Tower Defense Struggles to be Seen in ‘Schools’

If you’ve been lucky enough to experience a music scene evolving over time, you’re almost sure to be familiar with a certain twinge of awkwardness. It comes when you walk into the venue for a show (remember doing that?) and it dawns on you that you might be the oldest person there. 

The young crowd doesn’t do anything to make you feel unwelcome. But the recognition that the audience isn’t made up of your peers might make you pause and ask yourself a question or two. If you’re a musician who’s relied on the local scene to fulfill your artistic needs (if not necessarily your economic ones), there are more dimensions to that feeling. 

The members of post-punk-leaning quartet Tower Defense have been part of the ebb and flow of Nashville rock music for about a quarter-century. They’re some of our sharpest cultural critics, in no small part because they keep pushing themselves to participate in our conglomeration of scenes. They’re supporters of young folks getting involved in music, despite not being youngsters themselves. But “Schools,” a song from their forthcoming second full-length In the City, explores some of the negative feelings that come from finding yourself on the periphery of the culture you were once near the center of.

“This is the only ‘personal’ song I've ever written for Tower Defense,” writes singer-songwriter/tenor-bassist Mike Shepherd. “The verses are about growing old in one's own ‘scene,’ finding oneself old and fat and invisible, but refusing to fade away. Writing these words made me feel uncomfortable and self-conscious, so the coda pivots into horror — drinking the blood of the young to steal their youth like Elizabeth Bathory.”

Today, we’re very pleased to premiere the music video for the piece. It’s made up of footage of the group (which also includes Mike’s wife and bassist-singer Sarah Shepherd, guitarist Currey May and drummer Jereme Frey) playing around town at The 5 Spot, Little Harpeth Brewing, all-ages venue Drkmttr, Fond Object (RIP), The Basement and elsewhere. The camera is set up unobtrusively at the back of each venue, unattended and largely unnoticed. The crowd fills in around it, to the point that it’s hard to see the band, recreating the feeling Shepherd’s talking about with unsettling accuracy. 

Check out the video above. In the City is out Nov. 19 via YK Records, and you can preorder a copy from Bandcamp. Keep an eye on the band’s website and social media (Twitter, Instagram) for updates.