Seth Boyer killed it with his latest music video, a melancholy, emotional cover of Smash Mouth's "All Star." As Boyer's video caption says on YouTube, "I went back to my hometown of Eagle River, Alaska to play A Very Important Aong."
Boyer, who grew up in Eagle River but now lives in Seattle, needed to come up with something to perform for the Cards Against Humanity comedy show during the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle in late August. He decided to cover the '90s pop hit in way similar to Ryan Adams' cover of "Wonderwall" -- straight, without any sarcasm.
The style was fitting for a musician who characterizes his own music as "bummer jams." After he performed the song in Seattle, he knew it needed a video.
Boyer recorded the piece with Anchorage filmmaker Josh Lowman at Joy Lutheran Church in Eagle River with the permission of pastor Martin Eldred. It premiered at Open Projector Night in Anchorage on Sept. 26, 2015.
Since then, the video had been picked up by USA Today, and ultimately Smash Mouth tweeted about it.
Boyer says he "lost his shit" when he saw that the band's tweet and has been in contact with them since.
The response Boyer has received has been overwhelming and unexpected, he said, adding he's heard over and over again from people who never thought they'd have an emotional connection to Smash Mouth.
"I might have done something right here," Boyer says.
To submit your video to Alaska Dispatch News contact Tara Young at tara(at)alaskadispatch.com.