The Davenports formed in 2000, which is to say that’s when Scott Klass started releasing records under that band moniker. The first was Speaking Of The Davenports, which not only received across-the-board rave reviews but also saw album closer “Five Steps” become the theme song to A&E’s Emmy-winning documentary series Intervention. Three other Davenports records followed, the last of which was 2011’s Why The Great Gallop?—until now.
On July 13, Klass and his every-rotating cast of Davenports return with Don’t Be Mad At Me. Musicians with ties to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Moby, Father John Misty, They Might Be Giants and Pere Ubu have backed Klass throughout the years, and on Don’t Be Mad At Me, he adds Shirley Simms (Magnetic Fields) on lead vocals for “Miranda In Her Room” and David Myhr (Merrymakers) as co-writer and collaborator on ”I Don’t Know What To Do” to the ever-expanding family tree.
Speaking of family, Klass’ favorite song on the new album is the title track, a song he wrote about his aunt. The now-deceased Gertrude (called “Betty” in the song) suffered from dementia, and Klass’ father had to take care of her form the disease’s onset. “Don’t Be Mad At Me” examines this complicated relationship from both sides, and once again, Klass captures it with the same cleverness and intellect he’s come to be know for.
The video for “Don’t Be Mad At Me” also explores family, albeit through the lens of a View-Master. Says Klass of the clip, ” I loved the View-Master as a kid. Since we were going for a nostalgic feel for the video, with old family photos and videos to capture the mood of the story, we thought it would be cool for the woman to effectively ‘enter’ the family history through the View-Master she finds at a stoop sale. Plus, I don’t think there had ever been a rock video that used the View-Master as that central concept. The photos themselves are a combination of my family, the filmmaker Dak Abbe’s family and other random shots.”
We’re proud to premiere the video for “Don’t Be Mad At Me” today on magnetmagazine.com. Check it out now. Like the Davenports, it’s fun for the whole family.
