Matthew Logan Vasquez Gets in Touch With Spirit of “Ladonna” (premiere)

Former Delta Spirit frontman Matthew Logan Vasquez returns with a video for “Ladonna”, a new track from his EP, Texas Murder Ballads. The EP focuses on Vasquez’s home state and this track in particular shines light on some eerie happenings in the house where the record came to life just before Vasquez relocated to Europe. Directed by animator Micah Buzan (Flaming Lips), the video captures the song’s visceral fear and rage as it bursts from the speakers as a more controlled, less drug-soaked rendition of a classic Ministry tune (think “So What”).

“I wrote this song about the previous owner of my home in Texas,” Vasquez recalls. “She had passed away inside the house and it sat vacant for a few years until we bought it. I recorded Texas Murder Ballads and the next LP (coming in 2019) in the house this past January. My wife and son had left for Norway, so I was in almost complete solitude. I really feel like Ladonna’s spirit (or more likely my own imagination) kept me company during those times.”

Buzan recalls that making the video presented a series of challenges that he was more than ready to face. “I had about seven days to make animation loops for this video,” he says. “Since the time was so limited, I had to keep the frame count down, but still make the animation work with a dozen or so frames per loop. In limited animation, sometimes just three frames is enough to define a movement. I watched Beavis and Butthead’s desert peyote trip and old creepy black and white cartoons for inspiration.”

Texas Murder Ballads is out June 1 and may be ordered here.

TOUR DATES

5/8 – Charlotte, NC, Evening Muse
5/10 – Washington, DC, DC9
5/11 – New York, NY, Rough Trade
5/12 – Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live – Upstairs
5/13 – Boston, MA, Middle East Upstairs
5/15 – Portland, ME, One Longfellow Square
5/16 – Burlington, VT, Higher Ground
5/17 – Northampton, MA, Iron Horse Music Hall
5/18 – Portsmouth, NH, The Music Hall
5/19 – Hudson, NY, Club Helsinki
5/21 – Pittsburgh, PA, Club Cafe
5/22 – Cleveland, OH, Beachland Tavern
5/24 – Toronto, ON, The Drake
5/25 – Detroit, MI, Vernors room
5/26 – Indianapolis, IN, White Rabbit Cabaret
5/27 – Davenport, IA, Raccoon Motel
5/29 – Chicago, IL, Schubas
5/30 – Milwaukee, WI, Cactus Club
5/31 – Minneapolis, MN, Icehouse
6/1 – Madison, WI, High Noon Saloon (seated)
6/2 – St. Louis, MO, Blueberry Hill