Singled Out: Vera Mesmer (Reveille/Coal Chamber/Julien K/Dead By Sunrise)

"This song came from a short story I'd written about revenge. We all fantasize about it, but most people feel loads of guilt when and if they achieve it. The character in "Back From The Dead" is poisoned by his lover for possession of a sort of treasure. Though he was supposed to die he wakes up in the desert with a fury and comes back to town and finds the lover with another man and the treasure. Needless to say he's mad enough to seek his revenge haha. He happens to be one who feels justice more than guilt and since I think most daydream about it it's a good little story for people to live vicariously through knowing full well that eye for an eye may not be the wisest of mantras."

"The music I felt had to have a pretty linear pulse drum wise for the most part to keep the story moving. The song was originally written on a piano trying to put the words and chords together. In some of it's first versions the song came across too polished and it felt like a constant struggle to balance it out so that it still had a strong sense of music but had a grit to help convey the tale of this jilted guy. It eventually worked out but only after five distinct demo versions and tracking then removing a Dhol drum section, an acoustic guitar in a rubber box and assembling a stomp chorus in the hallway. Trial and error often leads to a both success and exhaustion."

"The video was such a huge undertaking for us writing out the storyline in a visual way and really deciding what each scene should feel like. Oddly enough ultimately the snowy January desert and a Hollywood strip joint won out! The Vicente and Fernando (Cordero) are such a good time to work with and brilliant with their direction. I had loads and loads of fun trying my hand at acting out this character I'd created. Though Nadja will tell you I was actually choking her in her death scene, I still say she liked it and it's all in the name of good art, but mainly that she liked it haha."

Darker? "The next short film music video that we're putting together is going to be a little darker, a little sexier and a little seedier. We've essentially got a built in video for every song on the EP because they're so story heavy. You don't need a concept, just a location and some time to write out the scenes."