American Aquarium Share Video For “Crooked+Straight”

American Aquarium
Photo by Cal Quinn

Last year, American Aquarium released a new album, Things Change. One of the standout tracks on the LP is “Crooked+Straight,” a song that draws on frontman BJ Barham’s upbringing as the son of a Southern Baptist deacon to show the contradictions often present in Southern life.

Videos by American Songwriter

Now, the band has shared a new video for the song, premiering below. Directed by Brandon M. Ward, the video stars Bazil Napier and Landon Young in a fictionalized take on Barham’s youth. As Barham explains it, “the video does a great job painting the same type of picture the song does,” which is one of the duality of the Southern experience.

“This song started off as an exercise in self-reflection that turned into an observation on a much larger subject,” Barham says. “The idea that we can’t truly appreciate the good without a thorough knowledge of the bad, and many times that knowledge of the bad comes from experience. The bruises and the breaks. The love and the heartache. The crooked and the straight. I wanted this video to reflect this yin/yang idea, but I wanted it to be gritty and dirty. I wanted it to be an accurate portrayal of the good and bad many Southerners are forced to wade through on a daily basis.”

Watch the video for “Crooked+Straight” and see American Aquarium’s upcoming tour dates below.

American Aquarium tour dates:
4/19/2019 Knoxville, TN Barley’s
4/20/2019 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!
4/23/2019 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
4/24/2019 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
4/25/2019 Charlottesville, VA The Southern
4/26/2019 Wilkesboro, NC Merlefest
4/27/19 Tuscaloosa, AL Local Roots
4/29/19 Oxford, MS Proud Larry’s
4/30/19 Jackson, MS Martin’s
5/1/19 Beaumont, TX Courville’s
5/2/19 Corpus Christi, TX Brewster St. Icehouse
5/3/19 New Braunfels, TX Gruene Hall
5/4/19 Tyler, TX Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival
5/5/19 The Woodlands, TX Dosey Doe
5/8/19 San Angelo, TX Blaine’s Pub
5/9/19 Lubbock, TX The Blue Light 
5/10/19 Claremore, OK Dog Iron Saloon (Cherokee Casino)
5/11/19 Arlington, TX KAABOO Texas 
6/6/19 Los Angeles, CA The Echoplex
6/8&9/19 Puerto Penasco, MX Circus Mexicus
6/15/19 Broken Arrow, OK Broken Arrow Beer Festival
6/18/19 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater
6/20/19 SLC, UT Metro Music Hall
6/21/19 Ft. Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
6/22/19 Laramie, WY Cowboy Saloon
6/23/19 Billings, MT Pub Station
6/25/19 Boise, ID The Olympic
6/26/19 Hailey, ID The Mint
6/27/19 Post Falls, ID Nashville North
6/28/19 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
6/29/19 Pendleton, OR Happy Canyon
6/30/19 Seattle, WA The Tractor
7/1/19 Missoula, MT Top Hat Lounge
7/2/19 Bozeman, MT The Filling Station
7/4/19 Belle Courche, SD 100th Back Hills Roundup Stree Dance
7/5/19 Kansas City, MO Knuckleheads
7/7/19 Nashville, TN The Basement East
7/24 – 7/25/19 Floyd, VA FloydFest