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Exclusive video premiere: "It's Gone On Too Long" by Blue Skies For Black Hearts

Blue Skies For Black Hearts
3 June 2014

“It’s Gone On Too Long” was inspired by the songwriting of Smokey Robinson,” says Blue Skies bandleader Pat Kearns, on the debut single from the Portland, Oregon-based band’s new, self-titled album. “It was written around the idea of having call and response vocals between the lead and backups. The video was born out of an idea that Kevin Hanzlik, the director, had about showing the day to day struggles of being in a band — getting your gear to a show, having an unenthusiastic audience, struggles between band members.

“Kevin’s story was similar in some ways to a short story I had written a year or two earlier,” Kearns continues. “I showed Kevin my short story about a group of musicians working a day job as painters. They paint a house for a musician who has had some success but they end up not finishing the painting because of being distracted by the instruments in the house. Eventually, the painters take on the successful musician’s instruments. They flourish while the home owner’s creativity and abilities whither. In my story, once the painters are successful, another musician comes along and plays the instruments they acquired, stealing their success. Kevin combined both of our ideas into the video for “It’s Gone On Too Long”. Blue Skies engineer, Mark Brachmann, plays the record producer. Chip Mabry, esteemed documentary producer, plays the record exec. And Peter Hughes, guitarist for Sons of Huns, plays the OSPIRG volunteer who steals the musical talent in the end from The Painters.”

Long story for a short song! Whatever, we’re suckers for sunny guitar-pop like this. Hope you enjoy this video as much as we did. And do feel free to share the Soundcloud widget below.