Copyright 2019 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
‘It rocks!’: Raconteurs music video puts House on the Rock in spotlight
SPRING GREEN, Wis. – A famous rock band is putting a Wisconsin tourist attraction in the spotlight with the release of a new music video.
The Raconteurs released the video for their song “Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)” this week, and it already has tens of thousands of views. The band shot the video at House on the Rock on a Monday afternoon in September.
“The name House on the Rock doesn’t say it all,” said Sue Donaldson, House on the Rock president.
It can be a hard place to describe.
“(It’s a) playground for the imagination,” said Nancy Schaaf, director of human resources and employee since 1982.
“It’s an attraction like nowhere else in the world,” Donaldson said. “There’s no backdrop you can find anywhere that would compare to the uniqueness of this venue.”
The venue does have a house built on a rock, but it also offers 2 1/2 miles of winding exhibits including Streets of Yesterday, the Infinity Room and the world’s largest carousel, which doesn’t contain a single horse, and that’s just scratching the surface.
The attraction has plenty of music, too, in the form of music rooms – just no human musicians, usually. Employees made an exception for The Raconteurs.
“They loved it and had a lot of fun with it,” Schaaf said. “The video’s amazing! It is beautifully shot, the sound is great. I love the song. The song is really catchy.”
Schaaf said the band started in the Infinity Room, featured prominently in the video.
“They had Midwestern roots. A famous band, yet so down to Earth,” Schaff said. “Ben, the director, had been here multiple times and was a huge fan of it all. He came with brochures, books, videos everything.”
“It’s very exciting to have the notoriety and be in the video, and to have all the different people have interest in us and have another reason to visit us,” Donaldson said.
This isn’t the first time House on the Rock has been in the spotlight — the TV show “American Gods,” based on the book by Neil Gaiman of the same title, recently shot an episode there.
“It’s always been a well-kept secret. I always felt like people don’t know about House on the Rock,” Schaff said. “The notoriety’s been great this past couple years.”
As for what draws productions here, Schaaf thinks it might be the same lure as for everyone else.
“This is a place for the imagination. I think the arts, music, imagination all goes together,” Schaff said. “I think this is a perfect background for people wanting to do something inspirational, and I think the video’s really inspirational.”
The newest music video is just another feature the House on the Rock can add to its eclectic collection.
“It rocks!” Schaaf said.
Get your weather forecast from people who actually live in your community. We update with short, easy-to-use video forecasts you can watch on your phone every day. Download the iOS or Android app here.