Health Is the New Drug

The Boxing Lesson, touted by critics as “space rockers,” have finally broken orbit with a brilliantly shot video for their song “Health is the New Drug.” The psychedelic Austin trio’s cosmic journey was made possible by Mark Miks, who built Wayne Coyne’s spacecraft for the Flaming Lips’ Christmas on Mars.

The five-minute clip features guitarist Paul Waclawsky, keyboardist Jaylinn Davidson, and drummer Ben Redman, who’s since been subbed out for former Supersuckers timekeeper Dancing Eagle, on a galactic exploratory mission in which they examine Petri dish samples of earth matter, navigate the solar system using paper maps, and hold band practice wearing Hazmat suits in a glass chamber. Throughout, we see flashbacks to their civilian lives as well as copious footage of amateur female boxing and mental patients drooling in a cell.

The clip was the creative product of a reunion between director Miks and keyboardist Davidson – best friends growing up in Wichita Falls. They became estranged during high school and lost contact for many years until a mutual friend informed them that they were both living in Austin. Miks contributed B-roll footage from international shoots and built a custom spaceship for the project in his East Austin studio. The filming wasn’t without incident, either. When Waclawsky shatters the wall of glass with his guitar, his hand was filleted open, requiring an on-the-spot superglue first aid session.

The Boxing Lesson’s 2013 album Big Hits, which features “Health is the New Drug,” has been pressed on vinyl by Corpus Christie indie label Cliff House and will be available at the band’s record release party at the Mohawk on Saturday with Blackstone Rangers, the Baker Family, and Yum.

Video Credits:
Director: Mark Miks
Editor: Jason Stratton from Beast
Colorist: Brandon Chavez from Company 3