The Nechako Car is already an artifact held in the hands of the Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum, but more history was added to its resume this week.
The 101-year-old luxury lounge car was the setting for a Friday afternoon music video shoot by recording artist Goodnightmare, led by singer-songwriter Britt Meierhofer. She, director Michael Stanyer, a cast of supporting singers-actors, and a bouquet of cupcakes took centre stage in the dining room on rails.
Sunshine streamed in the windows along both sides, emphasized by the chandeliers overhead, the mirrors on the walls and the gleam off the old tabletop.
There was a sense of sorority, with the five ladies and the pastries in such a quaint environment. Meierhofer stroked her guitar strings and sang out a zesty little folk tune that men may empathize with in spirit but only she and the four side-girls could really own. They were in a room that wore all the trappings of a bygone patriarchal era rooted on projecting image, artifice and faade, and they were singing about one of the lingering ill effects of that age: female body image.
"Belly rolls and dimpled thighs, hairy legs and tired eyes - those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind," they sang together.
The only man involved in the project, Stanyer, was soon the butt of a gentle joke. Meierhofer feigned a hurt glare his way as he closed in on them with his movie camera. "I was warned this would happen," she said in mock indignation. "These directors are all the same. He just wanted me to flash my cupcakes."
It got a good laugh from the others on the set, and distracted everyone from the pyramid of tasty treats in the centre of the action - but only temporarily.
"We took those cupcakes down like nobody's business," Meierhofer said, just to be clear that they weren't there just as a passive prop. After all the song was meant as a message of permission for women to enjoy their lives and not flounder in society's expectations and sexualizations.
"I was just reflecting on my own body image as well as the ways my girlfriends perceive themselves," she said. "I was feeling perturbed about beautiful people feeling the need to improve themselves in some ways when they are wonderful just the way they are, and feeling frustrated that standards are so high for women as far as looks go."
There was another image projection element to the video. It was commissioned by Tourism Prince George as part of a series of musicians making their mini-movies in decidedly local settings.
What could be better than a tea party in a splendid historic train, Meierhofer said.
"Michael and I did some brainstorming, and I've always been into trains, I find them fascinating, so we picked that spot and I loved it," she said.
She was joined on the set by her friends Naomi Kavka, Darci Horalek, Corrin Peet and Brandi Haensel. Meierhofer gave them a level of acceptance, too, since only Kavka is a singer.
Yet all of them chimed in "and they sounded lovely, and it was fun to hang out with them in such a unique way."
The museum staff was thrilled to have their antiquities featured in a modern music video.
"The Nechako Car is one of our most prized artifacts," said museum curator Katherine Carlson. "It is one of the ones we are moving into our display pavilion once that is built, so it is under permanent cover from the weather."
The car was built in 1913 as a tourist sleeping car. A fire gutted it in 1915 but it was able to be restored as a business car for cross-Canada travellers. It was in this service until 1974 until it became surplus on the Great Slave Lake Railway, was sold and relocated to Vancouver where it became a stationary reception centre.
"It's recent claim to fame is, it was revamped for Expo 86 where it hosted many dignitaries, including Prince Charles and Lady Diana who came aboard and had tea," Carlson said.
Today it can be rented for business meetings and special functions. During office hours it can be let for $200. After hours the price is $100 per hour (minimum of four hours). This year it has been the setting for a wedding, a reception, and soon will be seen all over cyberspace by the fans of Goodnightmare.
Stanyer, proprietor of Northbc.ca Films, said there has been a movement among local music acts, recently, to shoot more music videos but also to show off Prince George a little in the process.
"I first got involved in music videos through a program called Public Records, which is funded by Telus," he said. "They provide grants for local artists to make music videos and I teamed up with Highball Riot to make a video last summer. This year, [video directior] Norm Coyne and [singer-songwriter] Jer Breaks won the same grant to make a music video in Barkerville.
"This summer, I've shot three more music videos, plus I know offhand that Horses and Bayonets and The Statistics have put out a video each this year," he added.
He surmised that lower costs for cameras, software and lighting have made music video production "increasingly accessible and straightforward" but that is still no substitute for good material.
"The most important part is having a high quality audio recording. You can shoot video with your phone, but you still need a good quality audio recording to go with it," he said.
