Solomon School football team win leads to music video
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Contributed Article
As soon as Brando Quin heard about Solomon School’s football victory in its last game of the season, he made a telephone call to Principal Kevin England’s office.
“I was in the process of making a music video for one of my songs from the “Brando Quin The Journey” CD and knew I had to invite the Solomon School students to be in the video,” Quin said. The song, titled “The (NFL’s) Sofa League of Heroes,” is a song about fans of football and was originally written to be the theme song of a television sitcom that revolves around four couples during football season.
Quin, a 1980 graduate of Thatcher High School, is an award-winning author/poet/ musician who resides in Central. He had released two CDs (“Brando Quin My Life” and “Brando Quin The Journey”) in the last two years. His third CD “Brando Quin Crossings” is due to be released in April 2008.
On Nov. 5 at Castles ‘N Coasters in Phoenix, Robert Reid, the director of Quin’s music video, yelled, “Action,” and Solomon’s students began the long day of working on a music video shoot.
“These kids were awesome,” Quin said. “We began shooting at 11 a.m., and the kids were exciting, energetic and involved during the live stage scenes.” Makeup artist Joan Langdon painted the students’ faces with their favorite NFL football teams’ colors.
Local Safford band Shock and Awe opened the live stage scenes, and then Quin and RavenPheat gave the students several live stage performances shot from different camera angles.
“Then we moved to the Castles ‘N Coasters carousel, where each student got to pick out a favorite animal to ride,” Quin said. “I was afraid they’d get bored after listening to the same song over and over, take after take, but they stayed focused and seemed to have a great time playing along with the music.”
They broke for lunch at about 1 p.m., and Phoenix’s local Domino’s Pizza delivered about 25 pizzas, chicken wings and breadsticks. “I made sure everyone was going to be well-fed throughout the day. We had hot dogs, cakes, stews and plenty of snacks, sodas and water for the students to eat throughout the day,” said Quin, who has spent plenty of time in Hollywood’s major studios and in films such as “Forest Gump,” “Star Trek Generations” and “Visions.”
“Before Solomon’s students left at 3 p.m., I had the opportunity to take photos with them. I also took the opportunity to give each of them prizes, portable CD players, clock radios, calculators, movie posters from stars I have worked with in Hollywood, and, of course, they got free “Sofa League of Heroes” T-shirts, copies of my novel “The Master Painter” and free copies of my CDs,” Quin said.
Trombones used in the music video were supplied by Richards Music, and fire chief Mike Rhodes supplied the fireman’s uniforms.
Quin continued shooting the video long after the students headed back to Solomon. “We finally wrapped the shoot at 8 p.m., and everyone involved was exhausted, including Janet Oesterling of Trophies ‘N Tees, who was the associate producer of the music video,” Quin said.
He added, “I’m so proud of those Solomon School football players for ending the football season with a win, and I admire the other students and faculty who stuck by and supported their school team the entire 2007 season. I hope in some small way the making of this music video added to their celebration of that event. I want those kids to know they will always be welcome on one of my movie sets; they were the most awesome, well-behaved group of students I have ever had the opportunity to work with.”
The “Sofa League of Heroes” music video is due in stores in January 2008 and will also be available at Quin’s E-bookstore www.LuLu.com/Brando.Quin.
