The Connells - Maybe - music video directed by Norwood Cheek and Grady Cooper

JUL 01 1996 · 12:00

The Connells - Maybe - music video directed by Norwood Cheek and Grady Cooper (1996) Director: Norwood Cheek and Grady Cooper Era: Mid-1990s Alternative Rock Video Era (1996) - Post-grunge indie rock cycle; Chapel Hill scene at peak visibility following '74-'75 European success; low-budget auteur aesthetic dominates college-radio video production High curatorial value as a rare primary visual document of The Connells' 1996 album cycle and the Chapel Hill indie scene's mid-90s film aesthetic. The co-directorship of Cheek and Cooper, both scene insiders who went on to significant careers in Hollywood editing and television, makes this a notable early work in two distinct filmmaking trajectories. The abstract, film-textured approach and fast-cut rhythm represent the college-radio video form at its most artistically autonomous, offering a stark contrast to contemporary major-label production values and valuable benchmark material for 1990s indie visual culture preservation. Context: Released in 1996, 'Maybe' arrived at a pivot point for The Connells: following the surprise European breakthrough of '74, '75, the band returned with Weird Food and Devastation, a post-grunge-inflected departure from their signature jangle-pop. The video reflects the Chapel Hill, NC indie scene's mature phase, a community that had produced nationally recognized acts and cultivated its own visual language through filmmakers like Cheek, who was documentating the scene in real time. The production embodies the low-budget, film-textured aesthetic that Chapel Hill and college radio culture prized over major-label gloss, aligning the visuals with the album's darker, more experimental sonic direction. The co-directors were both UNC Chapel Hill alumni deeply embedded in the scene, giving the video an insider cultural authenticity that mirrors the band's own position as beloved regional artists with unexpected international reach. Director notes: The 'Maybe' music video was co-directed by Norwood Cheek and Grady Cooper, and produced by AJ Schnack, per IMVDb and multiple corroborating sources including Wikipedia and the Music Video Fandom Wiki. The video was released in 1996 in support of the single 'Maybe' from The Connells' album Weird Food and Devastation (1996), produced by the band and Tim Harper. The video is documented as incorporating abstract, introspective sequences. Both directors were embedded in the Chapel Hill, NC indie music community: Cheek was shooting music videos for local bands on Super 8 and 16mm throughout the early-to-mid 1990s, while Cooper had prior Connells production experience and was working with Chapel Hill scene bands. IMVDb lists the video under release date 1996, consistent with the album and single release year. The producer, AJ Schnack, is a documentary filmmaker also associated with the Chapel Hill/indie music scene of the era.