When fourth-year music student Haley Dreis started meeting with her adviser to plan out a senior thesis for the South Carolina Honors College, she only had a vague idea of what project she wanted to take on.
“I knew I wanted to do a music video that would sponsor a local nonprofit, and my adviser helped me shape that idea and pick PETS Inc.,” Dreis said.
In addition to the Honors College’s senior thesis grant, she was awarded the Edmund Martin Foley Scholarship to pay for the production, a grant given to a senior doing a particularly creative thesis. This was the first year the award was given.
Over the next several months, Dreis started learning about the nonprofit shelter, based in West Columbia, and began planning the music video.
She was pleased to discover the shelter’s “no-kill policy,” meaning it rescues animals and cares for them until they are adopted, with no time limits or euthanasia.
“The fact that PETS Inc. is no-kill was very important to me. My goal for this video is to encourage people to adopt, foster and volunteer at no-kill shelters,” Dreis said. “I think their mission is really important, and I think what they do really helps the animals.”
For the video, Dreis fostered a puppy and took care of it during the course of the shooting, which started at 5:30 a.m. and ended at 10:30 p.m. that same night. “Jabba the Pup” was adopted permanently by a loving family right after shooting wrapped.
In the video, Dreis adopts the adorable puppy from PETS Inc. and takes it home. The ensuing tale of “puppy love” and finding a home is a positive, heartwarming narrative that focuses on what PETS Inc. is all about.
Getting better acquainted with the nonprofit organization led Dreis to pledge $1,000 to the shelter if and when her video reaches 10,000 views. It currently stands at a little more than 6,000.
“There’s no time limit on it, so as soon as it reaches 10,000 views, I’m going to take the next step and donate the $1,000 to them,” Dreis said. “What I’d love to happen is for the video to reach the goal before their annual ‘Easter B’egg’ on April 16, so I could donate it to them that day since I’m performing there.”
The sweet, pop tune accompanying the video is Dreis’s “Where My Heart Is,” off her brand new EP, “Taking Time.” Though the light, acoustic sound is similar to other female pop artists like Sara Bareilles or Michelle Branch, Dreis maintains her own interesting edge.
“I think the thing that sets my music apart from others like it is that I also play electric violin during shows,” she said.
Dreis said she’s been playing the violin for 15 years, since she was 6 years old, and recently picked up the electric version.
She cites Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michaelson as some of her inspirations, though she listens to all different kinds of music, including modern and classical.
Dreis’s considerable prowess as a violinist and musician in general are nothing new to the Columbia scene, though. She released her debut album, “Beautiful to Me,” in July of 2009, which was met with extensive praise from local music critics, who called her one of the most promising acts to come out of Columbia. She has also accompanied local act CherryCase with her electric violin during shows throughout the region.
Dreis will release her newest installment, “Taking Time,” Friday at The White Mule. Physical copies of the album will be available at the show and digitally on iTunes. The release show kicks off at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m.
Admission is $8. Dreis will be supported by accomplished Georgia-native singer/songwriter Emily Hearn.