After ‘Living’, Dierks Bentley Might Have to Make a Music Video With Each of His Kids
When it came time to plan the music video for his new single "Living," country star Dierks Bentley knew the treatment had to be something special. "The song is really important to me. It's kind of a cornerstone of the album in some way, and when you make a video, obviously, you can go in so many directions with a song like that," he explains.
Still, it took him a while to settle on the right approach. "I've been on the road a bunch this winter, and I kinda just dragged my feet on making a video," Bentley goes on to say, adding that although his team came up with plenty of ideas, nothing immediately grabbed his attention until director and longtime collaborator Wes Edwards suggested spotlighting Bentley's 5-year-old-son, Knox.
"I was like, 'Alright, I like that a lot.' Because it's just a chance to hang out with my son on an off day, and do something we would do anyway -- kind of on steroids -- and it was pretty fun," the singer relates. "What I love about it is that I plan trips and do big adventures and try to really be outside, going for stuff, but what I found, over the length of the song, is that it's about the little things that you can do that are right at your fingertips. A lot of that stuff has to do with my kids."
On the first day of the "Living" music video shoot, Bentley admits that he wasn't necessarily in the mood to seize the day. "I'd been on the road for three weeks, and I came back on a Saturday night, and it was on a Sunday morning we shot," he recalls with a laugh. "There were, like, 30 people in my house. I was so tired, and a little grumpy. I remember at one point hiding in my closet with the door closed."
That day, he admits, it was Knox who carried the team. "He kinda pulled me through that first day. And I had a better attitude the second day. But he did a great job," Bentley says.
But now that Knox has had his turn as a music video star, Bentley -- a father of three -- finds himself in a "tricky situation": "Of course, all the rest of my kids are waiting for their video now," he notes. "Jordan thinks we're gonna go mountain climbing together and do the "The Mountain" video. So, I've put myself in a little bit of a conundrum here."
Despite the logistical difficulties of planning a music video and negotiating sibling politics, Bentley says the "Living" video was ultimately a way to enjoy spending time with his son, and that the treatment spoke perfectly to the song's theme.
"You find a lot of living in just being present with [your kids], and they're great teachers," he says. "The video was an example of that, something anybody can do: go-karts, backyard sword fights, that kind of stuff. I think he was having the time of his life."
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