Canadian rock band The Sheepdogs have signaled the arrival of their major label debut album’s guitar-fueled lead single, “The Way It Is,” with a music video that portrays a team of misfit baseball players gleefully trouncing a group of little boys on the field.nnThe video, which debuted on comedy video website Funny or Die, was directed by comedy writing, directing and acting team the Sklar Brothers, in partnership with production company Kids At Play. In it, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based band members share the field with up-and-coming comedians, demonstrating behavior unfit for Major League Baseball.nn
Since its debut, the video also has appeared internationally on Visions, in Germany; UK online magazine Classic Rock; MuchMusic, a sister channel of MTV Canada; and theMusic.com, in Australia.nnWhile Kids At Play previously had worked with the Sklar Brothers, this project is its first with The Sheepdogs, recording artists who last year won Atlantic Records and Rolling Stone‘s “Do You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star?” competition, presented by Garnier Fructis. Rolling Stone premiered “The Way It Is” last month on its website and featured the band on the cover of the magazine – the first time an unsigned band has held that honor. The Sheepdogs came together in 2006 and have received widespread acclaim – and a trio of Juno Awards – for their three self-funded, independently released albums. The band has headlined shows and festivals and shared the stage with like-minded peers Kings of Leon, John Fogerty, Robert Randolph & The Family Band and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears. nnTalking about the single, Sheepdogs frontman Ewan Currie told Rolling Stone that he “wanted to do a song that had a big nasty strut. Nothing packs a punch like a two-note riff. It’s lean and mean.” Austin Scaggs and the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney worked with the band to produce the album, which is dominated by guitars and harmonic sounds.nnThe Sheepdogs will celebrate the Sept. 4 release of their self-titled major label debut album with their first coast-to-coast U.S. headline tour, which launches Sept. 16 in Niagara Falls, New York, and continues through late October. More details about The Sheepdogs can be found at www.thesheepdogs.com and www.atlanticrecords.com.nnCreditsnCLIENT: Atlantic Records and Bedlam Music ManagementnTITLE: The Sheepdogs “The Way It Is“nPRODUCTION COMPANY: Kids At Play, LAnDIRECTOR: Jason Sklar and Randy SklarnEXECUTIVE PRODUCER (PRODUCTION CO): Jason BergernPRODUCER (PRODUCTION CO): Amy LaslettnDIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Topher OsbornnPOST PRODUCTION & CITY: Kids At Play, LAnnAbout Kids At PlaynKids At Play is a one-stop production company that creates content for motion picture, television and digital mediums. Our team is young, eager, creative — and nimble, allowing for immediate starts on some of the most compelling projects in video. Our arsenal of producers, writers, directors and editors approach every project in a manner that is collaborative, relevant, engaging and unexpected. And the work gets respect: Most recently, we collected a regional ADDY and a 2012 Internet Advertising Competition award, and a short film we co-produced was accepted into more than a dozen film festivals in the United States, Canada and London. www.kidsatplaymedia.com
