Sweetbreads
I met Melody Stolpp, of the NYC-based country Western pop band, Sweetbreads, in California, when we were high schoolers competing for the same theatre roles. (For the record, Melody always got them). We both somehow ended up in New York, a little bit older and performing to this day in our own rights.
Melody called me to direct a music video to personify her latest single, “Wanderer,” a brooding siren song which evokes the characteristic melancholy of sultry old Westerns. I have been a fan of Melody’s storytelling through music, and this was a great opportunity to bring the lyrics to life visually.
The song, “Wanderer”, is a folk ballad with a Western vibe owing to its tremolo guitar and minor mode. I thought it would be fun to reframe it as a lo-fi Western film. Melody has a very colorful style, but doesn’t usually dress super femme. I wanted to see her as a busty Dolly Parton look-alike, dancing like late 70s Kate Bush. But I wasn’t sure because I also wanted to see her in a queer masculine presentation, kind of like Johnny Cash if he was in a John Waters film. I couldn’t decide, but then I realized that she could be both the leathered cowboy AND the siren songstress. Together, we made a colorful collaborative queer Western camp piece, so I thought we’d sit down to talk about the process.
Melody, I remember listening to your song a few times and starting to cry because your voice is so beautiful. What inspired your song Wanderer?
Thank you. I wrote the song while going through a break up, imagining that somehow me and the person could get back together someday even though we were choosing separate paths. I leaned into the drama of being in denial about my relationship ending and this song came out.
I can totally relate to that feeling!
Since we are interviewing each other, I want to know what inspired the themes in the music video for Wanderer.
I like to start with outfits first, then think about the story. I want to know how it looks! I’m obsessed with fashion, drag, bright colors, and butch/femme dualities. I am nonbinary but always feeling ugly in my more masculine forms when I go without makeup. I feel forced to be glam all the time. So when I dress like the man I feel like inside, I’ll still do a high femme face makeup—for my own vanity. It was personally really validating for me to see you portraying both masculine and feminine in that way. Plus, I think I got to know the song better, and it morphed into a tragic love story.
I’m a huge fan of drag and camp so allowing myself to play in that space was freeing. I really enjoyed exploring the dichotomy between the femme vixen character and the masculine butch cowboy. I typically wear bright colors, but dress pretty gender neutral, so I stepped out of my comfort zone in order to play a hyper-glam Dolly Parton kind of character. I don’t wear much makeup day to day, so painting my face and letting my tits out was a nice change. Also, it’s true what they say—acrylic nails make you feel powerful!
It’s kind of funny that we chose a Western as a genre, which typically involves wide shots of vast scenery, but we shot it basically inside a purple closet—queer porn site Mondo Fetiche’s studio. I did think having a real horse in the studio brought a big production value to the film. Just kidding! Your partner played a wonderful horse, who also seems to be the object of affection for the cowboy. So it really is a threefold tale of unrequited love of sorts, no?
Yes! Everyone is a loner singing to someone they can’t have. Shout out to my partner, Peter Yelton, for playing the horse and putting up with wearing a very hot costume in a small space with hot lights! They were such a trooper! I had a blast shooting the segments where I’m riding the horse. I think we got a really good result from playing around with how to create those shots. It was a real team effort.
Definitely. What’s next for Sweetbreads, and how can people find you?
We’re working on setting up some live shows now that venues in New York are starting to book bands again which is really exciting! Other than that, we’re hoping to record some more of our songs this summer. Keep an eye out and on Instagram (@sweebreadsmusic) for updates and follow us on Spotify or wherever you stream your music. We’d really appreciate it!
interview JANNA JAY
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