Matt Steele’s “Falling Asleep at the Metal Show” is going to be the sleeper summer hit of 2021. The new video for his latest single has the Halifax-based artist doing a perfect Bernie Lean among a crowd full of familiar faces, all eager to see him finish the show.
Filmed by Jeff Miller and Charlie Benoit at the Halifax’s Seahorse Tavern during an isolation-lull, the video isn’t quite a spot-on remake of the 1989 comedy – Steele assures us that he’s not dead, just sleeping. It is, however, a concentrated little microcosm of Halifax’s music scene, all pulled together in a pinch. The video features many Halifax musicians including Burry, Alex MacNeil, members of Black Moor, Kids Losing Sleep, Electric Spoonful, Rudy & the Pacé Family Orchestra, Sundae Girl, and a healthy dose of Horsepower, the official unofficial beer of Halifax’s music scene.
“This was filmed like two days before Lockdown 2.0. So, we were incredibly lucky we could get in there with about thirty-five people or so,” says Steele.
Which all seems pretty appropriate since the song is about Steele’s tour of duty as a sound tech. Despite the long hours, the job would often prove to be a little too cushy for Steele, who says he was regularly struggling to maintain his energy levels even without burning the midnight oil. Late nights in a dark, warm, sound booth would often result in Steele nodding off.
Fortunately for Steele, his friends are prepared to go the extra mile to see him all the way through to shut down, no matter how dead tired he is.
Besides the HorsePower, Steele says he couldn’t make this video without the aid of FACTOR, proving that, through the power of federal funding, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.
“Making good videos is often quite expensive so I am eternally grateful for the financial help to make this, the best music video I have ever released,” says Steele. “Also, credit to Corvette Sunset bandmate Jesse MacLeod and his partner Teri Boates for lots of help with the concept, storyboard and direction along with Jeff Miller and Charlie Benoit who are the G.O.A.T.s of east coast music videos.”
It’s nice to know that, despite a propensity for nodding off in the middle show, Steele still has plenty of friends. Apparently, turning up really is half the battle.