Welcome to this month’s blast from the past! In my previous two posts, I shared some wizard rock memories that had been made in my home in Yonkers. In 2016, I bought a little Victorian house in Irvington New York, and began to make new wizard rock memories there.

One really fun memory I have is of the day we shot the video for “Hufflepride”, a song by Ariel Factor Birdoff, which I produced under the name Dandy Decadence. My new home served as the location for the video shoot.

The house has since been renovated dramatically since we filmed the video, so it’s cool (at least for me) to see what it looked like back then. Incidentally, the outside of the house was Hufflepuff yellow when we shot the video. Today it stands as a green beacon of Slytherin pride.

The video shoot took place in September 2016. The diverse cast included friends and fellow TGTSNBN members (the NYC HP Meetup group) who graciously took the trip up the Hudson River to be a part of the video. Of course, the star of the video was Ariel Factor Birdoff, best known for their wizard rock group Madam Pince and the Librarians, who has since created some truly awesome solo music. Rounding out the cast was Gwen Boniface, Jordan Graham, Thom Kulesa, Irvin Khaytman, Ajita Singh, and Yours Truly.

To mix things up a little, and to have an aesthetically pleasing distribution of House representations, some of us donned the colors of Hogwarts Houses that were not our own. And of course, we all wore yellow for the unified Hufflepuff scenes.

I multitasked as videographer, co-director, and cast member. As a Slytherin, playing a Hufflepuff was a humbling experience. I used to joke about Hufflepuffs, as many of us did, Slytherins especially. But I have since learned that House shaming isn’t a good look. Some of my favorite people are Hufflepuffs. Plus, we shouldn’t judge people based on their Hogwarts Houses. Not all Slytherins are evil, right?

What I remember from that day was unity, camaraderie, and friendship that crossed House lines. I have fond memories of making sandwiches, making a splendid mess, and making each other laugh so hard that it hurt. And to be honest, I’m getting choked-up thinking about it, remembering the days when we could gather in my house to share food, share a laugh, and be physically close. Hopefully we’ll be able to do those things again when this pandemic ends.

Ariel remembers, “This was my one and only music video experience, and it was incredible. New friends, old friends, and even work friends, came together to turn Hufflepride into a fantastic video. It was an incredible day filled with love, hard work, laughter, and snacks. I mean, what else would you expect from a Hufflepuff music video?”

Thom Kulesa, one of my dear friends and co-organizer of NYC Wizard Rock Festival, recalls, “It was a real family atmosphere, brainstorming ideas around the kitchen table. That was a lot of fun. And I can’t tell you how much I appreciated it that you all went out of your way to include me, and make the video process accessible. Getting out of the house to hang out and participate was the social event of my year. But what I remember most is us sitting around the table, talking and laughing.”

When I asked Irvin Khaytman what he remembers about the day, he said, “What immediately comes to mind is how much fun we were all having at the kitchen table behind Ariel as she sang – we were were having a full-blown lunch, making sandwiches and eating pie, and barely paying any attention to the actual video shoot. The other part is how Puffs are supposed to be good at Herbology, but as soon as we all got outside into the garden, most of us were just at a loss.  Do we, um, frolic in the grass?  Or dig something?  The dilemma of shooting videos with city kids!”

Jordan Graham said, “For me, the most memorable part of this day was when we all threw flowers at Ariel for a fun, artsy shot and didn’t think about her seasonal allergies until after. Conveniently, this is captured in the making of video! I also remember how lovely and welcoming everyone was. I wasn’t officially part of the Harry Potter group and this was my introduction to the wizard rock community. I felt right at home with everyone and had a blast!”

You can watch the video for “Hufflepride” on YouTube and download the song from the 2016 Wizard Rock Sampler if you haven’t already. For some behind-the-scenes antics, watch the blooper reel on YouTube.