New Lenox Mayor has Role in Hard Rock Music Video

New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann has a role in a hard rock music video that also uses Village Hall for a substantial part of the video.    

In the 3 minute 24 second video, which was shot over 12 hours the first weekend of May, Baldermann plays the role of an unnamed political leader who's heading up government conspiracies to control the population. 

In between the hard rock lyrics of "Fight or Flight" singing "Fight or Flight - The First of the Last" and shots of angry-looking guitarists and drummers, Baldermann is featured in scenes that show him looking like a ruthless leader, as he points out strategies of the conspiracy, including gun-control, vaccines and de-population. The mayor is seen in several scenes, some of which were shot in the Village Board Room.

The video opens outside 1 Veterans Parkway with a line of musclemen wearing dark sun glasses outside of village hall. A string of limousines carrying government officials pulls up. Wearing a navy blue suit and sun glasses, Baldermann steps out of a white limousine and later addresses a group of government conspirators. 

In April, Baldermann said he got a call from Dan Donegan, a local musician from the Grammy-nominated band "Disturbed," asking if the village hall could be used to shoot the video to promote a secondary band that he was starting, "Fight or Flight." 

The village hall had the look they wanted, said Baldermann. What made it more fun was the fact that Donegan asked the mayor to be in the film. 

The mayor said the 12-hour shoot was fun. "The director was great. I was happy to do it. It was a good time."

While he's not looking to change careers, he is one of the new band's fans. "I like all kinds of music." 

In high school, Baldermann said he was a vocalist for a neighborhood garage bend. "I think everyone in my generation was a member of a band of one kind or another."

"Fight or Flight" was released earlier this summer. The mayor said his own kids think it's "cool" that he's in a music video.

For more information on the band, check out the Fight or Flight website.  

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