LOTUS CRUSH
MUSIC VIDEO RELEASE FOR NEW SINGLE
“ALL THE SAME”
DIRECTED BY C. THOMAS HOWELL
BILLBOARD.COM PREMIERE UP NOW
“In our video…you see that there is still love and hope and that’s what our story is about. There will be those that have a hard time with it. It’s not filled with pretty people and it’s not fake. It’s real. I’m very proud of the video. I love the song. I love the images that we caught. I love how it came together and I love the story that we tell.”
–Video director C. Thomas Howell on the “All The Same” music video
The latest project from C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders, E.T., Red Dawn) finds the acclaimed actor in an unfamiliar place, behind the camera rather than in front of it. Howell teamed up with alternative rock band LOTUS CRUSH to direct his first-ever music video for the band’s new single “All The Same.” Watch the moving piece, which Billboard.com first publicly unveiled, now here.
The video, shot in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row district, shines a light on the unifying themes that run through all people, no matter their status in society. It profiles homeless people and shares their stories, struggles, strengths and optimism.
Lead singer Terry McDermott shared his inspiration for the song’s message with Billboard.com, “We are very much all the same but for a couple of left turns in life.” When writing the lyrics, he imagined “somebody, perhaps on a bus or a stranger on the subway, breaking down next to you and depending where you are in the world, you are either going to care or not care.” Howell, who had established a friendship with the band, was driven to pair a poignant visual that directly connects the lyrics to the reality.
“There are people I have met that are servicemen, firemen, policemen–people that are really struggling to get a hand up that don’t have family, or lost everything in a fire or battling an illness,” Howell shares. “I met a guy who lost his job, lost his home, lost his wife and his kids and he is now struggling to live on the street while battling a custody case at the same time and he is a guy that served in the Marines.” Read the full interview here.
“All The Same” is off LOTUS CRUSH‘s latest album Rabbit Hole out now on CaviGold Records. The album was recorded at the iconic Robert Lang Studios in Washington with producer Todd Burman and first premiered on Yahoo! Music/RollingStone.com before its official release April 14, 2015. Entertainment Weekly premiered the music video for the album’s first single “Hearts & Minds” which starred C. Thomas Howell and dubbed it a “surprisingly intense military mini-drama.” (1/27). Check out the video now here.
Howell and LOTUS CRUSH are also working together to raise awareness and donations for the charity foundation This Time Tomorrow; Howell sits on the organization’s board.Using music and the arts to inspire hope, This Time Tomorrow provides financial support to individual families and organizations focused on cancer research, education or advocacy. Each year, an artist is selected to re-record a version of their theme song, and this year’s featured artist is LOTUS CRUSH. The song will premiere November 21 at their annual gala in Milwaukee. In addition, all proceeds raised from the song’s sales go directly to benefit families in need.
LOTUS CRUSH began to form in 2006 when Scotland-born rock singer, songwriter, musician Terry McDermott was fronting the band Driveblind, who were touring alongside multi-platinum alternative rockers Candlebox. Terry formed a close friendship with Candlebox guitarist Peter Klett and the two began making music together. The result was 2011’s full-length Half Light Morning. Following that release, Klett returned to his Candlebox duties while McDermott competed on season 3 of NBC’s hit singing competition “The Voice,” where he came in second. In 2014, the opportunity arose to get LOTUS CRUSH back on the road, and they did just that by touring in the UK, Europe and across the US. The band lineup is now complete with dedicated rhythm guitarist/vocalist Island Styles, bass guitarist Mark Mattrey and drummer Ehssan Karimi who are all ready to crush it worldwide in 2016.
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