Do you remember that ’90s Nickelodeon show Kablam? It was basically a stopmotion anthology show for kids, often featuring segments with action figures as the “stars.” I have a suspicion that Velcrowolf aka JP Pfertner watched a lot of Kablam as a kid, and his video for Greg Vanderpool’s “Nowhere to Land” is a glimpse at a slightly more adult take on Kablam.
The video (originally a standalone called “Blasterer”) has a couple of action figures attempting to create the first boombox space station, only to run into some trouble with territorial floating brains. But the combination of Vanderpool’s music and the celestial loneliness elevates the video beyond sci-fi camp. At its heart, “Nowhere to Land,” in song and video form, is about striving for greatness and dusting yourself off whenever you get kicked down, even if that means using a can of spray on legs to recover from a messy brain blast. Check out the video for yourself below, and then catch Greg Vandrpool in Houston on March 29th at White Oak Music Hall with Israel Nash, and then back in Austin on April 7th at the Continental Club for his Pilot album release before he hits Dallas on the 8th at Twilite Lounge, Fayetteville, Arkansas on the 9th with The Jayhawks and Denton on the 20th for the Thin Line Festival.