Bob Sumner – “Motel Room”
Americana Highways is hosting this video premiere of Bob Sumner’s song “Motel Room” from his forthcoming album Some Place To Rest Easy, which will officially be released on Sept. 6 via Fluff & Gravy Records. The album was produced and mixed by Erik P.H. Neilson (with one song mixed by Mark Howard). String arrangements on the album are by Trent Freeman and Erik P.H. Nielsen. Some Place to Rest Easy was mastered by Gavin Larson at Larson Mastering.
“Motel Room” is Bob Sumner on vocals; Etienne Tremblay on lead guitar and backing vocals; Erik
Nielsen on bass, mouth harp, and backing vocals; Leon Power on drums, congas, and acoustic guitar; Trent Freeman on fiddle; Paul Rigby on telecaster; and Scott Smith on dobro.
The video stars Bob Sumner, Matthew Riebel, and Logan Wolff. It was directed, edited and photographed by Dana Bontempo; styled and choreographed by Mica Kayde; with camera assist/ grip LX swing Zara Huntley, and with special thanks to Tilda & Endo.
This video portrays three drinking buddies having fun & dancing outside a motel, after rolling down the country roads showcasing a time when partying was still fun. This takes place against the backdrop of this more serious song about what happens when the drinking takes hold of you and you’re doing it all alone in a self destructive pattern. Bob Sumner’s genuine and weighty songwriting touches on something we can all relate to – looking back at a time in our lives, to what was once such unbridled fun, wondering if we’ll ever get it back again. He offers this up for thought in this swingy sounding, old timey-influenced country song: “you’re drinking alone and it’s 4 in the morning.”
“Motel Room” is a song written about my friendship with one of my oldest and dearest friends who lost a battle with alcoholism. The song was written while he was still with us. It is an ode to our glory days when the drinking was still fun; when life was an adventure. We were indestructible and on top of the world. It is also about the shift that took place which found my friend secluding for days, sometimes weeks in his apartment, his van, or motel rooms, drinking alone to obliterate the depression and anxiety life seemed to heap on him.When thinking about the kind of video we wanted to make for Motel Room, there were a multitude of directions we could have taken. I knew pretty well from the start I didn’t want a soppy mini-film drama telling the story for rote. Just as we decided to do with the production of the song, we wanted the treatment to be uplifting and fun. We wanted the viewer to experience joy. – Bob Sumner
You can save the album here: https://orcd.co/mb7p9vb
