Austin, Texas-based artist JM Stevens finds hope in the hard times with the Heartland rock-infused "Anyway," from his forthcoming album Invisible Lines (out on Nov. 8).
Videos by Wide Open Country
Stevens says "Anyway" was written after meeting someone who helped bring a light to a dark period in his life.
"I wrote this one a little while back when I was in a bit of a dark spell if you will and things were feeling pretty bleak," Stevens tells Wide Open Country. "You know, the kind of depression where you just can't get up and get moving and even the most simple everyday things feel like a huge burden to get done. It was the last thing on my mind and I didn't really have my antennas up for it, but I met someone that let a little light through the blinds. So I guess in some ways it's a song about getting lucky. Happens sometimes I guess. When I was a kid back in Mississippi and things were bad at home I'd get in the car, a hand-me-down 70s Ford LTD from my granddad to be exact, and drive around on backroads for hours just to try and find some relief from the turmoil. I just wanted to stay on gravel roads and get lost and feel free of it all. I had to disconnect to connect with myself, and I guess I got that same feeling meeting someone now that helped pull me out of a bad place."
The video, created by Kurt Gardella, was made from old Super 8 films.
"As for the video, I sent the song to Kurt Gardella, this filmmaker fellow in Germany whose work I dig, and asked him to come up with something," Stevens says. "He does stuff with old super 8 film and such and I love the look of that. I don't know, it looks like how I see things in my head. He found some old film he had shot in the 80s and developed it. It was of him and some friends driving around in a neighborhood in New Jersey that he said is pretty much gone and redeveloped now. For some reason that resonated with me. Maybe because it reminded me of how all those gravel roads are paved now. I liked the feeling it added to the song as I was just looking for a simple visual to go along with the music."
Watch the video for "Anyway" below.
For more information on JM Stevens, visit his official website.
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