VIDEO PREMIERE Family Worship Center, "Total Monet"
An assembled ensemble in the sacred service of the sovereign Family Worship Center; press photo courtesy of Sequoia Woods.
Three years ago we introduced you to the Portland, Oregon phenomenon Family Worship Center with their debut album Kicked Out of the Garden, a family band of wide-eyed vision seekers looking for that elusive signal from the proverbial spirit in the skies. Riding high on the glow of their recent follow-up LP Only Visiting, Andy Krissberg along with an ever growing choir and congregation of merry pranksters presents the video for “Total Monet”. Directed by Riley Eyring, the performance visuals features the full Family consisting of Andy with Marley Headrick, Chris Lamb, Andrew Pettersson, Jack Havrilla, Tim Sweeney, Jay Nesmith, Claire Dreamer, and Chloe Seed reflecting on the memories that seem alright in hindsight, prior to further introspection.
“Total Monet” waxes poetic about the romanticism that can take on a new life as time drifts further away from the situations and ill-fated bonds that were far from ideal. The Family Worship team muses on those idyllic inklings that are obfuscations of the harsh realities of what was really never meant to be—no matter what revisions are drawn over the fading picture books that line the interior of the mind. The rose-tinted lenses and 20/20 vision is upended for the things that can never ever happen again, the unfortunate entanglements that are best kept in the past for the sake of all involved.
Family Worship Center sings and swings with the surrender of letting go, fighting the feeling of wanting to return to the folks that are not good for us, the former states in our lives that no longer serve us, despite the urge to want to make everything right, and find that narcissistic and/or obsessive want of closure that has already long since transpired. “Total Monet” also ponders the complexities of how we humanly often want to see the best in people, the way in which our consciousness can retroactively rationalize the rocky wreckages wrought by others before, and how maybe people have changed, pining for what still could be. Despite illusions of a beauty that never was, “Monet” is a motion to move on, carry forward with our lives, without falling into the same pratfalls that we already know better than to rehash, revisit, relive, revive, and return without any substantial proof of merit, nor constructive cause.
The video presents members of the group shown in different colorful frames like a vintage televised presentation of the gang performing on a hyper-stylized variety show program. Members of Family Worship Center are seen individually, or playing in unison, in a variety of different visual layouts with various background colors, effects, and so forth; thanks to the almighty power of the green screen. Like a 70s throwback to favorite band appearances on Beat-Club, Old Grey Whistle Test, The Midnight Special, etcetera: the Family leans into their creative vibes of solidarity by letting their lights shine as an amalgamation of talents that glow like electric fireflies to ignite the warm summer skies.
Only Visiting delivers a classic radio spin on contemporary compositions, embodying the vibrance and exuberance like a road trip to anywhere, or nowhere at all. "Malibu by Midnight" rides with the feeling of hitting the Pacific Coast Highway before the clock strikes the witching hour, preaching the gospel through through the cannabinoid air-conditioned vents of "Garden Grow", before bringing the righteous and boisterous energy of "Big Head".
"Night Ride" parts one and two take you beyond the gates of those celestial palaces of the great beyond, bursting with the spice of that Pentecostal panache on "Strange", to the psychotropic freak-out funk movements of "Buggin' Out" parts one and two, before the collective sends up their sermons to the heights of the mountain tops on "FOY" parts one and two, where together they orchestrate an ecstatic experience that is hoisted skyward to the heavenly heights. Family Worship Center's Only Visiting is for the casually curious wanderer merely wondering what's the buzz, what's a-happening within the confines of the big tent tabernacle that offers transcendence beyond the contained confinement of earthly knowledge — and beyond the precipice of mere human understanding.
Andy from Family Worship Center provided a view to the making of the album Only Visiting, insights on the track “Total Monet”, and more:
When we first started working on the album concept, I really wanted to stray from our past records, where I handled lead vocals on everything. One of the things that makes our live shows special is that no one is the star, and I felt the albums should finally reflect that. By this point, Marley — along with Chloe and Claire — were fully part of the band, and I wanted to showcase that powerhouse by having them take the lead on a few songs.
Praise be —feeling the spirit with Family Worship Center; photographed by Sequoia Woods.
I had written the Do I still live in your mind bit and built the song around it. I showed Marley the skeleton of the song, and asked her to help me finish it. I think somewhere between working out at the gym and watching Clueless on repeat, she came up with most of the lyrics and melodies. "Total Monet' is a Clueless reference: She's a full-on Monet. It's like a painting, see? From far away, it's okay, but up close, it's a big old mess. This is the first song where we wrote in this manner, and I think it really worked out well—it's nice to be able to fully trust one another while creating.
The production on this track was really fun. It went through around five or so iterations — with four different folks taking a crack at the arrangements. I took bits and pieces from everything to fit it all together. I think ultimately it's one of my favorite songs on the album. We ended up doing a green screen video for it with our friend Riley. We had some pretty funny giant drumsticks in there, but this tune obviously has no place for humor, so maybe they'll resurface one day in a blooper reel.
Family Worship Center’s second album Only Visiting is available now via Corporat Records.