building a mystery

MOIST SINGER IN McLACHLAN VIDEO

Author: Karen Bliss
Source: Jam!
URL: www.canoe.ca/JamMusicArtistsM/moist.html
Date: July 24, 1997

Moist singer David Usher is the mysterious figure Building A Mystery in the new Sarah McLachlan video. The dark, silent character Usher portrays collects shining lights from various places to build a huge luminous mountain in which Sarah fits.

Directed by Matt Maherin (Bush, Metallica, Hole), the storyboard was already written when Usher was asked to star in it. Moist shares the same Nettwerk management team as McLachlan as well as her U.S. record label, Arista.

"We were down (in New York), meeting with (Arista) for the first time," recalls Usher, "and I believe Elizabeth Bailey, Arista's video production person, suggested it to (our manager) Terry (McBride). But I don't know exactly how it came down. I think what happened was they had the concept for the video, and then they saw me and decided to look for someone exactly like me. Then, they decided, well, why don't we just ask him? He looks like him!"

Shot a month ago, when Moist had some time off, Usher says, "It was really fun. I spent over four days in Los Angeles, and we shot for two and I hung out in the wasteland for the rest of the time."

Usher, who met McLachlan for the first time at last year's Juno Awards, says he doesn't feel comfortable commenting on the video specifically or his "mysterious" role. "That's totally her domain," he explains.

Building A Mystery is the only non-Moist video the handsome frontman has ever appeared in. "I'm gonna start freelancing," he jokes.

The next Moist video from the multi-platinum album, Creature, will be for the sedating Gasoline.