Adam Baldwin delivers more than a Jekyll and Hyde performance on his new video for “Salvation.” Baldwin nearly pulls a Daniel Day Lewis as he disappears into the opposing roles and dukes it out for his immortal soul and/or liver.
Director Michael Melski explains that working with Baldwin to produce the “Salvation” was a pleasure.
“He’s a great talent and down to earth without a whiff of ‘rock star’ about him. I was beyond busy and tired after touring The Child Remains at film festivals, but when I first heard ‘Salvation,’ I knew it was his best track yet; its vision reminded me of some lost song off Darkness On The Edge of Town,” explains Melski.
“With its spiritual imagery and sense of rage and alienation, I immediately thought of the great Scorsese film Taxi Driver and updating it for the Uber Age. Adam liked that, and hit me back with ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ and that was a stroke of brilliance on his part. I wouldn’t have attempted this concept if I didn’t know Adam was a taker of risks and a solid actor. Adam was willing to challenge himself and his fans and I think he will win many more with this album.”
For Baldwin, the inspiration behind “Salvation” didn’t have to come from any classic psychological thriller films – he was able to pull directly from personal experience.
“I was attending twelve step meetings in the basement of a church in the south end of Halifax. One was held a few hours before I had to go to work singing songs at whatever bar, around the various substances I was desperate to avoid,” says Baldwin, “This is where the religious imagery comes from. I’m not a religious man, but I was trying to find a god of any sort to save me from myself. I wrote the words in my head during one meeting just by looking at the old cross stitches hanging crookedly around the room, and from listening to the harshest truths I’ve ever heard, delivered by some of the most unassuming folks I’d ever met. Truth is cold. It’s uncomfortable, it’s harsh. That basement was cold. Damn cold.”
“At some point while writing this record, I’d given my addiction a personality. He was like a junk yard dog on the other side of a fence I’m cursed to walk by from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. I wanted that to come through on this recording in particular. The guitars had to be jagged, the bass had to growl, the words had to snap and bark.”
Adam Baldwin’s new EP No Rest For The Wicked is available March 29, 2019 via Sonic Records.
Tour Dates:
02.14.19 – Huntsville, ON @ Algonquin Theatre*
02.15.19 – Peterborough, ON @ Market Hall*
02.16.19 – Burnstown, ON @ Neat Café*
02.17.19 – Burnstown, ON @ Neat Café*
02.20.19 – Calgary, AB @ The Odyssey at SAIT
02.21.19 – Edmonton, AB @ Have Mercy*
06.29.19 – Sydney, NS @ Breton Brewing Beer & Music Festival
* Opening for Matt Mays