Video Chats: Tom Scharpling on 'KV Crimes' by Kurt Vile

In the music video for “KV Crimes” by Kurt Vile, director Tom Scharpling imagines a world where Kurt is a king with a taste for fast food hoagies, swing sets, and listening to other people play his music. Like most of Tom’s videos, “KV Crimes” features the artist doing more than just singing, and Kurt gives a great performance of as a slightly disinterested king spending the day among his people. We talked to Tom about directing the video, and how music videos relate to his other work writing for TV and hosting the weekly raido show The Best Show on WFMU.

Doug: In addition to music videos, you have a radio show, and you also EP and write for television. What about the art form of music videos do you find appealing?

Tom: It’s something that I grew up with and it was something that was really important to me. With music videos, you got to see what music looked like, whether it was seeing their performers or even getting a larger sense their attitudes or style - you got to see what they were about. It was something that always jumped out at me because when they work, they heighten the song and create their own thing. It’s almost like it creates a third thing in a way. The song is great, and then the video is great, and then it combines into this whole other experience.

Doug: In terms of how you got to start working on them at the level that you’re doing it now, is it typically through a personal relationship with the artist?

Tom: That’s how it started. I was doing a lot of TV work and was on sets a lot. It was at a point where I was doing a lot of writing, and writing for TV is very collaborative. The buck stops with nobody on TV writing. Everybody gets some input and say because there’s just so many people working on television to make it happen. There’s over 100 people by the time you add in all the actors, and the executives, and everybody who’s got some sort of say on it. I’ve always liked having things that you’re in charge of that way you don’t feel like you’re living your whole life by committee. I had written and produced a video for Ted Leo & The Pharmacists called "Colleen," and my friend Michael Bellino directed. I was not ready to direct anything at that point, but I knew how to write and I had funny ideas. We did that video for no money, and then a couple of years later I got a chance to do a video for something off of Ted’s album, and he said, "Why don’t you direct it?" I thought about it and I said, "Yeah, I think maybe I will direct something this time. It’s time for me to either do it or stop talking about it, one or the other." I did it and it came out really good, and I was excited about doing more of them from that point on.

Doug: And now does Production Company Productions represent the music video side of your work?

Tom: Yeah. The Ted Leo video was produced by Rob Hatch-Miller and Puloma Basu. We worked on that, and then we worked on the New Pornographers video, and it a was really great collaborative creative experience working with them. We all thought, "Let’s make things easier for us from a business standpoint, but let’s also put a focus on this thing that we’re doing, and let’s put it under a single banner." It gives everything a home and a point of view.

Doug: A lot of the videos that you direct will feature the artist not only performing, but playing a part and playing a role. Because of that, I'm curious what the collaboration process is like with the artist, or do they typically look to you for the narrative?

Tom: I pretty much will write all the ideas. The directing is a way to facilitate getting my ideas out there, that's ultimately what it would be about for me. It starts with the ideas for me. I think with the radio show, it showed what my sense of humor is, and now so does the video work. They add up to show people where I’m coming from with stuff. People pretty much trust the ideas. They see what I’ve done before. I try to give people a few ideas, and a few thoughts for each video. I really try to do right by them. I don’t want to make them look stupid.

Doug: With this particular Kurt Vile video, was it a difficult sell him on the fact that he is not going to be performing his own song, but in fact other people would be performing it instead?

Tom: No I don’t think so at all. I think he was into it, I think he liked not having to lip sync. I’m pretty sure he liked that he got to be him, and just participate in the video, but to not have to play the role of Kurt Vile as a singer.

Doug: The role he is playing is basically a king in America, who may or may not have all that much money, or maybe he just has very modest tastes. Was that based on anything in specific? Do you ever look to some other places for inspiration, or do you just listen to the song until you get an image in your head?

Tom: That’s what I do a lot of times, I just listen over and over to the song and just try to come up with ideas or visuals. Anything that takes hold in my head I try to run with and build something out. I try to make it represent the artist also, in a balanced way. The videos live on. If you make a bad video that’s one thing, but if you make one that makes people look ridiculous that never goes away. But I’ve moved on at that point. It’s not going to haunt me, it’s going to haunt them, so I try to be very cognitive of that. For this video, I wanted it to be like Kurt is kind of the king of the middle class in a way. In reality, he lives a regular life, and he comes from a normal, big family. But then also he has this gift that is very special and unique, so it’s like that makes him the king. But when it comes down to it, he’s still grounded and in the real world. That was what I was going for, because I feel like that’s who he is.

Doug: And the design of the throne and the people around him, that's all there to reflect these middle class ideas?

Tom: Yeah, every king has a court. He had his people, and they were doing their processional, except it was not very fancy.