We are pleased to premiere the official music video for Ashleigh Flynn & The Rivers single “Too Close to the Sun.” Styled in a vintage, aviation-themed wardrobe for the live-action shoot, the Riveters include Ashleigh Flynn on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, electric guitarist Nancy Luca – modeling her mother’s original Women’s Army Corps jacket, Carmen Paradise on bass, and Jolie Clausen on drums.
In both name and spirit, this all-female band is a nod to the “Rosie the Riveter” archetype and an homage to the millions of American women who entered this country’s male-dominated workforce during World War II and kicked some serious ass. Flynn’s compelling stories and soulful voice are paired with the guitar style and skill of her bandmate Nancy Luca who grew up playing with Tom Petty and Bo Diddley.
Their new eponymous record hearkens back to early Stones and ‘70s psychedelic country rock, the result feels simultaneously new and necessary. Produced by Flynn’s longtime musical collaborator, Chris Funk of the Decemberists, this highly anticipated LP was recorded and mixed in Portland and has been released in the US to great reviews.
Flynn tells us, “I wrote “Too Close to the Sun” about the character Icarus from Greek mythology – with the notion that while equilibrium may be the state of mind we seek, sometimes the dreamer needs to fly and fall to understand the middle path. For the video, the band, with major creative help from Jonas and Co, opted to have some fun visually interpreting a more contemporary “flying story gone wrong” and incorporate an animation component loosely inspired by cult hero Larry Walters, who, in 1982, tethered 42 military surplus helium-inflated weather balloons to a lawn chair and launched from coastal California with the intent of ascending a few thousand feet above the Los Angeles basin, drinking some beers, drifting east with the prevailing winds to the Mojave Desert, then descending with the aid of an air pistol. Instead, he inadvertently rocketed 16,000 feet into LAX airspace within minutes, astonishing commercial pilots and air traffic control alike. “Lawn Chair Larry,” as he became colloquially known, improbably lived to tell the tale; earning himself front-page news, an FAA fine, an appearance on David Letterman, and a Darwin Awards “At-Risk Survivor Honorable Mention” in the process. The video aims to celebrate the “dreamer” mentality and what is unorthodoxly possible – while also perhaps suggesting “don’t try this at home.”
Production Team
Jonas & Co. of Los Angeles helmed the project, with director Jonas Morganstein and Executive Producer, Hema Mulchandani. The band performance was filmed by cinematographer Josh Reis, styled by Caroline Fahrer, and produced by Cindi McKinney. Animated scenes were illustrated by Christophe Starace and directed by Celia Bullwinkel. Editor Tracy Hof and colorist Marshal Plante rounded out the production crew.