Synopsis
Jessy Lanza performs "Kathy Lee" around Hamilton, Ontario, moving through empty parks, a graffiti-covered band shell, a field, and an industrial warehouse. Much of the video's visual energy comes from Jed Lifeson, a local figure known as "Jed the Dancing Guy," who moves through the city with distinctive, unselfconscious steps. Lanza remains deliberately peripheral for much of the clip, while the muted urban imagery gradually grows more colorful as the song builds toward its climax.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video was shot in Lanza's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, and presents the city through gritty streets, vacant public spaces, and industrial-looking locations.
- Jed Lifeson, known locally as "Jed the Dancing Guy," was not a conventional music-video casting choice. Lanza already knew of him from seeing him dance around Hamilton while listening to his MP3 player.
- Lanza contacted Jed through Facebook after deciding she wanted him to appear in the video.
- Lanza said she preferred to remain a peripheral presence rather than make the clip solely about herself. She felt that many videos centered entirely on female artists were uninteresting.
- The production aimed to preserve the candid quality of Jed's everyday dancing instead of making his movements look heavily choreographed.
- The video's early images use relatively muted colors, which become increasingly saturated as the track approaches its climax.
- The visual concept developed from Lanza and Jeremy Greenspan's initial idea around Jed and Hamilton, expanding into a more varied sequence of locations and a light narrative.
- Among the additional scenes are Lanza wandering through a baseball park, Jed temporarily abandoning his headphones, and Lanza searching a warehouse for an antique organ.
- "Kathy Lee" was released as the lead single from Lanza's debut album, "Pull My Hair Back," in 2013.
- The track itself grew from a footwork-influenced production featuring a sample of someone saying "cat daddy" in a YouTube video.