Though one can never be sure when they remain in the shadow of something’s presence, I feel, over the last 48 hours we have made another step in the right direction. As we await the return of our good brother Craig, who is due to arrive in Britain next week, Bob, Tom, the Mrs and myself have been willing prisoners inside The Unawarehouse. Our intention was clear from the outset – make a video that is suitable for ‘public consumption’ (our first attempt was something of an drunken experiment).

Over the last few months we have been approached by a handful of reputable ‘production companies’ who have shown an interest in the making of such a video. However, like the record companies, the potential managements, pluggers and booking agents, we have simply overwhelmed them, perhaps seeming skittish, irrational and untamed, and so quickly and quietly each one has retreated to the safety of their previous sitting position. It has seemed more and more probable that we are going to have to bring our beastly reality to the world; to you, and to them, without any support, except the support we give each other.  It baffles me quite honestly, and in the past has caused a shower of depression to reign over me, for why should a reputation for being ‘uncompromising’ and ‘eccentric’ ever be detrimental to an artists success. Well, apparently this is true of our present, past and probable future. However, we are no longer suffering by their decisions and dismissals, because in fact, it has bound us together more tightly than any tour, any instance before, and so you will see, the beginnings of our Crooked Family has been born from their unwillingness to take a chance on us.

I borrowed the best camcorder I could get my hands on, seven mega pixels, hardly blue ray, but still, the best we could get, and set about making a video for ‘Lest We Connect’. Tom had the initial idea, and I immediately saw its potential, we all did. We needed something simple, straightforward, but also striking, and obviously representative of us as a band, as individuals, that would accompany the song, rather than distract. Thursday night we filmed the whole thing on Toms mobile phone, story-boarding it, making sure it actually was going to work, because often the ‘verbal’ doesn’t transcend to the ‘actual’ as well as one might initially expect. At around 4am we were satisfied, and thoroughly spent. We slept in late and rose around midday. Clearing the room, we made the final preparations. Two 300 watt light bulbs from Rochester Cameras, a USB cable from Maplins, and a few 13 watt fuses (I still have no idea what these were used for). I painted up the drumhead, and whilst Mrs and Bob watered themselves at the Brittannia, Tom and I finalised the positioning of both lights and our equipment. Mrs’s latest composition, the stark and stirring ‘Waiting For The Post Man’ proved the perfect backdrop. When Bob and Mrs returned, we boarded up the windows and doors with everything we had to hand, until no shred of natural light dared enter the room. Before the final seal was taped over, we all spent a moment by the river, throwing rusty nails at a rusty pole poking out from the silt mud-flaps of the river Medway, enjoying the last of the days light, because our foreseeable future was to be spent locked away in the coffin-like camp that was The Unawarehouse.

The saying ‘its all in the preparation’ is one I will definitely adhere to in the future, because the footage was complete, albeit a few minor hiccups, in just under two hours. We edited until around 1am, and with each of our concentrations exhausted we then bedded down in our bags. The next morning we finished up the last few frames, tore down the set and tasted daylight. Personally I think we have done the song justice, and ourselves too, even though our approach has been typically skittish and irrational.

Lo-fi and scrappy, but more concentrated and thoughtful than the previous videos posted up so far, it should be with you in week or two, and then you can make your own judgment. If the ‘powers that be’ give the green light, apparently it may even be featured on NME TV, though I won’t hold my breath, and nor should you.

With love, Lupen Crook / The Crooked Family