For the story behind this video, read on!

Valerie opened the utility room door and frowned.
 "These bags are getting out of hand." 
 John rolled his eyes and said in a flat voice, "I know, I know. I'll put it all in the recycling."
 It wasn't just the bags. Cardboard boxes were piling up too. 
 "I swear I'll get to it," he said two weeks later.

Then one night, as she made the morning coffee, Valerie noticed multi-colored lights flickering under the utility room door. 
"Hmm."
She put her ear to it. A thumping sound came from the other side, like a drumbeat, a strange disco four-on-the-floor beat. Her hand hovered over the doorknob for a few seconds, then she flung it open, and...
The bags had built a city from the cardboard boxes, a vast city with bridges and nightclubs, trees and statues, and a train!

One of the bags motioned for her to get on the train.
And she did get on...as if a city growing in her utility room was no big deal. 
"Come on. Don't be late," said the bag. He wore a neat little conductor's hat made from the same material as himself.
"Welcome aboard," he said. "Where ya headed?"
"Well...I don't..."
"That's O.K. Y'know, we all start out empty, folded flat, and then we open up, right? And we put stuff in our bag, and other people put stuff in, and before you know it, we're full!"
   
All this time, the train was rolling through a brown paper landscape alive with High-Lighter colors; Pink-Blue-Yellow-Orange.
The conductor went on.
"Your bag is full of everything you've collected over a lifetime. You like Surf Music. You don't like fish. You prefer Yellow to Teal.
 In other words, our 'Bag' is who we are.
And we decide what we want to put in it.
   
The drumbeat got louder as the train rolled into town. At last, they got to the source of the noise. There was a party going on. A band was playing.
"If you were you and it was now," they sang, "What would you do?"
"It's up to you," the conductor said, "what you put in your bag...what gifts it can hold. The possibilities are endless."
"Is it a Glad Bag or a Sad Sack," he said.
     
Time had no shape in the cardboard city. She didn't know how long she was there. Finally, the Conductor broke the spell. 
"Uh-oh. Time to head back. The Number-Five is leaving right on away."
In a blink of Dreamtime, she was standing outside the Utility Room door again.

What just happened?
She swore she could still hear the faint sound of drums.
John came up behind her then. 
"I swear, I'll recycle all that stuff today!"

"Oh," she said, "Why don't you wait a while."


WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
                                  or
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING

We released the Bagtown album in the Spring of 2016. (What a different world THAT was.) At the same time, we shot a video for the title song, directed by the phenomenal Mike Wellins of Peculiarium fame. Our son Malcolm built the town, which was about seven feet long.
(you can check out more of Malcolm's art here: https://www.bluepixiecomics.com/

The album came and went, and the video was left unfinished...
...till now!

We got a message from Mike that he handed off the editing to an Italian video editor named Arturo Martinini, and they already had a rough cut for us to look at. We LOVED it, made a few final tweaks, and...

Here it is! At last, the NU SHOOZ Band goes to BAGTOWN. Enjoy.

And thanks to everyone who went along on our latest expedition:


Bagtown was written and produced by John Smith
Mixed by Greg Williams

Musicians

Vocals:
Valerie Day
Margaret Linn
Tracey Harris
Haley Horsfall
Sean Holmes

Bass: Gary Fountaine
Drums: Johnny Riley
Trumpet: Paul Mazzio
Saxophone: Tim Jensen
Vibes: Mike Horsfall
Guitar and Piano: John Smith
Percussion: Valerie Day

Video Production:

Director, Producer, Camera Operator and Artistic Genius: Mike Wellins
Artwork for Bagtown Set: Malcolm Smith
Editing: Arturo Martinini
Grip, Camera Operator, and Production Assistant: Jasper Thun
Director of Photography: Daniel Ackerman at Stage 13

Thank you to:

Shannon Day — Fashion Maven & Queen of Presents
Casey Murphy — Super Assistant. What can’t this woman do?


For more Nu Shooz music, videos, and more, check out our website: https://www.nushoozmusic.com/