at the Hollywood Bowl as fans wait in the packed venue and the group disembarks from a helicopter in rock star style. Chavez plays "Unreal is Here" at soundcheck and it indeed starts off slow like a power ballad. Cut to shots of the group presenting a big check to its "CHAVEZ KIDS" charity and receiving platinum and gold records from its label while adoring throngs of fans surround them. There are scenes of backstage antics, long bus rides, interviews and photo ops. 

What's so funny about all that? The joke is that as great as Chavez was--and they were great--they never achieved a fraction of the success that those big-name hair metal bands scored in the '80s. And that's okay. Especially since Chavez was in on the joke.

Ride the Fader was their last album. The band never officially split, but they didn't release any new material or play shows from 1999 to 2006, when Matador released the comp Better Days Will Haunt You. It featured a new song and Chavez played a few shows in support of it. In 2017, the band released the EP Cockfighters.

Sweeney ended up becoming a notable session guitarist and featured player. In 2001, he joined Billy Corgan and Slint's David Pajo to form Zwan, he's worked with Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Iggy Pop, Guided By Voices, Probot, Johnny Cash, El-P, Andrew W.K. and Run the Jewels, among others. He also formed The Hard Quartet with Stephen Malkmus, has produced albums for numerous artists and hosts the web series Guitar Moves.

Marshall has directed three movies and worked as second unit director on several of his father's films. Tarver has also worked as a writer and director, including serving as the co-showrunner and executive producer of HBO's Silicon Valley.

Chavez is probably known to about 2% of current music fans, but at least those of us who appreciate them have a glimpse of what might have been with the video for "Unreal is Here."

Day After Day: Swan Dive

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Swan Dive

The late '80s/early '90s were an interesting time for rock music. Sure, there was still a lot of hair metal and bouncy pop, but there was also a burgeoning "alternative rock" scene happening. Initially referred to as "college rock," the '80s saw bands like R.E.M. and U2 emerge as arena acts later in the decade. And indie labels like SST and Sub Pop were providing an outlet for interesting outsider bands that eventually made a big impact: Black Flag, Husker Du, the Minutemen, Mudhoney, Soundgarden (and yeah, Nirvana). 

My musical tastes were evolving as well, especially after I got to college in '85. I had always listened to Boston-area stations like WBCN, WAAF and WFNX, so I was aware of local acts that were making some noise like the Neighborhoods and Gang Green, but I pretty much stuck with major label stuff. I didn't go to club shows until after I graduated in '89, so I definitely missed out on a lot of cool stuff. 

Like Bullet LaVolta. I had heard of them and probably had heard them a few times on the radio, but they never stuck with me until much later. Formed in 1987 by some Harvard radio DJs teaming up with local musicians like Kenny Chambers of Moving Targets and the Artist Formerly Known as Yukki Gipe (now known as Kurt Davis), the band proudly straddled the line between punk and hard rock. Thanks to the interwebz, this 1988 Harvard Crimson interview with band founder/guitarist Clay Tarver is around to give some of his insight into the formation of BV. Also interviewed is Tarver's roommate and band road manager Donal Logue, who went on to be a character actor you've definitely seen in numerous things. 

With Gipe providing serious stage presence and unhinged lead vocals, BV combined the punk sensibility of bands like the Stooges and MC5 with the flashy solos of Jane's Addiction and big riffs of AC/DC.The band signed to legendary local indie label Taang! Records and released an EP and their first album, The Gift, before signing with RCA. They released Swandive on RCA in '91 (on the same day as Nirvana's Nevermind) and played shows with the likes of Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. Despite being grunge adjacent and constantly touring for a few years, LaVolta never caught on and split up in 1992. There are a few good compilations available, including one released several years back called Force Majeure: The RCA Anthology ('90-'92).

Tarver went on to join the math-rock band Chavez and Gipe (now going by his given name) teamed with Peter Prescott of indie gods Mission of Burma to play drums in Kustomized. I never saw BV live, but I later saw Davis fronting The Konks at the Middle East in the mid-2000s. Chambers went solo and continues to play around. 

After Chavez went on hiatus in the late '90s, Tarver went Hollywood as well, becoming a screenwriter and director and a fairly successful one at that. He was the showrunner of the excellent HBO show Silicon Valley and has directed the movies Vacation Friends and Vacation Friends 2. He also wrote a good piece for the New York Times Magazine about his life as a "rock dad." He occasionally plays with Chavez; the band most recently released an EP in 2017.

As for Bullet LaVolta, their lifespan was short, but they are well-loved by those in the know. Even though most of the key band members are still around, there doesn't appear to be a BV reunion happening anytime soon. I often listen to them on the treadmill when I need a kick in the ass. "Swan Dive" starts off with a psychedelic Jane's-esque intro before erupting into a galloping beast of a pissed-off rocker. Guaranteed to give you an additional mph on the ol' dreadmill (and 10 in the car). Long live LaVolta!