ITHACA, NY – A new video from Ithaca-born rock band X Ambassadors features the band performing their hit “Unsteady” overlaid with footage of the struggles and triumphs of wounded veterans adjusting to life with a disability.
To make the video, the band teamed up with the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that supports wounded veterans from all wars.
“I’m visually impaired and I’ve been that way since I was born,” says Casey Harris, keyboardist for X Ambassadors in the video. “I think it’s made us more aware early on about not just disabled people, but people who are less visible than others, less noticed.”
In the video, lead vocalist Sam Harris goes on to explain that the band got their big break from a radio station in Norfolk, Virginia, which is a major naval hub, so the band has always had a following among service members.
“I had a really good friend who served and was not given his due treatment when he got back,” guitarist Noah Feldshuh says in the video. “He reached out to me to seek help with post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s a wound. It’s a real wound… To hear him talk about that, I was appalled really. It was a big reason why we want to do everything we can to help veterans and people in that type of situation.”
“We were thrilled and honored when X Ambassadors told us they wanted to use their talent to draw attention to the needs of so many warriors and their families across the country,” said Jonathan Sullivan, engagement executive vice president for Wounded Warrior Project in a press release. “We wish them success with this release, and are so glad to have their support.”
X Ambassadors’ single “Unsteady” has been on the Billboard Hot 100 for the past seven weeks. The newly released video features vignettes from wounded veterans, interviews with all four band members, and was produced by Flow Nonfiction, an Austin-based creative content studio committed to telling stories of good through film, music, and photography.
(Featured photo from X Ambassadors “Unsteady” video on YouTube)