“Breakaway and Burn” - Dylan Connor
Posted on: March 26, 2009
Posted in: All Videos, Dylan Connor, Featured, Music Videos
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Connecticut’s Dylan Connor released his indie pop album Breakaway Republic this January and along with it posted a music video on YouTube for the album’s first track “Breakaway and Burn.” I’ve known “dyl” since were we were kids – We used to play Little League together – So, I asked him to answer some question about the music video via e-mail. He graciously obliged:
Jonathan Healey: Did the idea to create the music video occur before or after you attended Burning Man?
Dylan Connor: I attended Burning Man in 2003 and 2004. The idea for the video came this year when I realized that the album had a lot to with that experience and that my buddy Miles Steuding had filmed a lot of our time out there.
Jonathan Healey: Your album Breakaway Republic is highly influenced by your documented trip to Burning Man. What sort of revelations did you have at Burning Man and how are some of them represented throughout the album?
Dylan Connor: A song like “Stunning Insights” is a good example of the experience – Burning Man is a place for breakthroughs because the rules of normal society and human interaction do not exist. When you realize that the “real world” is maybe not so real, you can either get high on it or have a break down - I did both. The song “Breakaway and Burn” is a tribute to the event, co-written with Dod Andrew of M.Headphone… “home seen in everyone’s eyes/ in the temples that rise beyond the man” - I truly felt like I was family with each stranger that I came across out there…or maybe is was just the MDMA.
Jonathan Healey: The video looks as though it was shot on black and white Super8. Is this correct? If so, how was it working with that medium in the Nevada desert? How long did you wait to process the film? Were you pleased with the what was shot?
Dylan Connor: My buddy Miles is always documenting on old reel to reel tape recorders or Super8 video cameras. I did not shoot the footage. Because Miles is always shooting any where he goes, this footage is totally candid. I could not be happier with the way in which the quality of the black and white Super8 captures the spirit of the event and gives it a timeless feel.
Jonathan Healey: How was the edit approached? Did you have something in mind before you shot or after you saw the footage or the first time? How involved did you get in the edit?
Dylan Connor: I was 100% uninvolved in the filming and editing. Miles is brilliant and completed the first edit in about two days. He projected the film onto a sheet and filmed the sheet for the first edit… After each edit he would send it to me and I would love it. Then two days later he would have a new edit that was even better – after three edits he sent it off to be converted to video.
Jonathan Healey: Breakaway Republic was produced by Bryce Goggin (Marco Benevento, Phish, Pavement, Apples in Stereo). Tell us about your experience at Trout Recording in Brooklyn, NY.
Dylan Connor: Absolute dream come true to be under the guidance of the same guy who had a hand in Pavement’s Wowee Zowee, Lemonheads Car Button Cloth and Nada Surf’s Let Go. Trout is like a music geek’s wet dream – a grungy garage with a mellow dog and tons of vintage instruments, pedals, amps and mics. Bryce is awesome because he tells you when you suck - he says things like “That note does not rock, don’t play that note in my studio”. Bryce helped select and arrange each song. He was absolutely integral to the life of each song on the record.
Jonathan Healey: Tell us something nobody knows about your guitarist, Merritt Jacob.*
Dylan Connor: He used to wear half shirts in the 80s and do a Russian Jig on command. I have the video. Can anyone say “youtube”?
*Although I didn’t play Little League with Merritt Jacob, I’ve know him almost as long. 
