Video Premiere: Radiator King Shares his “Second Thoughts in Memphis”

Radiator King’s (Adam Silvestri) latest album, A Hollow Triumph After All, is celebratory and somber, an attempt to transcend pain, loss, and suffering by celebrating a life well-lived, while at once acknowledging the fact that we’re born to die. A journey in song merging indie rock, psychedelia, hook-heavy rock & roll, and folk-punk dirges that is bound by Silvestri’s well-drawn lyrics and gravelly vocals, the collection includes his latest, “Second Thoughts in Memphis.” A guitar and keys led tune, reminiscent of both Springsteen and The Replacements, “Second Thoughts in Memphis” chronicles Silvestri’s free-spirited life on the road with the video capturing cinematic imagery of towns across the U.S. as Silvestri plays tour guide, clearly appreciative of the life he is living.

Silvestri notes of the song, “Upon leaving for the “A Hollow Triumph After All” tour this past spring, I decided to take a camera along to capture some of the experience. It was a long tour through the U.S, covering more or less the entire country. For the first three weeks, I traveled with a band, and the remaining three weeks I traveled solo. As you can imagine, the experiences were vast. At times I was surrounded by close friends, laughing and playing music together, and at other times I was all alone, sleeping in the back of my van parked in the Walmart lot closest to the venue I’d just played. That may sound strange, but it’s usually a Walmart parking lot because they’re one of only a few businesses whose policy allows you to park overnight.

When I got back from the 6-week long tour, I had hours of random footage of the journey, and it occurred to me that the this could be made into a great music video for the tune “Second Thoughts in Memphis”. I gave the footage to my friend and editor Joaquin Portacarero who did a wonderful job piecing it together to make the video you see here. Touring is a large part of a musician’s life, and I’d say the more you do it the more you appreciate what it has to teach you. Many of my most notable memories and greatest experiences have been made out there on the road, and it’s my hope that this video captures some of that.”