BMN Exclusive: Mike Chick “Call Up The Doctor” Video Premier & Interview

In September / October 2020, Mike Chick, Richie Brown, Biff Swenson and Dana Yurcisin made a video for Mike’s song “Call Up The Doctor”, which was released on 10/23/20 via Mint 400 Records on all streaming platforms. Here are some thoughts they had about the process of making the video.  

Mike Chick: I wanted to make a video for the single “Call Up The Doctor” I was releasing because I feel like these days having some kind of visual representation of a song is just as important as releasing the song itself.  

I sat in my car in a big box store parking lot one afternoon and called Richie to see if he would be interested in playing a nurse in a music video and he said, “Of course, should I bring my smoke machine?” I then called Dana and asked him if he would be on board to edit and he said, “Good possibility for that”. Later that day, I texted Biff to ask if he would want to help film the video and he said, “For sure”. I had assembled a great team of people to work with. I had put my ideas into the universe and now needed to actually make it happen.  

I wanted to make this as easy a process as possible for all parties involved, because everyone has busy lives and is working on a myriad of things at all times. We agreed to film the video on a Sunday afternoon at Mike’s house. It was a beautiful day. 

Biff Swenson: It’s always fun to get inside of Mike’s head and hear his thought processes while he creates.  

Richie Brown: Biff shot the entire video on a cellphone with no other camera gear. He was able to make something really great with almost no frills. 

Mike Chick: Richie did actually bring over a smoke machine. We fogged out half of the block.  

Richie Brown: We filmed over the course of a single day, it was one of the easiest video shoots I have ever been a part of. Mike and Biff are such easy people to get along with and Mike's dog insisted on running around in circles the entire time to let us know who was actually in charge.  

Mike Chick: My dog is still upset he didn’t get asked to be in the video.  

Richie Brown: Some of Mike’s neighbors were sound checking for some kind of back yard funk concert so we filmed to the soundtrack of guitar noodling and slap bass for a significant portion of the day.

Mike Chick: That funk got me pumped up for the exercise scenes.  

Richie Brown: Initially I wanted to have a scene where Mike was covered head to toe in some kind of green ointment, but we didn't have that kind of green ointment budget.  

Mike Chick: The green ointment budget was actually spent on pizza and seltzer for the day.    

Biff Swenson: This music video was an absolute blast to shoot! Richie was perfect for the nurse role, and the concept was a nice change of pace for the Yawn Mower camp. It was cool to explore and be productive with Mike in a completely new way. I’m normally standing next to him, being directed along with him - so being able to lead the creative process from behind the camera was a welcomed change of pace for our creative partnership.  

Mike Chick: My original idea was for Biff to just film the video, but he effortlessly took on the job of director and far exceeded any kind of expectation I had of his role in the making of this video. It would not be what it is without him. Biff, Dana and Richie have a ton of experience with their craft. I respect the knowledge and vision they have and it was nice for me to just sit back and let them do their thing. I always learn a lot when around these guys.  

Dana Yurcisin: Biff's compositions and the physical comedy hit me with a certain vibe right away and I just wanted to follow that energy; speeding shots up, rhythmically cutting, slow zooming. It was all about just exaggerating and enhancing what was already there. 

Mike Chick: Dana edited the video for my “Where Did You Go?” single, in which I gave him a bunch of footage from a Polaroid Cube camera and he turned it into a lo-fi, high energy piece of art. He is my favorite editor.  

Biff Swenson: Dana is the yin to my yang, so it was an extremely smooth process having him edit my footage. He immediately got the tone and the pacing in my head without much discussion whatsoever. It’s also awesome to bear witness to how Mike thinks about his art. He has an amazing knack for describing some normally ordinary everyday experiences in a beautifully poetic way. 

Mike Chick: Watching Biff and Dana riff back and forth when they work is like nothing else I have seen. I played Super Mario Bros. while they were editing and just said “if you guys need me, I’ll be over here”. 

Biff Swenson: I can’t wait to do it all over again! 

Mike Chick: I can’t explain how excited I am with how this video came out. From sitting in a parking lot, making out of nowhere phone calls to people I admired and hoped would work on this project, to actually completing an awesome visual representation of the song, I couldn’t be happier.  

I brought in a skeleton, Biff filled it with organs, veins and blood, Richie covered it with skin and hair and Dana popped in two eyeballs and turned it on. Our creation is now available for everyone to see. Look out for all the previous work we have done as well and thank you for watching.  

Mike Chick (solo, Yawn Mower, Modern Animals), Biff Swenson (Grasser, Yawn Mower, Earth Telephone), Dana Yurcisin (solo, Grasser), Richie Brown (solo, Brick + Mortar)

Spotify

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