Pulling up to the house in Tamarac, every square foot of the lawn had been utilized for parking. The location for the Web Three video shoot was the definition of a suburban nightmare. Past the walkway with a ripped screen in its exterior window, the front door of decaying wood in need of a fresh coat of paint concealed the chaotic hustle that was playing out on the other side. Whatever the neighbors might have imagined was going on most likely didn’t even come close.
The living room straight ahead was littered with balloons, horror movie posters, and a children’s rocking horse. In a room beyond that a white casket standing upright demanded attention. In the kitchen to the right, a group of people were set up at a table with four laptop computers leaching off a nearby unsecured wireless network. The generally low chatter of female conversation was unassuming for the most part as people stirred about. Working at his computer where he was designing a South Park character from an online design generator Web site, Web Three guitarist Kris Gravez looked up to facetiously interject “Do you like fish sticks?”
In a back bedroom that had one wall completely tagged with graffiti and another painted pink with song lyrics scrawled in black, a five-man crew was hard at work setting up a shot. While a camera man on the ground was hand holding a Panasonic DV Cam, a grip adjusted an umbrella light while he was being directed by Andrew Colton, who was functioning as the video producer. From a small contiguous closet with clothing on hangers draped above her the video director, Cassandra Baihan, analyzed the lighting through a small monitor and gave feedback.
The video being shot for the song “No One Knows”, from the Web Three album Paindemoniam, takes aim at the fabricated lifestyles that most hip-hop artists portray.
Web Three front man Web explains: “A lot of music that’s coming out of Miami it’s not really representing what life’s about. No one that’s on the level that I’m on really has a lot of money. It’s funny that the majority of the world actually believes that life’s a sing-along about throwing money away at a strip club or something of that nature. That’s not how it really is.”
The low-brow video concept developed by Troy Longhurst and Web ironically portrays the rock star lifestyle. The story line is simple. Web is in bed with woman piled around him as if they passed out there at the end of a long night of partying. Web wakes up the rest of the band in the morning and everyone starts partying again.
Only an hour later the house had become exceedingly crowded as small groups of people showed up to be extras. Girls half-dressed in fetish clothing maneuvered between the house’s two bathrooms to take turns in front of mirrors. Average urban looking local rap artists stood side by side with highly effeminate males decked out in diva styled vinyl outfits.
“We sent out a lot of text messages as an open invitation with no discrimination. We take shemales and gays. You know, hang out with your w–g out. I just came through with a lot of beer and lunchmeat and ya’ll came through and fucked my crib up,” Web exclaimed with laughter while stroking his grown out goatee with one hand, fist clinched around a Heineken bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag with the other.
Kris Gravez added: “We put a little bit of everything out there to make sure we grab people into different genres. Our type of music attracts every kind of person.”
It was obvious that what was occurring was bigger than just a video shoot. A community of performers rallied around each other forming an artist contingency. It was inspiring to see this collaboration as it showed potential for a burgeoning scene — the type of scene that has been missing in South Florida since it was ruled by bands like The Groovenics, Darwin’s Waiting Room, Nonpoint, Endo and Al’s Not Well.
Web Three pulls from the same formula that made all those bands so memorable. They play music that is infectious and are conscious that concept and appearance are just as important in terms of the full package. The major advantage Web Three has over their predecessors is that digital distribution through social media websites makes it far easier for them to spread their art.
The core of the band starts with Web, a charismatic 20-something rapper that is a self-described one-man mosh pit of style and a hip-hop fiend. He blends a natural gift for verse with a “fuck it” attitude making him the MC that stands out in a field of regurgitating, one-offs. Equally important is the supporting cast around him.
The incessantly joking Dita Von Bloom functions as the band’s hype man and second vocalist. Kris Gravez, the band’s guitarist, brings live instrumentation to the mostly programmed music and has a big hand in the music’s production. Demonic theatrics are embodied by Ratt. The soft-spoken DJ Needlez runs the sequencing and turntables during the live show.
The all-day affair, though planned out well in advance, didn’t go according to plan. By mid-day the shot list was getting cut down and priorities were being set as the filming had fallen behind schedule. Scenes of people getting dressed were cut to free up time for important party and performance scenes. Needing additional footage production was extended into the next day as a bathroom scene was added — a scene that after everything has been said and done stands out as the most entertaining sequence of the final cut.
Two weeks after the video shoot, 3rd Day Productions has completed the final editing and the high definition video has been uploaded to the band’s YouTube account. The video features a series of cutting-edge technical production tricks accomplished by stop-start cut sequencing and speed variation. The end result exemplifies the synergy between Web Three and all their accomplices.
Information on Web Three can be found at www.myspace.com/webthreemusic. The band is next scheduled to perform at Blazed Beauty’s Freaks, Beats & Rock N Roll!!! on June 27 at Churchill’s Pub in Miami.
