Everyone knows, or should know, that Houston is a hive of tremendous live musical talent. Seriously, go out sometime. Any time. There are bands for all tastes, from the light-hearted pop rocky to the esoteric beyond all measures of known sound.
However, it seems to be less well-known that many of these bands produce first rate music videos. I mean truly top shelf, ready-for-MTV-if-that-were-still-a-thing productions. Somebody has to direct those productions, and in hopes of widening local knowledge of my favorite art form even more today I show off the ten best.
10. Mike Terror: Though he's new to the world of music video direction, Mike Terror's first attempt, "Snakes 'N' Fakes", showed tremendous promise. He can clearly handle a location well, and has a gift for horror movie camera angles that bring out a disturbed feel to the finished product. I look forward to seeing more from him.
9. Kerry Beyer: It shouldn't be any surprise that one of Houston's best film directors (Spirit Camp, hello!) also makes a pretty good music video when he sits down and works on it. I'm only ranking Beyer lower on the list because of the limited scope he brings to the art. Since he tends to only work on his own music and only with what he can use by himself without rounding up his film crew, most of his videos remain beautiful and inventive but far below what his talent is ultimately capable of producing.
8. Albert Gonzalez: One of the slicker hands on the camera in the city is Albert Gonzalez. When you're a pop star that wants specifically to look like a pop star living a pop star life of ease but also heartbreak, this is the guy you want filming you. He's a master of crisp lines and hectic angle changes that bring any performer to high energy life.
7. Rachel Bays: Sadly there is only one women on this list, but I can't sing the praises of Rachel Bays enough. She is a mistress of melancholy lighting and slow, languid camera shots that drift in and out of soft darknesses. I love me some sad bastard music, and no one puts that sort of thing in better visual terms than Bays. Of all the talent mentioned in this article, she's the person I most look forward to future projects from.
6. Danny Ocean: In general I'm just not a fan of rap music videos because I don't think that standing in front of a place you like and talking is an overly gripping visual narrative. Danny Ocean's videos for The Niceguys are the exception to my rule. He approaches the videos with a very serious tone, and uses the movement of the environment to keep a sense of motion. He should really teach a clinic on the subject.
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