Solid message, 'normal' kids make music video a winner

Solid message, ‘normal' kids make music video a winner

When West Aurora High School junior Maggie Perez auditioned for the Aurora Public Library's Teen Talent Show in June, 2012, she didn't have delusions of grandeur. She simply thought it would be fun.

Although she didn't win the competition, it opened the door for her to play the part of a young girl with dreams of becoming a rock star in a music video.

The morning of the library audition, she clipped a pink flower into her hair and headed out with her accompaniment to the Colbie Caillat song, “Bubbly” on her Kindle Fire.

“I wore a pink flower in my hair mainly because it matched what I was wearing and I thought it looked pretty cute,” Maggie said. “It wasn't planned or anything. I just kinda stuck it in my hair before the audition.”

But that flower – and her aura of innocence -- was the start of something big. When a video producer saw a short clip of her audition, he passed it along to rock star Jim Peterik, who was just beginning work on a new video.

Several days later, she got a call about doing a screen test for the video. Soon after, filming started.

That video -- for the Pride of Lions song, “Delusional” featured on the 2012 release “Immortal” -- won the Naperville Independent Film Festival's award for Best Music Video during its awards gala on Sept. 21. Pride of Lions is a melodic rock group fronted by former Ides of March and Survivor guitarist/keyboardist Peterik and vocalist Toby Hitchcock.

Peterik, who wrote “Delusional,” said the song is based on “what I was feeling at the time, and I still feel. A lot of times people put a lid on their dreams because they think they will never be able to achieve them, or because someone in their life discourages them.”

He added that when he was growing up, he was discouraged by his mom from trying to do anything “technical.” (He said this may be why he has never had much luck with computers.)

“When I found songwriting, I really found myself,” Peterik said. “Not only songwriting, but music in general… and the feeling of standing on a stage. ‘Delusional' is about facing your fears and going for it. I believe that everybody on this earth has a gift that they have to identify and develop.”

“Delusional” was the album cut suggested for the video by Frontiers Records founder Serafino Perugino.

“He is very astute when it comes to music,” Peterik said. “I have to say he became like a mentor to me later in life, and he just loved this song. He is a very passionate person. He loved the melody and the message, and the way Toby's and my voice blended together. He said, ‘Maestro,' (that's what he calls me); this is the song for the video.

“That's when I called the great Greg Bizzaro (of Jaffe Films, Lisle) and we started brainstorming. We had a blank sheet of paper and the ideas started flowing between Greg and Toby and me, and of course Greg's associates Jon Bizzaro and Steve Claussen. Everyone was throwing in ideas.”

Peterik said two ideas that made their way onto the video storyboard were a girl singing into her hairbrush who is discouraged by her mother, and a young football player who doesn't measure up in his coaches' and teammates' eyes. “These are things everyone can relate to,” Peterik added.

In fact, Peterik has received letters and emails from people who have been inspired by the song and the video. “The letters say, ‘Thank God this song showed me that maybe this daughter or son of mine is unusual in a good way. Let's not quash his or her personality.”

The thing that both Peterik and Bizzaro saw in Maggie was innocence and vulnerability.

After seeing Maggie's taped audition, Bizzaro was sure that Maggie was the “living, breathing” personification of the girl in the song. “She was literally her character – someone who really does want to be a star,” Bizzaro said.

Peterik said Bizzaro, without hyping Maggie's innate talent, casually suggested he watch the video clip. “I saw her and did the hyping myself,” Peterik said. “There was something different about her. Her serene smile and quiet confidence were almost like a gift from God that she had inside. The sincerity in her eyes I don't see often.”

Maggie said the first time she met Peterik he told her she had “it,” which was the biggest compliment she had ever received. “In the short clip, I was singing a really sweet and innocent song with a flower in my hair, and I guess I just looked like a young dreamer, which was exactly what Jim wanted.”

All of the young people featured in the video are “normal, everyday kids, and that's what I envisioned from the start,” Bizzaro said.

The video was filmed in a number of locations, including schools in Wheaton and Hinsdale and the Eola Road Branch Library in Aurora. Peterik said he thought filming in a library was a good fit.

“I just relate to my very early days of going to the library and what a revelation it was being surrounded by all this wonderful knowledge,” he said. “I don't know how people react now in the days of Google and computers. But for me, books are the window to the world. I don't read on a Kindle or listen to recorded books. I just wrote my memoirs, and I was asked if I wanted it to come out digitally. I said, ‘It's got to come out as a book. I want this on library shelves!' Libraries are magical places for me; almost like a sanctuary.”

Peterik said he has been in a number of music videos. “ ‘Survivor' made nine videos through the years,” he said, “some more embarrassing than others!”

His favorite videos have been the ones on which he has collaborated with Bizzaro. “He has been such a champion for the music video,” Peterik said. “Both he and I were so honored to get the award for the Best Music Video from the Naperville Film Fest.”

Two other Bizzaro videos were nominated as well. And although any could have won, Peterik said the “Delusional” video's story caught the attention of the judges with its message.

Bizzaro agreed.

“'Delusional' won because it had a great story,” he said. “I think people crave stories and this was definitely a great story about two kids who wanted to break free from labeling. It was a good story and a good message. And, if you put a lot into something and do it the right way, you get a good response.”

Although Bizzaro directed the video, he said of Peterik: “He was the one who blessed the vision and gave a lot of input. Winning the trophy was a big moment, but having Jim put the trust in me to direct the video was huge.”

Bizzaro said his right-hand in the filming was Ralph DeLuca. Colleague Claussen, whose son Peter played the part of the young football player, assisted with lighting and technical and creative input. Maggie's parents, Henry and Cheryl Perez of Aurora, also had small parts in the video.

“I love the message of the song,” Maggie said. “It's all about being yourself and expressing yourself no matter what anyone else says. It's a really inspiring message. Basically, be who you are. I love it.”

Maggie says her life has been “kinda crazy” since the video.

“Since then, I have been in two other music videos. I've been pretty busy, and I've loved every minute of it. I've been interviewed a couple of times, and I got to go up on stage with Jim and Greg when they accepted the (best music video) award. Not only that, but Jim and Greg let me hold the award while they were giving their speeches! That was one of the most amazing moments in my life.

“Most of my friends have seen the video, and occasionally when I walk down the hallway, I'll hear people singing ‘Delusional.' It's crazy and amazing at the same time. My life has been pretty awesome since the music video.”

Maggie said it is definitely one of her dreams to be a rock star. “I love singing and performing, and I think being able to do that as a career, like Jim Peterik, would be amazing. Another dream of mine is to be an actress. “That dream has kinda come true because of ‘Delusional.' I loved acting in the video. That was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, experience of my life.”

Peterik's first band, The Ides of March, will celebrate its 50th year together in 2014. The secret? Peterik says it lies in one word: friendship.

“We are the odd band that always got along,” he said. “There was not the infighting you hear about with The Rolling Stones and other bands. When I went on the road with the Ides it was like being with a bunch of friends. Everyone had expertise in an area and everyone respected that.”

Peterik was headed for concerts in West Springfield, Mass. and New York after completing this interview, but will be back in Illinois with the Ides of March on Nov. 2 at The Theatre of Western Springs.

And as for Maggie, the 16-year-old is happily planning for homecoming at West Aurora High School. And she clips flowers in her hair a lot more often now. “I never used to wear flowers, but since the music video, it's kinda become my ‘thing,'” she said. “ One of my friends even called it my ‘signature thing.' So now I wear flowers on a pretty regular basis.”

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