Acoustic Truth landed video deal at L.A. airport
A double flight delay turned out to be a good thing for Sarah Lendy and Ryan Knott.
The country-pop duo Acoustic Truth had a chance meeting in the Los Angeles airport with video director Michael Estrella, who had worked in the past with such big names as Kings of Leon.
"He noticed my guitar and asked us if we would mind playing him a song," said Knott, a native of Huntley. "By the end of the song, we were surrounded by 60 people."
They played more, and Estrella was struck by one in particular, "Time." He liked Lendy's vocals and Knott's guitar-playing so much that he offered to shoot a video with them for free.
The result - filmed both in Huntley and Chicago - is drawing attention since it was posted last month on YouTube. And while Acoustic Truth, formed in 2011, has not yet signed with a record label, the video is bringing in offers.
"Time" is the title track on an album the duo - together personally as well as professionally - released back in February. They started writing the song over a Skype conversation while Knott was in Nebraska and finished it six months later.
The emotional video tells the story of time progressing in the life of a couple. Lendy and Knott played the younger couple, while Bob and Karen Musa of Park Ridge, married 52 years, portrayed the older husband and wife.
The Musas knew Lendy, also from Park Ridge, through her family singing at Saturday night church services. They had no acting experience at all.
"We never, ever expected to be such a big part of the video. We figured we'd be in a crowd of people." Karen Musa said. "It was the experience of a lifetime."
"This particular song is very poignant with the way generations come along, and Acoustic Truth has a total quality to it that we've always liked," Bob said.
There were two 100-year-old Huntley homes used for the production of the video as well as Chicago's historic Aragon Ballroom, all within three brief days of shooting.
Before the video, Acoustic Truth spent much of their time playing in hospitals as well as performing for special needs children and older audiences. Lendy and Knott, both 24, met when they both volunteered as counselors for a children's special needs camp.
Knott found himself at the camp after sustaining a baseball injury at Duke University and said meeting Lendy "opened another door" to his life. After camp, they stayed in touch: writing songs, playing guitars and singing with each other over Skype.
While they still aim to play hospitals and smaller stages, they will perform at the House of Blues in Chicago on Jan. 2. And they are looking to travel to New York soon to possibly take their career to the next level.
"I think this music video showed everyone that we were serious about music and that we want our songs to be heard," Lendy said. "We've seen posts about how the song has changed lives. It's our most thoughtful and emotional video for people so far."