Long Island, New York’s funk-rock collective The Big Happy released their “Happy” music video last month and it is as jovial as the band name and song title suggests. The music video was shot and edited by Bruce Videography Service’s Bruce and Ally and features a chaotic adventure at a local carnival, choreography with people in light-up masks, a training montage to fight some big bad baddies who are trying to steal the band’s happiness away, all cut in with live performance footage from a Big Happy set at The Spotlight at Paramount in Huntington, NY.
Photo: Allysun Rock Photography
“The concept started with a location.” The Big Happy writes to me about the music video, “What’s a fun, accessible location that would make us and anyone watching feel “Happy”? We thought something with lights and attractions- and for everyone who wasn’t in the band to wear a light up “Happy” face mask. So we guerilla filmed at a Carnival in Long Island and created mask choreography with our happy heads.” The carnival scenes are especially my favorite. As a photographer and amateur videographer myself I’m always looking for fun locations to bring out the personality of whichever artist I’m working with. In this case, the animated and vibrant colors and attractions of the carnival perfectly express who The Big Happy is as a collective: fun, boisterous, and ready to take the party with them wherever they go.
“Happy”’s music video concept is certainly a lot more loose compared to their previous music video releases. Long time Big Happy listeners will remember their more story-heavy music videos such as “Father Jim” and “Aimless”. While the story in those music videos were well executed, it’s wonderful to see the approach for “Happy” was more fluid yet still contained a narrative for viewers to follow. At the end of it, I was anxious to see how frontmen Joe Baquet and Austin Morgan would fight the big bad baddy in the happy mask especially after the training montage. One of the final scenes shows the frontmen running away after being captured along with a final “meep meep” roadrunner noise. Whether this was an intentional cliffhanger or not, I eagerly wait to see what will happen to our lovable protagonists in the next The Big Happy music video.
Photo: Allysun Rock Photography
As Long Island gears up for the spring and summer months, so does The Big Happy ! They have a handful of shows lined up for the 2023 year on Long Island and beyond along with a new music video or two. To keep up to date with them, be sure to follow them on their social medias.