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Metts, Ryan & Collins//Photo by Paul Brown
Metts, Ryan & Collins//Photo by Paul Brown
02/13/2019

Metts, Ryan & Collins: "Light Horizon"/Featured Video

Watch “Light Horizon," the latest video from Portland rock trio Metts, Ryan & Collins.

by Ana Ammann

“Light Horizon” is the latest video off the album Homegrown from Portland power-rock trio, Metts, Ryan & Collins.

"Everything that we did with this record was hands on and locally sourced, including the artwork," says front man Geoff Metts.  "The album title really represents the spirit of this album."

The location for the “Light Horizon” video shoot was no exception.  Filmed on a beach in Waldport, a small town located about three hours south of Portland, the video captures the stark beauty of the central Oregon Coast. “We waited for that magic hour, when the sun was in just the right spot. But even though sun was out, and the skies were blue, it was COLD!” recalls Metts.

The band - Geoff Metts (vocals, guitar), Dain Ryan (bass, vocals) and Mike Collins (drums, vocals) - took inspiration for adding a ‘special ingredient’ to their creative process from The Beatles by “smoking a big one” before filming. “When you watch the video for “Paperback Writer,” you can tell they are all having a good time.  We did the same thing right before filming “Light Horizon” and had a lot of fun despite trying to stay warm and breathing warm air onto our hands in between takes.”

The crew filmed until the sun went down, but the video itself almost didn’t see the light of day.  It took nine months, threat of a lawsuit and intervention of the band’s lawyer, Peter Vaughn Shaver, to get the video out of the can.

Homegrown was engineered and produced by longtime collaborator and friend, Kevin Hahn at Opal Studio. The band spent a lot of time gathering the best of new and vintage equipment to create unique tones for each instrument. “The highlight for the whole band is the sound we capture on this record.  It is a mix of vintage and modern instruments, recording techniques, and songwriting, which is exactly what we wanted it to be," said Metts.

The only outsider featured on the album is famed session and touring guitarist, Earl Slick, who plays the lead on “Light Horizon,” giving it a Stones-y feeling. Best known as one of David Bowie’s guitarists, Slick also collaborated with John Lennon on his 1980 album, Double Fantasy. “We were super flattered to have him play on this album. He has played with the Dolls, Bowie - all these bands we dig.  He got what we were doing and came in and did his magic, adding this element that was all his own. He recorded his parts in New York and sent them back via the magic of ProTools. The coolest thing for me, when I think of Earl being a part of this album, is the knowledge that he played on songs that John Lennon wrote in his kitchen. And here he is today, playing on a song that I wrote in my kitchen. That’s pretty amazing,” expressed Metts.

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