The new music video for Nasalrod’s “The Maker” is packed with famous cameos, iconic Portland locales, and some pretty goofy special effects. The rip-roarin’ track is featured on 2024’s In The Modern Meatspace—Nasalrod’s split EP with the California punks Victims Family. The video follows a hapless slob (played by Nasalrod’s mononymous lead singer Chairman) as he awakes from a hellish dream to realize he’s late for band practice. The hijinks he gets into trying to get to the punk practice basement where the rest of his band is waiting are the stuff of legend.
En route to meet the rest of Nasalrod, Chairman encounters a veritable clown car of punk and heavy metal legends, both from Portland and beyond. First up is Jello Biafra—the former lead singer of Dead Kennedys—playing a brazen televangelist. Following him is, in order of appearance:
- Matt Pike of High on Fire, Sleep
- Sean Croghan of the Mistons
- Lee Ving of Fear
- Mike Scheidt, Aaron Rieseberg, and Dave French of Yob
- Jerry A. of Poison Idea
- Janet Weiss of Quasi, Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag
- Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, 1000 Homo DJs
- Steve Turner of Mudhoney
- Jason Rivera of Gaytheist
- Kyle Elferdink and Kaley Harrison of Black Shelton & the American Dream
- Greg Meleney of Danava
- Bim Ditson and Ryan Neighbors of Help
- Toody Cole of Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, the Rats, the Range Rats, Western Front
“The Maker” is not only the most star-studded music video by a Portland band in recent memory, it’s also the directorial debut for James Rexroad, a longtime photojournalist and friend of Nasalrod who oversaw the project from concept to final cut. Talking about the project, Rexroad glows with a weary mix of pride and relief that the video is finally finished and out in the world. Working closely with Chairman, he went to great lengths to secure the video’s various guest stars, even if it meant cornering, say, Jourgensen during a smoke break by his tour bus before a Ministry show at Roseland Theater.
“As the budget would allow, you know, things were cut or kept,” said Tim Leitch AKA Nasalrod drummer Spit Stix, "but [Rexroad] persisted on with a goal that was bigger than we envisioned.” For his part, Rexroad is adamant about gratefully acknowledging the help he received from editor and colorist Adam Cornelius, a fellow member of Portland’s Desert Island Studios collective.
Besides a cavalcade of punk and metal celebrities, “The Maker” is a love letter to Portland. It features glimpses of local landmarks like the Landfill Rescue Unit record store, Puff Coffee, Hollywood Theatre, and a pile of trash bags on an Old Town sidewalk—sights familiar to any true Portlander. The video is also sprinkled with references to cult classic horror films like The Warriors, Repo Man, Carrie, and Over the Edge, making rewatching the almost eight minute video over and over very worth it. “When we finally saw it, we were all laughing so hard and just looking at each other like, 'Holy shit!'...We watched it four or five times the night Chairman brought it over,” said Justin Stimson, the band’s guitarist who goes by Mustin Douch. “Ten times!” corrected bassist Mandy Morgan.
All in all, “The Maker” music video is a mini-epic that moves at the same pace as the song and inhabits the same aesthetic space as Nasalrod, making it a welcome addition to the canon of Portland music videos that rip.
Obsessed and want to see Nasalrod live? They’ve got two upcoming Portland dates:
The Jesus Lizard / Nasalrod at Revolution Hall - May 9, tickets here
Project Pabst festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park - July 26-27, tickets here
