HearNC prizes visual arts

It might be the inaugural year of the HearNC Music Video Festival, but Richard Jaimeyfield is a veteran in the local music and film scenes. After directing famed Chapel Hill band the Archers of Loaf’s “Web in Front” controversial music video (featuring a pair of copulating pigs), the director spent some time in Washington, D.C.

Now, he’s back in the Triangle, and as he prepares for the festival this Thursday at Cat’s Cradle at 8 p.m., Jaimeyfield caught up with Diversions Editor Linnie Greene about good karma and National Geographic.

Diversions: Why did you start the HearNC Music Video Festival?

Richard Jaimeyfield: The impetus was that when I moved back to North Carolina, I wanted to start a production company, and so I did — I named it Dogwood Productions.

I had gotten my start as a business at the Cat’s Cradle back in 1991, ’92 when I shot the Archers of Loaf video, and it was because two people gave me a chance — Frank Heath, the owner of the Cradle, and the band the Archers of Loaf.

I directed that music video and it sort of transformed my life, and then ten years later — more than ten years later — I’m moving back. I felt like going back to the root of where it began for me, to give other people that same opportunity that Frank and the Archers gave to me.

I wanted to start HearNC to show people all over the world the incredible talent base we have here.

Dive: Do you think the relationship between music and visual art is unique? How so?

RJ: I think that we’ve yet to really see what those two mediums can do together. I think the words “music video” have a negative connotation due to what’s happened on MTV and what’s taken place over the last two decades, maybe three almost.

What do people think of when they see music with film, and lip-synching and two-and-three-hundred thousand dollar budgets where it’s choreographed, it’s just — you know, who can do that? Not everyone can do that. But the future, I think, now that the field is being more equalized due to technology, I think we’ve yet to see how creative people can be by combining music, movement and film.

Dive: How would you compare the arts scene in the Triangle versus Washington, D.C.?

RJ: The arts community in D.C. is thriving and doing really well — I wanted to go up there not to do music videos, because I saw what was happening was that my friends that were doing well in the world of music videos were also still having to pay for these extraordinarily expensive music videos out of their own pockets.

So I was kind of like, “I don’t know if I want to do these anymore,” because my friends were having to pay me with money they’re barely making with money they make on tour over three or four months.

Dive: What drew you north?

RJ: So I moved to D.C. in hopes of working for National Geographic, and for about a year and a half, I was a barbecue catering manager and schlepped a grill around on the back of a truck.

One day I was at a catering and this young lady was there and she was really hungry, and the owner of the company I was in, he didn’t allow people to eat on the site. I gave her some money and the keys to my car and said, “Hey, there’s a deli down the street, just go.”

And when she came back, she was like, “Oh, that was really sweet, I really appreciate it.” At the end of the night, I would have to choose someone to work, but she volunteered, and when we were breaking down that night, she asked me why I moved to D.C.

I said, “Well, a long time ago I thought I was going to be a film director, but apparently I’m a catering manager.” She said, “What did you direct?” I said, “I did music videos.” She asked which ones, and she said, “Oh my god I saw those videos! I loved them!” It was kind of a nice little ego smack. She said, “Why D.C. and not L.A. or New York?” And I said, “Because I wanted to work for National Geographic.” She said, “Oh, I work for them — do you want to come to a party next weekend with me?”

Talk about instant good karma — so it turns out that I’m invited to Nick Nichols’, who’s a world-renowned National Geographic photographer.

Dive: What made you decide to include dancers, performers and other art forms aside from film?

RJ: Well they’re all visual arts, aren’t they? And HearNC, that’s our focus — showing people how strong visual arts are in North Carolina, showing them the talent base that we have an encouraging other people to reach out to these other artists, to connect people and what not