Music videos are the way in which bands and performers share the vision of their music with their fan base, and many of Phoenix's best musical acts are almost as creative visually as they are musically. It's the musical visionaries who keep the Phoenix music scene fresh, exciting, and always working toward being recognized as a legitimate incubator for musical creativity.

Over the past couple of years local acts like Futuristic, Young Ridah, and Captain Squeegee (just to name a few) have used music videos as a vehicle for their music to reach a far wider audience than they ever had before with live shows and studio recordings. But those three bands aren't the only acts in town with a flair for music videos and hopes of getting their music out way past Phoenix.

Here are five fresh videos made by artists local to the Valley of the Sun.

Between Mirrors - "The Succession of Failure"

"The Succession of Failure" is Between Mirrors' first music video, and the band did a bang-up job. The cuts in the video are as jarring as the music, and they work together with the vaguely religious/satanic imagery to make the entire piece feel unsettling. For their first video, Between Mirrors still seems to be looking for their own unique sense of self, as they went with a video that is designed in the same vein as many of their genre contemporaries. But given more time behind the camera and more importantly, in the brainstorming sessions, they no doubt will come out with unbridled post-hardcore metal madness in no time.

DaDadoh - "BlackOUT"



DaDadoh is preparing to spend his early summer on the road with the four crazy pixies in Fairy Bones on their dual West Coast tour. In the time before takeoff, DaDadoh seems to be spending all the time he can spare promoting himself and his growing brand, TVLiFE Entertainment. Part of the promotion was the release of his video "BlackOUT." Like a true member of The Rogue Secret Society, the alt-rapper decided to film the majority of his video at the Scottsdale dive. It's funny that DaDadoh sometimes spends so much time working with other people's bands that many assume he is a member of them when what he does a solo artist is so damn good.

JJCnV - "Gaze Upon the Yonder"

JJCnV's new video, "Gaze Upon the Yonder," is really, really weird. They style of garage rock they play is fairly common around the Valley right now, but the same cannot be said about their odd music video. The production of the video couldn't have possibly taken very long but the disturbing images of that man's face being covered in crap, and taken off like a mask, will last a lifetime. It's one of those weird avant garde ideas that's so simple it comes off as genius and so lowbrow that it must high-concept.

Sundressed - "The Dirt"



This is a pop-punk video, which makes total sense considering the band has a sound somewhat akin to Tempe's own The Ataris. The video really has all the hallmarks of a late ’90s to early 2000s MTV-era pop-punk video straight off of TRL, and it's gorgeous. The song and video go well together and really appeal to much more than the bands mid-20a fan base. It's the sort of song that pleases everyone: An older person can appreciate the harmonies, a younger person can appreciate the punk aspects, and hopefully those in between see it for how beautiful it is in its simplicity.

RPM Orchestra - "Bury Mine"



RPM Orchestra's founding member Pete Petrisko is a different kind of artist because he takes comforting aspects of Americana like bluegrass music and model trains and makes them weird. From his band's instrumentation, which sometimes includes steel planters and short wave radios, to their live presentation, where they link up with interpretive dancers and silent films RPM is always trying to push the envelope of high weirdness. For their new video "Bury Mine" the camera follows a scale model of the 1950's Southern Pacific train route through Arizona from Tucson to Yuma, including Phoenix. at the Arizona Model Railroading Society in Glendale.