#jake bonham

Phoenix Rising Has No Time for Bullies in Comic Book Themed Music Video, “If I Say No”

[embedplusvideo height=”253″ width=”450″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/2n3NTDz” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/5IbrgvSFk1E?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=5IbrgvSFk1E&width=450&height=253&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep2991″ /] Anyone who’s spent time in the typical American high school has been exposed to bullying of one kind or another, whether it be by fellow students or even…

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Anyone who’s spent time in the typical American high school has been exposed to bullying of one kind or another, whether it be by fellow students or even teachers; it’s a seemingly inescapable part of adolescent life. But what if the victims stood up and rejected their oppression once and for all? That’s the narrative of Dallas Rap-Metal band Phoenix Risings new music video for their second single, “If I Say No.” Framed as a comic book, the video follows the members as they encounter brutal harassment from classmates and others until they individually reach their threshold and stand up to their hateful antagonists.

“IF I SAY NO” is a song about standing for yourself when you are face to face with someone that is trying to make you feel bad for who and what you are. Everyone has experienced trying so hard to be accepted as a person, doing everything that we can to succeed, but ultimately being psychologically beat up by another person, or even ourselves when we fail! The song questions “What if I say no?” and responds “Then this all ends” as a battle cry for the listener to rise up and not take it anymore.

We are not always accepted as the person that we are but that is no reason to put up with abuse from another person. We are also going to fail in some of our pursuits of excellence, and that is also no reason to be shamed by another person. We are who we are and we should be proud of the human being that we have become. Failure is how we learn and how we grow. Most successes are from repeated attempts of trying over and over again until you succeed.

We chose a ‘Comic Book Music Video’ because we love comics and it just felt like a fun way to present the storyline. The opening scene was shot at the comic book store Kent grew up going to for years! Also, some of our fans have asked if we will be selling the ‘PHOENIX RISING’ comic book used in the video! We are happy to say that we are in the process of making this happen with the storyline of the video totally expressed in comic book form. A dream come true!!! – Phoenix Rising

Download / Stream “If I Say No”: iTunes | Amazon | Spotify | Googleplay

Connect with Phoenix Rising: Official Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Phoenix Rising Stand Up and Ask “If I Say No”!

Dallas, TX based Nu-Metal Band Phoenix Rising has released the comic themed video for their defiant and liberating single “If I Say No,” off of their upcoming debut LP, From the Ashes, which was scripted by the band and directed by Jake Bonham.

“IF I SAY NO” is a song about standing for yourself when you are face to face with…

Phoenix Rising Stand Up and Ask “If I Say No”!

Dallas, TX based Nu-Metal Band Phoenix Rising has released the comic themed video for their defiant and liberating single “If I Say No,” off of their upcoming debut LP, From the Ashes, which was scripted by the band and directed by Jake Bonham. “IF I SAY NO” is a song about standing for yourself when you are face to face with…

LaVoy Finicum had a problem telling the difference between reality and fiction.

His fictional novel, Only by Blood and Suffering describes a situation that includes haunting similarities to the standoff at Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

In an excellent book review by Jim Dalrymple II for BuzzFeedNEWS, extracts of the novel show Finicum describing conflicts between US citizens and an overreaching government.

Sound familiar?

The main character, Jake Bonham, is a gun-totin’ freedom fighter who let’s no state or federal official stand in his way. Even contrary civilian neighbours are disposed of with the squeeze of a trigger.

Considering how the standoff in Oregon came to an end, it is safe to say that the FBI had studied Finicum’s tale in detail, in particular this part, as described and quoted by Dalrymple;

In the final pages of the story Williams (a DHS agent) nearly wins; (Jake) Bonham is wounded, surrounded, without a rifle, and Williams talks about “taking your head.” At the last second, however, Bonham pulls out his revolver and kills Williams and several other agents.

“The bullet took Zachary Williams between the eyes,” Bonham narrates, adding a few lines later that “The bodies of my enemies lay before me, not a twitch coming from them. Holding the old revolver in my hand, I could not help but spin it around my finger once before sliding it back into the holster.”

In the few minutes before his death, LaVoy Finicum thought he was Jake Bonham, about to kill his opponents with a few fast blasts between their eyes from his trusty revolver. 

Imagine his surprise when he realised that he was not the quick draw cowboy of his imagination. There’d be no graceful revolver spinning for this misguided lunatic at the Highway 395 road block, as he was quickly discharged to a body bag.