OK, yes, I screwed up — I should definitely have included the latest No BS! Brass Band video in the Black Friday video roundup I put together a few weeks back. But hey, there’s still several shopping days left til Christmas, so… better late than never? Besides, No BS! Brass are absolute RVA legends, and both their band in general and this clip in particular probably deserve their own article anyway.
So what’s the story with “Bad News”? Well, it’s the latest single from No BS! Brass’s new album, Undying. Unlike a lot of the songs on the album, it does not feature the vocals of recent No BS! recruit Sam Reed. But whether you’ve still got a soft spot for the classic No BS! instrumental jams, or just enjoy the occasional good instrumental groove, this track is still gonna satisfy you.
What’s more, the video clip is an epic in its own right. The film was directed by Hourglass Sessions masterminds Tyler Scheerschmidt and Dillon Douglasson, and features the formidable makeup talents of local horror filmmaker and occasional RVA Mag contributor Monica Moehring. It was filmed at a few different Richmond restaurants, including Hatch RVA and Home Sweet Home, but the plot’s main events take place at 8 1/2 Church Hill, where we find No BS! Brass’s trombone-playing co-founder and general man-about-town, Reggie Pace, in charge of running the restaurant during a lunch rush that quickly turns into a zombie apocalypse.
From the horrors of zombie hands emerging from a bloody sink and the glowing eyes of a Satan statue to the more general restaurant-associated terrors of a $350 check with no tip, this clip is full of thrills and chills — which were probably more appropriate for the Halloween season during which this video was originally released, but are still apt for a holiday season watch party that includes classics like Gremlins, or Silent Night Deadly Night. Make sure you pay attention for the part when Reggie attempts to use a lifeline and call in No BS! drummer and producer extraordinaire Lance Koehler. It’s not the only amusing interlude in this horrific clip, but it’s probably the best.
Watch “Bad News” above, and make sure you get your copy of Undying, the new album from No BS! Brass Band. Pick it up on vinyl from the band’s merch store, grab a digital download from their Bandcamp, or stream it wherever you do such things. No matter the format, it’s a choice you won’t regret.
