If you’re looking for a  song that makes you feel all kinds of emotions (you know, besides Taylor Swift’s new 10-minute version of “All Too Well”), check out Them Coulee Boys’ newest music video for their single “Knuckleballer” from their Aug. 6 album Namesake.

And the best thing is: You can relate to it even if you haven’t had a brutal breakup. It’s a song for everyone who has experienced love – whether that’s familial, friendly, or romantic.  

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It's a song about those who love us for our wins and not for our losses.

Soren Staff

Songwriter

“This is 100% my ‘best friend’s a dad now’ song,” said band member Soren Staff, who wrote the song. “I got to thinking about legacy, and went for a walk out past the ballfields into the woods near Eau Claire. It tells a story of a family that was both helped and hindered by a hard work ethic. It’s a song about those who love us for our wins and not for our losses."

And that’s precisely what the band – Soren and Jens Staff, Beau Janke, Neil Krause, and Staš Hable – intended for their album: a kind of nostalgic, memory-ridden, thoughtful collection of 10 songs. 

Their new music video, which dropped Nov. 22, comes just in time for the holiday season, offering a positive yet nostalgic song inspired by the birth of Janke’s first child in September 2020. It reminds listeners of their childhoods, and the kind of love they pass on to their own children and families. 

The video was created by Nate Nelson of Treedome, with titles by Maggie Panetta, unique logo animation by Trevor Barlett, and antique footage courtesy of Prelinger Archives.

It gives off an all-American-Midwest-family-wholesome-Sunday-afternoon vibe that many Chippewa Vallians will feel connected to – even if you have no idea what the heck a knuckleballer is. (Hint: a knuckleballer is a pitcher that uses a unique pitch with no spin that zigzags to home plate, making it incredibly hard to throw and hit.) 

The single was produced by Grammy winner Brian Joseph and was recorded at The Hive in Eau Claire last December. It was mixed by Shane Leonard and mastered by Huntley Miller. 

Check out their latest album here, and check out Them Coulee Boys on Facebook. If you’re lucky, you may be able to snag a ticket for their Friday, Nov. 26 show at the Pablo Center at the Confluence.