Check out the brand new video for "Anywhere Now" from Brooklyn indie-folk outfit backwords.

The video was filmed in Brooklyn's Prospect Park during a full-scale Larping invasion. The song hails from backwords' upcoming album By The Neck, out March 6, 2012 on Campers’ Rule Records.

backwords guitarist/vocalist Brian Russ sets the scene:

On a particularly bright and sunny day about a year ago I happened to spy out of the corner of my little eye a group of medieval-clad lads and lasses battling it out, right smack in the open lawns of Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I instantly became mesmerized. I had to stop the stroll and watch these guys for a few minutes. I was really drawn to their intensity as they all battled hard but with smiles on their faces. There were old guys, high schoolers, Dungeons and Dragons-dudes, women, ex-cops, hippies, people of all races and cultures – New Yorkers- going at it – LARPING!

After witnessing one if their live-action battles an idea popped into my brain... We got to make a music video with these guys! So I approached the group and had a pleasant conversation with its organizer, Bruce Lindsay. He explained the deal. They call themselves “Dagor” and they meet in Prospect Park every second Saturday of the month. They make their own weapons, armor, cloaks and apparel. They script out battles, they ad-lib, they just get out there and have lots of fun.

They even let us battle with them. It was a beautiful combination of fighting yet making new friends – being violent with your body yet being peacefully open to the camaraderie of the group – “go attack that guy” and then laugh with him!

The concept of the video is kind of loose. But there we are in the very beginning, doing things that people do in the morning when they wake up – the daily routines of life -shaving, reading the paper (on the toilet? that remains unclear), doing yoga, and brewing up some coffee. The point it, the band is oblivious to their surroundings and it takes a magical spell (by Bruce himself) for us to wake up and snap out of it… We then become part of the crew – with our own Dagor personalities – and have a blast out there in battle. Sometimes you cruise by life without even realizing something amazing is happening right in front of your eyes – that’s the spirit of the song “Anywhere Now” and that’s the spirit of the video. What’s real – what’s a dream? What means the most in the long run?…

The Hangout Music Festival revealed its 2012 line-up today, which is set to include Dave Matthews Band, Wilco, the Flaming Lips, String Cheese Incident and many more. DMB is headlining along with Jack White, who announced Friday that he’d be headlining the festival. Update: The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been added to the bill.

The diverse lineup also includes Skrillex, Dispatch, Steve Winwood, Chris Cornell, STS9, Gogol Bordello, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Mac Miller, Flogging Molly, Coheed and Cambria, Paul Oakenfold, G. Love and Special Sauce, Randy Newman, Dr. Dog, Young the Giant, Cage the Elephant, Dawes Alabama Shakes, M. Ward, Yelawolf, Switchfoot, Julian Marley, Zeos Dead, Mavis Staples, Shpongle, Gary Clark Jr., Rebelution, Allen Stone, Big Freedia, The Devil Makes Three, Paper Diamond, Futurebirds, Hey Rosetta!, Sleeper Agent, The Lumineers, Archnemesis, Tribal Seeds, Rich Augdin, and Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin Cajuns.

Hangout Music Festival will take place May 18, 19, and 20 this year, directly on the white, picturesque beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Festival tickets go on sale Friday, February 10. Advance tickets will be $194, and regular tickets will be $209 if there are any left for purchase at the door. You might want to hurry, because when they went on sale in November 2011, the Early Bird general admission, VIP and Super VIP three-day passes for the 2012 festival all sold out in just 3 hours.

For more info on the festival and how you could win tickets, visit Hangout Music Fest’s site.

Hangout was honored as the best festival of 2011 at the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards on Friday, and the stacked 2012 lineup indicates the young festival may be able to live up to the title a second year. The family-friendly grounds will also feature more space but the same carrying capacity, to improve fans’ comfort and access to facilities.

How did you first get into Bob Dylan?

I was young and heavily into the British Invasion, but the babysitter had a boyfriend who was a folkie; he had Eric Anderson, Dave Van Ronk, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, and of course Dylan. I kinda dug it all. The first album, where he was more of an interpreter, with “Song to Woody” was just a glimmer of what what was to come.

By the second album it was brutally apparent he was going to outshine everybody. Then I kinda got into the whole “folk-rock” thing. It was all over the radio. Simon and Garfunkel, The Byrds, even Sonny and Cher. I still dig that stuff, especially when it got garage band sounding; The Seeds, The Leaves, The Beau Brummels...

How has he influenced your music?

He influenced everybody’s music. Especially those that have non-traditional voices and want to take it in a more “literary” direction.

How many times have you seen him play live? What were those shows like?

Five. Well, I love him live. I stopped going with other people because I didn't want to hear stupid comments about what they expected him to do. I enjoy him better alone. Never saw him with The Band, saw him with G.E. Smith a couple of times -- that was pretty uninspired but his phrasing was always masterful and inventive, very Miles Davis like. And his thing with Tom Petty was cool. But the current band with Charlie Sexton is awesome, particularly around the time of the movie Masked and Anonymous. (I'll go to my grave saying it's a great movie... check the dialog.)

Did it take you awhile to get into Bob Dylan, given his strange singing style?

No. I was too young. It just seemed like that's what artists did. I was lucky I guess nobody made a big deal out of it.

What’s the closest you’ve ever gotten to him?

I've never worked with him, and I feel bad for the guy that questions like this are asked. This is why the “hood is up.”

Is there a period of Dylan’s music you think is underrated or overrated?

He's writing some of his best stuff now.

What do you admire about Bob Dylan?

There are no apologies for genius.

Read more 30 Days of Dylan.

Visit Americansongwriter.com daily during our 30 Days Of Dylan countdown to read exclusive interviews with artists on Dylan, exclusive audio and video, and more.

Enter our January/February On My Deathbed Contest: Tell us the 10 albums you couldn’t live or die without, and you’ll be eligible to win a Fender Acoustasonic 150 Combo Amp. Selected entries will be reprinted in our March/April 2012 issue.

To enter, simply click the button above, then enter your top 10 list and email address.

Deadline: February 23, 2012

"The Fender Acoustasonic 150 guitar amplifier is ideally suited to the gigging musician looking to maximize the sound of an acoustic-electric guitar while taking advantage of a variety of modern features and flexibility." - Read The Full Review

Tomorrow, Dr. Dog's seventh studio LP Be The Void hits stores. Hardcore fans and newcomers alike will be delighted with the album, which finds the beloved Philadelphia psych-rock outfit firing on all cylinders. American Songwriter is proud to bring you a sneak preview of Be The Void; we're currently offering a free stream of the album on our website.

So relax, sit back, get the good headphones out, repeat your favorite mantra, and get ready to be the void.

Look for our feature on Dr. Dog in the March/April issue.