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Walk off the Earth

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Walk off the Earth
Walk off the Earth performing in Toronto at the Canadian National Exhibition 2013
Walk off the Earth performing in Toronto at the Canadian National Exhibition 2013
Background information
OriginBurlington, Ontario, Canada
GenresIndie rock, alternative rock, reggae rock, ska, folk
Years active2006–present
LabelsColumbia,[1] SlapDash
MembersSarah Blackwood
Gianni "Luminati" Nicassio
Ryan Marshall
Mike "Beard guy" Taylor
Joel Cassady
Past membersPeter Kirkwood
Websitewalkofftheearth.com

Walk off the Earth is a Canadian alternative rock, ska, and reggae rock band that was formed in 2006 in Burlington, Ontario, and has gained success around the world by making low-budget music videos of covers and originals. The band built its fan base independently with no help from record labels, booking agents, or management. In February 2012, the music industry publication Crazed Hits reported that the band had signed a recording contract with Columbia Records.[1] The band is well known for its covers of pop genre music on YouTube, making use of uncommon instruments such as the ukulele and the theremin, as well as looping samples. The band's recorded music and videos are produced by member and multi-instrumentalist, Gianni "Luminati" Nicassio.

History

The band's first big success came from covering the songs of The Gregory Brothers. The video of the band's live cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" became rapidly popular on YouTube in early 2012, gathering over 127 million views in four months[2] and received positive responses from both Gotye and his co-singer on the song, Kimbra.[3][4] The band has also covered "Rude" by MAGIC!, "Someone Like You" by Adele, "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, "Payphone" by Maroon 5, "Roll Up" by Wiz Khalifa and dozens of other tracks.[5][6] In December 2012, the band released an original single titled "Gang of Rhythm".[7] On March 11, RollingStone magazine streamed their unreleased R.E.V.O. LP in its entirety. The full length R.E.V.O. album was released on March 19, 2013, after which they commenced in the R.E.V.O. Tour through the U.S and Europe. They began another US and Europe tour, Gang of Rhythm, in 2014.[8] The most recent tour is The sing it all the way tour through Europe and North America 2015-present

Members

Current members
Touring members
  • Lee Bolt - guitar, banjo, bass, mandolin, ukulele, ukulele base
  • James "Ervy" Ervin - trumpet, percussion
  • Zach Gerber - drums, guitar, bass, vocals, percussion
Past members
  • Peter Kirkwood – drums, vocals, percussion

Popularity

  • The band's cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know", with accompanying video where all five members are shown playing on one guitar, went viral in early 2012 and has so far gained almost 170 million hits on YouTube.[10] The production is live, taken from the 26th cut of a 14-hour session.[11]
  • Ellen DeGeneres featured the band on her January 23, 2012 show where they played live, again on one guitar.
  • The band's cover of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" with four of the five members and guest beatboxer KRNFX using only vocals (in the style of a capella) and uploaded to YouTube on January 1 of 2013 has since gone viral.[12]
  • The band appeared in the Season 4 premiere of CTV's The Listener, performing two songs and socializing with the main characters in the bar.
  • They were included in the YouTube 2012 review, doing a part of an acoustic version of "Gangnam Style" on one guitar, a reference to their viral video.
  • The band's YouTube video of Lorde's "Royals" was featured in the 2014 Grammy Awards.
  • The band's original single "Gang of Rhythm" is the theme song of popular Catalan TV show El Foraster.[13]
  • The band appeared in the Soundtrack of the animated movie La Guerre des tuques 3D in 2015, performing the song "You're my sweater"
  • The band won a 2016 Juno award for Group of the Year.[14]

Awards and nominations

Year Award ceremony Award Result
2013 Juno Awards Breakthrough Group of the Year Nominated
Video of the Year — Little Boxes Nominated
CASBY Awards Molson Canadian Favourite New Artist Won
YouTube Music Awards Response of the Year Nominated
2014 Juno Awards Group of the Year Nominated
Pop Album of the Year — R.E.V.O. Nominated
Juno Fan Choice Award Nominated
Canadian Radio Music Awards Best New Group or Solo Artist: Mainstream AC Nominated
Best New Group or Solo Artist: Hot AC Won
Best New Group or Solo Artist: CHR Won
SOCAN Song of the Year — Red Hands Won
Fans' Choice Won
2016 Juno Awards Juno Fan Choice Award Nominated
Pop Album of the Year — Sing It All Away Nominated
Group of the Year Won

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications Sales
CAN
[15] 		US
[16] 		AUT
[17] 		NLD
[18] 		SWI
[19]
Smooth Like Stone on a Beach
  • Released: December 31, 2007
  • Label: Slapdash Records
 — — — — —
My Rock
  • Released: July 30, 2010
  • Label: Slapdash Records
 — — — — —
Vol.1
  • Released: November 20, 2012
  • Label: Slapdash Records
 — — — — —
Vol.2
  • Released: November 20, 2012
  • Label: Slapdash Records
 — — — — —
R.E.V.O. LP
  • Released: March 19, 2013
  • Label: Columbia
 7 90 29 — —
Sing It All Away 2 71 — 79 74
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

  • 2012: R.E.V.O. (EP)
  • 2013: iTunes Session
  • 2014: A Walk Off the Earth Christmas EP
  • 2015: Sing It All Away

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
CAN AUT BEL
(Vl) 		DEN FRA
[23] 		IRL NED SWE US Bub.
[24] 		UK
"Somebody That I Used to Know" 2012 13 30 30 12 80 48 9 45 9 80 R.E.V.O.
"Red Hands" 9 — — — — — — — 14 —
"Gang of Rhythm" 2013 60 — — — — — — — — —
"Shake" 2014 69 — — — — — — — — —
"Rule the World" 2015 22 — — — — — — — — — Sing It All Away
"Hold On (The Break)" 2016 66 — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. ^ a b "Columbia signs Walk off the Earth". Crazed Hits. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  2. ^ Cashmere, Paul (9 January 2012). "Gotye Cover Inspires Russell Crowe To Pitch To Walk off the Earth". Noise11. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Twitter post by Gotye". Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  4. ^ Cashmere, Paul (8 January 2012). "Kimbra Impressed With Gotye Cover By Walk off the Earth". Noise11. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  5. ^ CTV Edmonton (Jan 13, 2012). "Ont. band Walk Off the Earth has viral YouTube hit". CTV News. BellMedia. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  6. ^ Lester, Paul (April 25, 2013). "Walk Off the Earth (No 1,500)". The Guardian (online). United Kingdom: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 2014-01-02. theguardian.com.
  7. ^ "Gang of Rhythm by Walk Off The Earth". Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Ones To Watch presents Walk Off The Earth - Gang of Rhythm Tour". Facebook - Walk Off The Earth. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  9. ^ Whirling sound tubes also called Sound Hoses or Whirly Tubes can be made of various size and the physics is explained nicely in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuGnsW0ysrA
  10. ^ Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2016 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Walk off the Earth interview days after viral fame". Global News YouTube Channel. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Walk Off The Earth's "I Knew You Were Trouble" Cover Goes Viral". Metro Lyrics. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Gang Of Rhythm de Walk Off the Earth del album R.E.V.O". Facebook - El Foraster (in Catalan). 11 March 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "2016 Juno Awards: The complete list of winners". Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Walk Off the Earth Album > Album & Song Chart History > Canadian Albums". Billboard Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 23 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Walk Off the Earth Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
  17. ^ "Walk off the Earth". Ö3 Austria Top 40 (in German). Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "Walk Off the Earth". MegaCharts (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  19. ^ Steffen Hung. "Walk Off the Earth". Schweizer Hitparade. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  20. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Walk Off the Earth – R.E.V.O." Music Canada.
  21. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  22. ^ "A Journal of Musical ThingsWeekly Music News Sales Report and Analysis: 24 June 2015 - A Journal of Musical Things". A Journal of Musical Things. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  23. ^ LesCharts.com French and European chart positions for Walk off the Earth's version "Somebody That I Used to Know"
  24. ^ "Chart Search". Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles for Walk Off the Earth. Retrieved June 28, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "Canadian digital download certifications – Walk Off the Earth – Somebody That I Used to Know". Music Canada.
  26. ^ "Canadian digital download certifications – Walk Off the Earth – Red Hands". Music Canada.
  27. ^ "Canadian digital download certifications – Walk Off the Earth – Rule the World". Music Canada.
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