Video Premiere: Pushing Veronica “Cancel Cult”
Sofa King Cool and Pushing Veronica have teamed up to premiere the video for “Cancel Cult”
As what passes for modern “Rock ‘n’ Roll” gets more uptight, inoffensive, and corporate, we must look to the youth for some guidance and a whole lot of help! Not even close to the legal drinking age (but musically intoxicating nonetheless), Southern California upstarts Pushing Veronica encourage the sort of uninhibited irreverence that’s worthy of chanting along to in unison. The quartet — Oli Litner [vocals, guitar] Julien Silvas [vocals, guitar] Noah Rozansky [bass] and Brady Ward [drums] craft a catchy and caustic style of their own best described as, “Ballpit Rock.” Think a post-millennial Blink-182 unafraid to take inspiration from memes and modern pop culture and you’re halfway there… “Veronica is the embodiment of everything we observe and question in society” Oli explains. “We poke holes in the ideas that are shoved down our throats by the world around us, and we push our commentary to highlight the absurdity of modern values.” So, jump in the Ballpit with Pushing Veronica — you just might have the time of your life. “This is all about being your authentic self,” the guys agree. “We welcome you into our revolution!”
“Cancel Cult” is about saying “Yes daddy please” to those in power who want to control what you say and think. You better watch what you say, better watch what you do. The Cancel Cult is coming for you.
Sofa King Cool was able to catch up with Pushing Veronica and discuss the new single
Tell us about “Cancel Cult.” What made you come up with the idea for the song?
We wrote this song when we were touring the United States with Like A Storm last year, and the TV show Bojack Horseman was on any time we were in the van. The catalyst for the concept of this song was the 6th season of this show, where the problematic main character finally turns his life around but his behavior in the past is so awful that despite his best efforts, he cannot be forgiven.
After watching this, we started to realize that the bar for unforgivable behavior is being lowered drastically every day. The fact that mistakes you make when you’re young can define your entire life and career is just a little bit stressful.
The last straw came when Facebook blocked our online merch store just after reading our band name. We decided that we needed to put Papa Zucc and his Cancel Cult in their place, and we wrote this song.
Does the song have any personal meaning to you or was it an observation you wanted to get across to your fans?
“Cancel Cult” has personal meaning to us as we were inspired to write it when Facebook flagged and shadowbanned us because of our band name. From nonsensical Instagram fact-checkers to shutting down accounts for no reason, the way they police society is absurd. We wanted to call attention to the ridiculous hierarchy of society with Cancel Cultists and their leader Papa Zucc at the top.
How did you all handle the writing process on this track and has the pandemic affected your song-writing overall this year?
This track is one of our favorites we’ve ever written, and we were lucky enough to have an amazing time recording before the pandemic in January. We’d been jamming on the chorus riff for months, and the lyrics came together when we were driving home from Colorado on tour. During this pandemic, we’ve had social distanced rehearsals and recording sessions at Julien’s house. We’ve been writing nonstop about everything happening around us, and we really hope that Covid ends soon so that we can meet you all in person and share these new songs.
What was the vibe both audio and visual you were going for on this track?
“Cancel Cult” is the culmination of our love of theatrical and over-the-top emo bands like My Chemical Romance, anthemic boppy choruses from bands like The Wrecks, and badass rock bands like Muse. The music video pays homage to one of our favorite films: the iconic Stanley Kubrick dystopian “A Clockwork Orange.” The darkly comedic movie is exciting and entertaining, while also being incredibly disturbing and calling attention to social problems. This is the perfect vibe to accompany “Cancel Cult.”
How do you describe your music to people who never heard it before?
We describe ourselves as a “Ballpit Rock” band. Our music is an amalgamation of our favorite kinds of rock from across time, and it all makes sense when you jump in. When you jump into a ball pit, you are enveloped in a world that encourages you to forget your inhibitions, be as wild as you want, and feel young no matter your age. It’s so easy nowadays to get sucked into the black hole of the internet, so when we play live we try to create an experience in the present that encourages people to get lost in the music.
What was it like trying to shoot a video during this time?
To shoot “Cancel Cult,” we drove across the state with all our gear to shoot in Vegas. SON Studios is operating safely during Covid, and we were able to work with a visionary team even during this awful time.
Where was the video made and who did you work with?
We filmed the “Cancel Cult” music video in Las Vegas with SON Studios. Shane O’Neal and Deed DeBruno of SON Studios connected Cancel Culture with the dystopian world of “A Clockwork Orange” and spearheaded this awesome project. We had such an amazing time working with them.
Finish the sentence: Pushing Veronica’s music is the music created for the __________________________.
Pushing Veronica’s music is the music created for the Ballpit. This is not background music; we want you to jump in and lose yourself.
What is Pushing Veronica looking forward to in 2021?
We are so excited to tour and play shows in 2021!! We will be playing with Like A Storm in Europe, and we can’t wait to take our extravaganza overseas. Virtually we’ve met so many amazing fans this year, and we’re dying to hang out with everyone in person.
Check Out The New Video Below and purchase the song Here
Social Media:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PushingVeronica/
Twitter https://twitter.com/PushingVeronica
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pushingveronica
TikTok (if you have it) https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJ4LQvS7/
