Viral video: 5 band members. 1 guitar. Playing it together.

11 Jan 2012 3 Comments

by nowherewithyou in Entertainment, Music, News, Ontario, Social media, Toronto, Video Tags: band, Burlington, guitar, independent musicians, music, perform, play, Raju Mudhar, Russell Crowe, same time, Somebody That I Used to Know, song, together, toronto star, video, viral, Walk Off the Earth

So. Very. Cool. And now the song is stuck in my head.

I’ve heard mixed reviews from people about this video actually. Everyone mostly agrees that the 5-on-1 gimmick is pretty mesmerizing, but not everyone likes the song. I guess that happens. It’s a cover song anyway.

It’s definitely still worth a watch!

* * *

via:
Raju Mudhar
Toronto Star

A Burlington-based band has captured social media lightning in a bottle with their unique video featuring five musicians performing a song on one guitar.

Walk off the Earth does write and perform original material, but it is a cover of “Somebody That I Used to Know,” originally sung by Gotye featuring Kimbra, that is racking up the hits on YouTube. The video has been viewed more than 4.5 million times since it was posted on Jan. 5.

The video features the band and singer Sarah Blackwood crowded around a single acoustic guitar, with each member strumming, or picking tones and even the percussionist knocking on the guitar to create the beat.

The video has attracted a celebrity admirer in actor Russell Crowe, who watched it and then tweeted it out to his followers: “Check out Walk off the Earth’s cover of Somebody That I Used To Know. Brilliant.”

Crowe, who is appearing on the season premiere Wednesday of the CBC’s Republic of Doyle, went on to call the band “a revelation. What a collection of voices” upon hearing some of their original work.

The group’s video for “Somebody That I Used to Know,” shows off its acoustic side, although the band plays a variety of genres. Their YouTube channel features several other covers.

The band expressed delight and surprise on its Twitter feed today to all of the attention its received since the video was posted.

They also posted this note on their Facebook page: “To all the independent musicians out there. I hope this shows that you can make a name for your band with no help from record labels and management and next to no money. Stay true to your dreams and your passions, whether they be music related or not. Don’t wait for people to help you because they never will. The only time the music industry will want to help you is when you have done all the work yourself!”

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