Heather Porcaro’s latest single, “All Hands on Deck” is a rallying cry for community and creativity in the face of never-ceasing challenges. The fourth-generation musician and daughter to Toto’s Steve Porcaro takes an avant-garde approach to her classical training, with wide and varying influences spanning Pop, Jazz, Folk, and Rock. Her butterfly, alto voice embarks listeners on a surreal and poetic journey through the every day, with quirky lightheartedness and contagious energy.
“All Hands on Deck” was written in 2019, as the artist awoke a spell of health concerns and career distractions that kept her from her music. From a low place, she called upon friends Tim Young and Scott Seiver to pull her out of a musical funk, and help write and produce what would become one of the first singles in her professional repertoire. “All Hands on Deck” is inspired by the real-life circumstance of this community-to-the-rescue and the magical freedom of expression that ensues.
Porcaro’s clever writing reflects years spent in the works, paying homage to the obstacle of self-acceptance through a lighthearted lens: “I’m not who I once was, I’m kind of on the run,” she sings with unabashed vulnerability. Sultry vocals and layered instrumentals balance a playfulness with Porcaro’s mature perspective, brilliantly reflecting the common desire to be seen.
The accompanying music video explores the diverse manifestations of artistic identity and the artist’s role in harnessing them. Working with underrepresented voices in the industry was important to Porcaro, whose team includes Afghan American Director Ariana Delewari and Brazilian Director of Photography Andressa Cordeiro. The video is “a love letter to our home city,” said Delawari, “It was important to us that most of the people in the video are Heather’s friends and family, the people in LA who have supported her musical journey.” Shot on location in Los Angeles, the video features appearances from actors Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kylie Bunbury, and magician Rob Zabrecky.
