Sole Music

Chad Haverly remembers MTV when it played music videos – those expensively produced, jumpily edited promotional clips designed to get the word out about the next big band dreaming big. And he didn’t leave his love of video behind; these days, Haverly co-owns Sole Solution Studios with David Boone and Christopher Lavelle.

 

Boone and Lavelle remember those days, too. Lavelle and Haverly first met as students at St. X, while Boone joined the crew after making his acquaintance at Western Kentucky University. Sole Solution is billed as “the sole solution for your media needs,” and the trio creates a one-stop shop for video production, including corporate and instructional videos, online media, and high-definition DVD. But they have the most fun when shooting music videos in an organic setting – not necessarily on a Day-Glo soundstage, but at clubs such as Zanzibar and Jim Porter’s, and even at The Louisville Palace.

 

“We were doing promotional work for My Morning Jacket’s (then-upcoming) Circuital release, and along with that their performance at the Palace was going to be streamed live through American Express’ concert series,” says Haverly. “The idea was that they’d get a famous director to shoot it, but Todd Haynes (best known for the 1998 glam-rock drama Velvet Goldmine) saw the pieces we did and loved the narrative and incorporated the promotional pieces into the show.” Sole Solution went on to shoot the deliriously surreal video for MMJ’s first single from Circuital, “Holdin’ on to Black Metal.” Haverly, Boone and Lavelle have also shot videos for local indies, such as The Instruction and Sea Hero, along with “lots of different indie bands that come through,” including those at the Forecastle Festival, which Haverly and crew have covered since 2009.

 

While the Sole Solution crew has no problem working with people who have their own vision, they are also glad to take the lead, if asked. “I love anything where we get to insert our creativity,” Haverly says. “You get to express yourself, which a lot of time with the corporate stuff you don’t get to do. Every now and then you’ll get a job where you can throw a little piece of you into it.” And if not? “Some clients have a very strict idea and want to stick with it; others say go on, run with it. It’s usually either/or. We’ve worked with every sort of client and person, and we offer our opinions, but we know when to stop ... We know to please the client. Some people want to have more control, and that’s okay.”

 

Controlling costs has become easier, too. Even in the two short years Sole Solution Studios has been in existence, its owners have reaped the benefits of ubiquitous technology. “The equipment we use is coming down in price,” Haverly explains. “But then, you can have the best equipment in the world but it’s all about your operator. You’re going to see a lot stronger pieces coming from small production places, because you don’t have to be a production place spending $10,000 on the software and $5,000 on the camera. We’re living in a new era.”

 

Sole Solution Studios is located at 2008 Highland Ave., in the Highlands (across from Underground Sounds). The studio is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Their website is www.solesolutionstudios.com.