Budderside Play Tribute To Frontman's Father With 'Joker'

December 11, 2022

Budderside Joker single art — Joker single art

(SRO) Budderside have released an emotional new single, "Joker," which pays tribute to vocalist Patrick Stone's late father Charles E. Stone who passed away in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Known as the "joker," Stone's father was a Korean War veteran and stunt pilot. To honor his memory, Budderside filmed the "Joker" music video at Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA surrounded by historic warbirds and aerobatic aircrafts, with Stone's face painted to resemble the joker character.

"'Joker' pays tribute to my father who was a veteran and stunt pilot that I lost due to Covid," shares Stone. He continues to reminisce about his relationship with his father and how it inspired the track: "Imagine you're a child, Dad wakes you up before dawn, takes you to the airport and straps you into his two-seater acrobatic aircraft and you both launch into a gorgeous, burning orange and red sunrise.

"He flips the plane upside down just as you come over the Santa Cruz mountains above Steamers Lane, the engine growling into a dive toward waves covered with surfers who begin jumping from their boards in fear of a crash.

"Dad laughing his ass off, upside down and lightning fast, then, spinning upward, straight for the stars. He cuts the power into a stall! You fall backwards, your heart spit from your chest, all the angels in heaven vibrating in your bones and Dad, The Joker, laughs even louder as the free fall consumes you.

"A quick trick with the controls, the engine comes back to life like an earthquake, the power under your seat, you both scream! Then, like a dream, the clouds act like a blanket and softly carry you to wherever you want to go. This was a typical Sunday morning for my dad and I."

Watch the video directed by longtime collaborator Vicente Cordero below: