Premiere: Alexa Van & The Black Outs - "Black Doubt"
by JAMES A. DURAN
Music Video for Black Doubt
We talked with LA based rock band Alexa Van & The Black Outs about bad luck, cigarettes, MySpace, and the latest music video for their track Black Doubt - premiering exclusively on BE IN A BAND, OR DIE.
So, what’s your go-to pack of smokes?
I just quit! Before that it was American Spirit Blue pack. Embarrassed to admit I had a Juul too, but I threw it out the window in a moment of clarity
What music are you currently obsessing over?
Tbh - I made the most horrific throwback emo/ MySpace playlist recently and I can’t stop listening to it. I stayed up till 4am after work one night making it. It’s 10 hours long. I went nuts. So many of my friends have made fun of me for it but then later low key asked me to send it to them HAHA. There’s nothing like a little nostalgia to remind you why you moved away from home.
What did you do today?
Woke up, then immediately went back to sleep. I am fucking exhausted. No days off.
Describe Alexa Van & The Black Outs in a word or two
Weird, uncomfortable, intriguing af.
In the video for ‘Black Doubt’, you seem to encounter a series of back-to-back bag-over-your-head punch-in-the-face situations. Was there an initial plan for the theme of the video?
I was telling my band a story about my first experience singing in public, and how awful it was, and my drummer Jeff said, “that would be a cool music video.” So we made it into a music video.
The T-Shirt you’re wearing throughout the video is similar to the homemade ones you were selling during your recent gig at The Factory DTLA (which I believe you told the crowd you made on the ride over to the venue, we love that) is DIY an important aspect of this project?
Absolutely. DIY and collaboration with other artists is now we’ve managed to do everything thus far. We record in my guitar player Joshua’s bedroom. We rehearse in my bass player Chris’s living room. We shot the Black Doubt music video inside a bar I work at. We are a rock and roll band, I’d rather be raw and authentic than perfectly manufactured.
Gotta know, did you meet your band members at a bar while playing a solo show?
I met Joshua (guitar) at a bar we worked at together in Silverlake. I also met Chris (bass) at a different bar I bartend at. He was (is haha) a regular there and one day he said, “Hey I had no idea you were a singer! Let me know if you ever need someone to play in your band.” Which worked out perfectly because I had booked a show for 3 weeks out with my then non-existent band. I’d met Jeff (drums) years prior when I was in his music video for The Shrine. At the time I had no idea I was forming a band that would continue to play together after that one show.
