A few months ago

Ahead of the release of his fourth studio album "Once Wild", Jack Armondo, a.k.a Panic Priest, reached out to me to photograph the behind the scenes for the music video for the opening song on the record. Titled "Wait for Night" the track tells the very goth experience of feeling a sensual pull to the dangerous, yet irresistible time of the day when all the wrong things feel so right.

The album was released by Negative Gain Productions on August 15th 2025, and the video was released on September 26th in an article at postpunk.com

To illustrate the song, Jack and Director/VFX Artist Devon Ford developed the concept, and teamed up with the analog art collective Videowaste, cinematographer Chris Murphy, production designer Heather Kuhlmann, and a cast of Chicago's very own goth community members* who dance through the TVs that are being controlled by a mysterious figure (played by Lindsey Nelmar). She literally draws Panic Priest into her glitchy, neon, wild world... or that is how I read it. But you can see the video and draw your own interpretations here:

Behind the scenes

Filmed across the span of two days at the Thunderlab in Chicago, the production involved two large installations by VideoWaste, a living room set, a neon dance room set, and multiple other scenes. There were lots of takes for the VFX bits to be added later. But as you can see in the photos, the team did an amazing job at creating a cohesive ambiance and displaying perfect attention to detail with the practical sets and clever use of lighting. As a result, when you see the music video, you are immersed in the adventure of our briefly bored protagonist, who eventually cannot resist taking his platform boots for a walk on the wild side.

But enough of talking and let's see photos! Enjoy the ride :)

It was an honor to be a small part of this very creative endeavor for the dark crooner Panic Priest. It allowed me to go deeper into the Chicago goth community and see how grand ideas can be realized when people work together with a common vision.

Please check out the video, leave a comment and share. It is through your support that small artists like Jack can continue putting out music that speaks to our dark little hearts! And if you want me to photograph behind the scenes of your creative endeavors, feel free to contact me :)

*Full credits in the video!