The Democrat teen boy band "Twenty20," whose frontman is Jay Carney’s 12-year-old son, got help from the Washington, D.C., based band "U.S. Royalty" in order to shoot their first music video.
The video for their debut song "Heart Thief" was produced and directed by Luke Adams and Paul Thornley, members of U.S. Royalty, an "indie band" that currently is "chronicling the search for connection, intimacy, and acceptance" without a record deal.
Twenty20 was formed in 2011, when Hugo Carney was 10. His bandmates include, "U.S. Trade Rep. Mike Froman’s son Ben, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan’s son Lucas, and Joey Doyle, whose mom is Hillary Clinton’s former presidential campaign manager turned Obama campaign adviser Patti Solis Doyle," according to the New York Daily News.
Twenty20 is currently "at work on an EP," but benefited from U.S. Royalty who produced their professional music video at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. The nightclub on H Street is the last stop in the video after the preteens "skip school" and "get loaded on Slurpees."
"The guys from U.S. Royalty shot that video here," the Rock and Roll Hotel told the Washington Free Beacon. "I don’t know how they knew them or anything but they shot the video with them."
"U.S. Royalty searches for home on their sophomore album Blue Sunshine," the band’s website states. "Chronicling the search for connection, intimacy, and acceptance, the album recounts times of confusion giving way to moments of clarity."
The album "explores the tension between polished composition and raw energy."
U.S. Royalty is fresh off a "relentless" American tour, after which they took a "season to reflect" while recording their latest album.
The band members were "first introduced to music while growing up in church," but describe their music style as "Mazzy Star, Stevie Nicks, and The Verve, with the vocal fervor of early U2."
"Lyrically, the album draws from the well of saudade, a Portuguese word that conveys a deep, melancholic longing for someone or something, coupled with the knowledge that the person, place, or experience is forever out of reach," the band says.
The band’s connection to Twenty20 is unclear, as the band members are at least a decade older than Carney’s group. The booking agent for U.S. Royalty did not respond to requests for comment.