Experience A Fever Dream: Take A Trip Out West With The India Tigers Of Texas

Psychedelic rock band India Tigers In Texas are taking people on a trip, though it’s not necessarily the kind of trip that comes to mind. The band is releasing the video for their song “Fever Dream” on Wednesday, May 13 at 9:15 pm.

They will be screening the video live in Galveston, projecting it from their home in the National Hotel Artist Lofts and hosting a virtual watch party when the video goes live that evening.  The band has been in quarantine together, staying and rehearsing at the lofts which have been coordinating special events during quarantine to entertain residents and neighbors.  

The video, directed by Katie McDowell and written by lead vocalist Mel Mo’Black and guitarist Clark Hauser, takes viewers into the Wild West and on a spiritual journey to decide who is friend or foe.

The lead character, played by drummer Victhor Resendiz, begins his dusty day by stepping into a small and empty church where he trustingly takes a sip of a communal wine. He ends up gasping for air and dragged away by an outlaw, played by bassist Kevin Barnes.

From there his journey only gets stranger when he finds himself drinking with a shaman, played by Hauser.  During his trip he witnesses the betrayal he suffered in the church by a snake oil salesman played by guitarist and vocalist Jaron Hall. 

The main character is forced to navigate situations that become more dire until the entire tale ends with a good old fashioned shootout.  The six minute music video can be considered a short film with its attention to detail and rich story line. The special effects and editing are all perfectly timed with the subtle musical nuances of the song.

“Fever Dream” was released almost exactly a year ago on their self titled debut album on Mas Music Records.
Mo’Black wrote the song years ago after a particularly difficult sickness where she experienced high fevers. “You get in this hazy state when you're sick and I kept hearing this song in my head,” she says.

“I’m lying there and I can't stop thinking about it, it's just playing in my head. I had to literally get up and write it all out so I could go to sleep.”

Mo’Black and Hauser developed the intricate story line together, inspired by the repeating guitar riff of the song which conjures up images of the classic Sergio Leone spaghetti western film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  

“It started as a bigger concept and then we worked downwards into the smaller details. Then it got more detailed, and more detailed, and then probably got too detailed,” laughs Hauser.

The band traveled to shoot the video on location on the director's land near La Grange where they all stayed the weekend for filming.  They enlisted the help of friends and fellow psych rockers Charlie and Lauren Eddy of EL LAGO, Greg Latham of King Country and Quinn Decker of Wax Dream. 

They had planned on releasing the video to mark the one year anniversary of their album, when they also were due to be on their first major tour sharing bills with revered psych rock bands Bubble Puppy and Acid Mothers Temple.

Of course, their tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the irony of the subject matter of the song and video is not lost on them.