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Woodlands band Driver Friendly gets nod from Tom Hanks

By: John Bat
| Published 06/21/2012

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THE WOODLANDS, Texas –– The rock band originally hailing from The Woodlands, Driver Friendly woke up June 4 to find out that their recent music video had been recognized and praised by actor Tom Hanks.

Driver Friendly's music video for the song “Messidona” depicted classic Tom Hank films such as “Forrest Gump”, “Apollo 13”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “Cast Away” and others. Drummer for Driver Friendly, Jeremi Mattern, directed the entirety of the “Messidona” music video as well as other music videos for Driver Friendly and various bands such as The Eastern Sea and Los Lonely Boys.

“We named the song ‘Messidona’ about the greatest soccer player in the world, therefore we said why not make the music video about the best actor in the world,” Mattern said.

Driver Friendly shot the music video during February, March and April.

While shooting, scene selection was crucial for capturing the right atmosphere.

“We shot the video all over Texas,” Mattern said. “The park around the Texas Capitol was Forrest Gump’s bench; Crystal Beach was used for ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘Cast Away,’ our trombone player's garage for ‘Apollo 13,’ and an abandoned school in Smithville for the performance shots.”

With an obvious intention to grab the attention of Hanks, Driver Friendly played a waiting game until they were unexpectedly greeted by a tweet from Tom Hanks’ daughter, Elizabeth Ann Hanks, who recognized the “Messidona” music video. Driver Friendly knew that Elizabeth Ann Hank's recognition of the video was only one step closer to their ultimate goal.

Driver Friendly woke up to news June 4 that their music video was publicly recognized by Tom Hanks on his official twitter account. With more than four million followers, Hanks had elevated Driver Friendly’s witty creation into a visual-musical altar for super fans (of Tom Hanks) across the world.

“We all had the pipe dream of Tom seeing the video but we never actually thought it would happen,” said singer-synth player Tyler Dagger. “It was a surreal moment to wake up and see his tweet. It’s a moment we’ll tell our grandkids about.”

After much positive reaction from viewers of the “Messidona” music video, Driver Friendly also recently embarked on a national tour in support of their newly released album, “Bury a Dream.”

With a new album, a fully-booked tour, and a music video endorsed by Tom Hanks himself, things are looking up for a band that originated from the suburban streets of The Woodlands.

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