5 Questions with MAURICE

The catchy experimental music video, “Be Yourself Be Confidence,” premieres today on NoBudge. The directing duo that goes by MAURICE (Devan Joseph and Jason Gaines) is responsible for the song and video, and we asked them 5 Questions about the origins of the project and their working relationship…

1) Where’d this come from? Was it conceived as a music video, or an experimental video, or both, or something else?

Jason was traveling in India last summer and saw a decal that said "Be yourself Be confidence" and immediately sent it to Devan. We knew it would turn in to something, but it took four months before it became the seed for a song. Anytime we do a music video, there's always some "other" component to the idea so we can play with the expectations of what a music video should look like. We had flirted with idea of someone's bedroom as a setting and this phrase happened to fit neatly into that. It's like something you'd therapeutically write in your diary over and over before you fall asleep.

2) Talk a bit about your working relationship, being a directing duo?

Our working relationship is so blurred with our friendship at this point because we originated as friends/roommates sophomore year of college and naturally started doing music/video projects together. I don't think we've ever sat down and been like "you're better at this or that", so our roles on each project are often times not well defined. Being a duo started as just a basic necessity; someone has to hold the camera and someone has to perform. And the level of commitment we found in each other can be difficult to find. As a directing duo, it's so much fun to hide behind MAURICE as a name because it gives us complete freedom to be so unlike who we are in real life and make stuff that exists in its own little world.

3) What about the song? Who wrote that, are you musicians as well?

We wrote the song together using the decal as the catalyst and our talented friend Kenny Ning produced it (and sings background vocals). The voicemail is unscripted and it represents nearly every phone call Jason receives from his Papa Leon. We started making music our sophomore year of college as MAURICE SIPS HOT COFFEE, but it was basically just an excuse to make weird videos and perform on campus. So, we definitely don't consider ourselves musicians. But, we did petition our school to open for Chance the Rapper (and sadly failed).

4) Being yourself and being confident, harder or easier than it looks?

On camera, definitely easier. In person, much harder.

5) What else ya working on?

We're finishing up something that's a bit paranormal, touching on Martha Stewart's age and Jesus Christ's demeanor. We're also exploring putting on live performances that incorporate our video work.

Contact Info

Email: info@wearemaurice.us

Twitter @wermaurice
Instagram @wearemaurice
Facebook @wearemaurcie

Devan Joseph
Twitter @devanjjoseph
Instagram @devanjjoseph
Facebook @devan.joseph

Jason Gaines
Instagram @jsngaines
Facebook @jason.gaines.351