Based in Burlington, Ontario (just outside of Toronto), Walk Off The Earth’s brilliant 5-people-playing-one-guitar interpretation of Gotye’s ”Somebody That I Used To Know” recently exploded on Youtube garnering well over 35 million views in under 2 weeks and is currently heating up the charts on iTunes. The massive fan response has drawn attention to their collection of innovative songs and videos spanning their last 5 years and generated an unprecedented flood of media interest.
For the past 5 years, Walk Off The Earth has built a massive following of dedicated fans from around the world through their unique and heartwarming approach to songwriting, filming and constant, open interaction with everyone their music touches. With the massive popularity of “Somebody That I Used To Know,” new fans from around the world have fallen in love with the band’s organic, independent, sincere and honest original songwriting, cover interpretations and beautifully filmed videos.
The chemistry between the members of Walk Off The Earth is undeniable. Marshall, Sarah Blackwood and Gianni Luminati’s individual vocal stylings mesh seamlessly with Taylor’s haunting harmonies and keys all the while soaring over epic melodic arrangements held together by Joel Cassady’s driving and prolific percussion work. Their independent spirit, unstoppable work ethic and awe-inspiring creativity has catapulted Walk Off The Earth into new and uncharted waters with only bigger and better things on the horizon.
With all the attention Walk Off The Earth has been receiving as of late, we wanted to find out how the band is handling the success. Our own Bradley Gibson had a chance to talk with singer Sarah Blackwood about her thoughts on the video that has gone viral, and what their plans are for the future.
MMN: Hey Sarah! 40 million views for your music video “Somebody That I Used to Know” in only 23 days! That’s incredible! Congratulations! How does it feel?
SARAH: “WE are all very excited and happy. It has been a goal of ours to make a video that went viral. Working so hard for the past 3 years to really put a lot of efforts in to the videos and songs. It feels great!”
MMN: So how are you celebrating the success?
SARAH: “We have been working harder than we ever have before. It’s funny. We have all been 100% sober, 100% alert and 100% smart about the decisions we have made over the past 4 weeks. It’s been a crazy ride and we have had to put our best foot forward in order to make the right decisions that will be the best for the band and our music. Our friends have all been partying…we have been working our asses off, haha!”
MMN: Aside from catching on so quickly, what has surprised you the most about the response from the video?
SARAH: “WE are surprised that so many people are interested in our ideas and influenced by what we have done. That is the coolest part for sure. I think we will have a lot of really awesome opportunities coming up…like playing a show in TURKEY!”
MMN: The concept for the video is genius. It is impressive that you actually perform the song with all five band members on one guitar. What made you decide to use that particular song and perform it the way you did?
SARAH: “Gianni heard the song on the radio and brought it to us. He said “Sarah! I heard this song today that rejuvenated my faith in music on the radio!” And from that moment on, we knew we were going to do that song. He came up with the idea and after that we spent the time needed to make the video happen…in Gianni’s kitchen.”
MMN: “Somebody That I Used to Know” is a Goyte cover. His version is very similar to yours and also has a clever music video to go with it. What kind of support has he given you? Is he jealous that you one upped him?
SARAH: “Wally has written us a couple times and congratulated us on the video. He is really nice. He invited us to watch his show here in Toronto at the end of march. So I think as long as we are here we will go for sure. They have all been really kind to us.”
MMN: Releasing covered material can be risky. Are you apprehensive that it will overshadow your original work?
SARAH: “We are very knowledgable about how to go about releasing a cover song. We have been very accurate from our end on any songs we do.”
MMN: Lately you have received a lot of attention from celebrities via social media – Russell Crowe, Coldplay and Justin Timberlake to name a few. Have you had the chance to meet any of them in person? Any interesting interactions with celebs lately?
SARAH: “We haven’t met anyone in person aside from Ellen. She was really nice. I am sure all of these people are just normal people, just like us. It’s awesome that they are stoked on something we did, and what we do. We are excited to work with some really cool bands in the future.”
MMN: What was the best part about performing on “The Ellen Degeneres Show?”
SARAH: “Proving a lot of people wrong!”
MMN: All of the band members play multiple instruments. With so much at your disposal, how does that factor in to your song writing process? Do the arrangements come naturally or is there a lot of experimenting?
SARAH: “We all put in a group effort as far as writing goes. This new album will be exciting because it will really be all of us doing a bunch of writing the best music we ever have.”
MMN: Now that the band has become so popular, how do you plan on harnessing all the momentum? What’s up your sleeve for the rest of 2012?
SARAH: “We plan to take over the world! Haha. No seriously, we plan to make the best music we can, have the best team behind us and continue to come up with the best ideas we can.”
MMN: Thank you Sarah for your time, and once again, congratulations on your success.
SARAH: THANK YOU!
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Interview by Bradley Gibson
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