Eclectic children’s artist releases new music video about the inevitability of death
WALLA WALLA, Wash., Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — If Mr. Rogers was more like Shel Silverstein or Frank Zappa, you might end up with Eric Herman. Such an Eric Herman would write nerdy rock songs for kids about elephants and pirates and googly eyes, and also songs about dementia and addiction and child abuse.
And even a song about the inevitability of death… with a Mr. Rogers message but delivered through a Silverstein or Zappa smirk. And that same Eric Herman would produce a video for the song (animated by Herman’s frequent collaborator, Jay Marks), which owes as much to Fellini and David Lynch as to Saturday morning cartoons. “For all of the seven-year-old Fellini fans,” Herman jokes. The video, “Clocks and Watches,” premiered last Friday on Herman’s YouTube channel.
Video link: https://youtu.be/kcwbYT8wh_4
“The scariest of monsters is time, and it’s a real monster that is actually going to get us all,” Herman says, paraphrasing the song’s opening line. “So how about that, kids?” He laughs, but acknowledges an uncertainty about what the reaction might be to this latest video. “It could be- ‘Gee, thanks, Eric. My kid just flushed my Rolex down the toilet.'” Then why write the song and produce this video? “Death is a part of life, and difficult to talk about or understand without fear. But ‘Clocks’ has a layer of cartoonish spookiness which I hope makes the subject more approachable.”
It’s a subject that Herman feels is important to confront, having lost his wife and creative partner, Roseann, in 2013, and just recently, his father. But Herman deems the video to be more of a “wake up call” than “for whom the bell tolls.” “It’s about using the limited time we have, knowing the Grim Reaper is always lurking nearby.” And the video amusingly depicts the Grim Reaper as a clock-wearing, watch-selling character.
The song was produced by Herman for his recent Magic Beans album, and the influence of art rock groups like Pink Floyd, Rush, David Bowie, and Sparks is apparent, but the mix lands on a grade-school vibe that’s more Willy Wonka and Schoolhouse Rock. Herman’s daughter, Rebecca Endres, adds chorus harmonies and performs the spoken-word bridge section. Also featured are Jude Noah on violin, and Christian Teele on percussion, with Herman gushing, “Christian does a tour de force percussion performance on this recording.”
ABOUT ERIC HERMAN:
Eric Herman has been described as “Sesame Street meets The Beatles.” In 2007, a video for his “Elephant Song” was featured by YouTube, leading to over 100 million views and 2,000+ performances around the United States. Eric is currently developing an indie film project titled Eric Herman and the Invisible Band, which he calls, “the Spinal Tap of children’s music.”
Eric Herman is available for media interviews and appearances.
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