A little over a month ago, Patrick O'Dell sent us a harried email asking to take down the old video we had of him hug-rushing Morrissey onstage at some show a while ago. We thought he had finally collapsed under the weight of all the internet criticism, but it turns out the Moz had just asked him to direct his next video and Patrick wanted to hold "at least a few cards." Here, at long last, is the payoff for those cards.How did you get asked to direct this?
Patrick O'Dell:Via a text message from his manager. My first reaction was to say no.Why, because you thought someone was fucking with you?
No, cause it was frightening.All right. Once you said yes, what was the deal? Did you meet with Morrissey to brainstorm ideas or did they just let you have free reign over the whole thing?
They sent me a music video on youtube they wanted it styled after.Did you fan out when you finally met him?
I tried to play it cool, though I don't think it worked. At one point Morrissey asked "How old are you?" He was giving me shit for not knowing the musician who made the music video he'd sent as inspiration. I told him my age and that I have certain musical blindspots. Still, I will curse that musician's name for the rest of my life. Even my mom knew who it was.How long did the video take from start to finish?
The shoot was one day, but the editing took a while. We actually shot two different concepts in the same day and one of them got axed. I had a shot of Moz pounding a beer during the guitar solo that I had to let go.How responsible do you feel for the sudden ubiquity of Morrissey in skateboarding over the past couple years? Do you feel like the Gaëtan Dugas of its spread or were ten-year-olds in oversized Yankees caps and Smiths shirts just an inevitability?
I am not patient zero for the Smiths. Morrissey is just another band/singer that skaters seem to embrace, like Black Flag, Dinosaur, Jr., or RBL Posse. He just has a large skateboarder following is all. The single that the video's for just came out today though, and I would be very happy if they all went to the store and bought it. The b-sides are all wonderful. It would be awesome if it went to number one.
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Patrick O'Dell:Via a text message from his manager. My first reaction was to say no.Why, because you thought someone was fucking with you?
No, cause it was frightening.All right. Once you said yes, what was the deal? Did you meet with Morrissey to brainstorm ideas or did they just let you have free reign over the whole thing?
They sent me a music video on youtube they wanted it styled after.Did you fan out when you finally met him?
I tried to play it cool, though I don't think it worked. At one point Morrissey asked "How old are you?" He was giving me shit for not knowing the musician who made the music video he'd sent as inspiration. I told him my age and that I have certain musical blindspots. Still, I will curse that musician's name for the rest of my life. Even my mom knew who it was.How long did the video take from start to finish?
The shoot was one day, but the editing took a while. We actually shot two different concepts in the same day and one of them got axed. I had a shot of Moz pounding a beer during the guitar solo that I had to let go.How responsible do you feel for the sudden ubiquity of Morrissey in skateboarding over the past couple years? Do you feel like the Gaëtan Dugas of its spread or were ten-year-olds in oversized Yankees caps and Smiths shirts just an inevitability?
I am not patient zero for the Smiths. Morrissey is just another band/singer that skaters seem to embrace, like Black Flag, Dinosaur, Jr., or RBL Posse. He just has a large skateboarder following is all. The single that the video's for just came out today though, and I would be very happy if they all went to the store and bought it. The b-sides are all wonderful. It would be awesome if it went to number one.