My goodness, Philadelphia, we sure are blessed with some multi-talented artists in our community. Jesse Gimbel is one such human. He has released a new animated music video to accompany his new single, “Minds on Fire,” a song about hearing music that “hits your right in the chest”. This is a feeling I think all of us can relate to. That moment when you hear a song for the first time and it just takes over. For a few minutes, that song is your whole experience, in an all consuming way. Jesse tells us “The deeper I dive into exploring new artists, playing on stage, and seeing live music, the more easily permeated I find myself by amazing music.” Which makes sense in context of the video, which is ultimately designed to bring awareness to the all-consuming Spotted Lanternfly invasion that we are currently experiencing in the Northeast.
Jesse describes the video as a fun challenge to himself to see if he could create a cohesive video based on seemingly unrelated topics. If you ask me, animating a video seems like enough of a challenge, so I’m already impressed. Count me doubly impressed after hearing that Jesse increased difficulty by picking these “unrelated topics” with the “random article” button on Wikipedia. Curious to know what some of these random ideas were? Submerged church, bioluminescence, moths, sea snails, illuminated manuscripts and track geometry were just a few examples. As you can see from the finished product, the video follows a runner through various scenes until finally culminating in an invasion of Spotted Lanternflies and a tidal wave washing everything away.
"The deeper I dive into exploring new artists, playing on stage, and seeing live music, the more easily permeated I find myself by amazing music."
Jesse tells the zine that he has a difficult time working on a project if that project doesn’t mean something to him, if it’s not somehow infused with his beliefs. The issue that had been weighing on him most recently is the Spotted Lanternfly invasion and the havoc it has wreaked on Pennsylvania. “This invasive species has been taking over forests all over the state. I’ve personally seen the effects of beautiful areas I love being overtaken, and as they come closer and closer to Philadelphia, it’s important to recognize what’s coming and do what we can to take action” Jesse tells us. The end of the video directs the viewers to more information about what each person can do to help stop the spread of these oddly beautiful bugs. (CLICK HERE FOR THAT INFORMATION).
Jesse and his band have just returned from two recent tours and have a few shows coming up including a show at the Underground in Landsdale on 11/22 and a show a Tannery Run in Ambler on 11/23. “Minds On Fire” is just one single off of their upcoming album set to release sometime in 2020. Check out Jesse’s bandcamp here, his instagram here and his facebook here!!