September 22, 2009 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) - One of the
great things about living on the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast is having
easy access to the vast amount of musical talent in the area. This
past June was no exception. What started as a dream for Curtis and Chris Simmons in the West Virginia Mountains
has brought these high-energy identical twins to Orange Beach.
The Simmons Brothers, now living in Nashville, came to the Gulf Coast to shoot their
first music video for the title
track of their new album, Party Like a Rock Star.
Simmons Brothers at the Flora-Bama for
the video
shoot of their new song Party Like a Rock Star.
They had contemplated shooting the music video in Nashville but decided to shoot
it here because of the
enthusiastic music-loving crowds on the Gulf Coast. “The crowds you get at the Flora-Bama are, bar none, the best crowds in the southeast”, says
Robin Roberts, the Simmons Brothers' manager. Roberts, who lives in Gulf Shores, heard the Simmons Brothers for
the first time this past April as they were warming up for a gig at the
Flora-Bama. As he and Joe Gilchrist approached the “Band House”, they thought a CD was playing.
"We were hearing harmonies like none that I had never heard around here,"
says Roberts. Once inside they discovered that the harmonies were
coming from the Simmons Brothers singing live.
At the end of their song, Roberts jokingly volunteered to be the boys'
manager. Less than three months later, arrangements were in place for the Brothers to come to Orange Beach to shoot their
music video.
They spent eleven days on the Gulf Coast preparing
for and shooting the video. The actual shoot took four days
to complete. Jarboe with Bell-Jarboe Films, a Nashville
company, was hired to direct the video and Harrison Holmes, also of
Nashville was hired to do the editing. The crew started Wednesday evening with a shoot on the balcony of a
Penthouse Suite at Turquoise Place Condominiums. Larry & Judy Wireman
donated the luxury condo for the shoot. Thursday, it was off to the
Pensacola Airport. Friday, they taped in front of a full-house at the
Flora-Bama. The final shoot took place on Saturday at Cobalt's Restaurant on the
patio. Judging by the overwhelming response from the crowds, the Simmons Brothers have
at least one hit from their album scheduled for release in late
October. The
single, Party Like a Rock Star, written by the Brothers, Randy
Kemp and Chad Lee and co-produced with Ric Web, may be the first of several hits
to come from the October album release.
Popular mixing and recording engineer
Billy Decker, who's worked on Kenny Chesney's albums and others, told
the Brothers after hearing their tracks "This isn't just an
album, it's a greatest hits album".
Two and a half months later the video is complete. It has been
submitted for consideration to Country Music Television (CMT) and so
far it's been published on YouTube, Yallwire, and now The Orange Beach
Community Website. Click the play button below and enjoy... By the way, like so many other Nashville based
singers/songwriters, the Simmons Brothers have made Orange Beach their
home away from home. If you're lucky, you might catch them at one of Janna's
Market & Deli Tuesday Open Mic Nights.
Extra: A behind the scenes look at the taping
of the Party Like A Rock Star video. The videos below were taped using
the iPhone so the audio quality is not very good. The short clips
provide a small peek into the Simmons Brothers week in Orange Beach.
At Turquoise Place Condominiums...
At Janna's Market & Deli during Tuesday's Open Mic Night...
At Cobalt's Restaurant in Orange Beach...
Greg Perkins, keyboard and fiddle player for the Simmons Brothers, sits
in with the Sam Glass Band at Cobalt's Restaurant...
Party Like A Rock Star in Orange Beach
