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The latest video from MIKE EDISON & GUADALUPE PLATA is an epic telling of the story of John Henry, the classic American tale of Man vs. Machine, and a metaphor for modern times and the perils of technology. John Henry, the steel driving man, wins the classic battle of man vs machine, but he dies doing it. Never to be silenced, his hammer rings out in the sky forever. Mike Edison and Guadaupe Plata have their feet planted in a storied past of American roots music, blues, and with a sound that is decidedly modern, dripping with fuzz, twang, and tremelo, and in this case, a horn section that would have fit right in with Funhouse-era Stooges or John Coltrane’s Africa Brass. The video imagery sails breathlessly from traditional to psychedelic. Directed and Produced by Mike Edison, who has produced numerous videos for his books and music, John Henry features 50 new paintings by Los Angeles-based artist Peter Landau. Edison has a long history with Peter – they met while they were at art school in New York in the early 1980s, playing in each other’s punk rock bands and generally making a mess. Peter is the consummate New Yorker – he appeared in the film Midnight Cowboy when he was six years old. Later he was the first drummer New York punk horror band White Zombie, and could be seen go-go dancing in the 1980s with storied shock rockers the Lunachicks. More recently he has created a popular series of obituary paintings, hundreds of one-a-day watercolors, which inspired Edison invite him to collaborate on this retelling of a song that goes back as far as the American Civil War, and has been interpreted by Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte, Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, and countless others. The spectacular editing was handled by long-time Edison collaborator B.A Miale who directed two other videos for the ME & GP project. She is a highly regarded light-artist, video manipulator, and visual magician who has done live light shows for frequent Edison collaborator Jon Spencer, as well as for artists as diverse as Dick Dale, the Black Lips, and the Oh Sees, not to mention runway shows during New York’s fashion week, circus acts, and more. JOHN HENRY by Mike Edison and Guadalupe Plata is more than a music video — at five plus minutes it is a lyric narrative film, woven with the dark fabric of American myth. Paintings by Peter Landau Edited by B.A Miale Directed and Produced by Mike Edison
