When Gianni Luminati of Canadian rock band Walk Off the Earth first came up with the idea of covering the Gotye song 鈥淪omebody That I Used to Know鈥� in a video on Youtube, he had no idea the unique arrangement would garner worldwide attention, as well as critical acclaim, and give the Burlington, Ontario group its big break.
鈥淚 thought it was a cool idea,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I didn鈥檛 think it was 鈥�300 million Youtube views鈥� cool.鈥�
The video, featuring all five members of Walk Off The Earth playing the song live together on one guitar, quickly went viral and earned 127 million of those views in just four months.
But it was almost a completely different video, according to Luminati.
鈥淚 had originally conceived the idea for four people on one guitar,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut Taylor (band member Mike 鈥楤eard Guy鈥� Taylor) felt left out, so he ended up doing the 鈥榩linky鈥� thing on the guitar that definitely ended up making that video.鈥�
Formed in 2006, Walk Off The Earth features the talents of Luminati and Taylor, as well as Ryan Marshall, Sarah Blackwood and Joel Cassady.聽
鈥淢arshall and I originally started the band,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e both had reggae/rock bands, but he left his band and then we started working together. I had also produced some of Sarah鈥檚 songs, as well, so we knew each other.鈥�
After the Somebody That I Used To Know video went viral, the band quickly built a loyal and adoring fan base 鈥� with no help from record labels, booking agents, or management.
鈥淚t was a perfect storm,鈥� said Luminati. 鈥淭he song was incredible, and it captured something people hadn鈥檛 seen before. And it led them to the other 30 videos we already had online.鈥�
It also got them a recording contract with Columbia Records.
鈥淲e had a week to write that album and three weeks to record it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was pretty rushed, but I鈥檓 really proud of that album.鈥�
The album, titled R.E.V.O, also earned a Juno Award nomination for Best Pop Album.
The band continues to make unique videos, both of covers and their own original songs.
鈥淧roducing videos is one of my passions,鈥� said Luminati. 鈥淚 produce the music so it is me who usually maps out the videos. Sarah is super creative too, so we talk about different ideas late into the night. We still have a bunch of crazy ideas we鈥檝e not recorded yet.鈥�
Walk Off The Earth has also been busy recently working on yet another album.
鈥淲e are pretty deep into working on our fourth studio album,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e written about 20 songs in the past year, and we are recording 15 of them. It鈥檚 definitely our best work to date. We鈥檝e been in the studio almost every day working on the new record.鈥�
When not in studio this summer, Walk Off The Earth has been playing the festival circuit.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing a lot of festival one-offs, especially in the States,鈥� said Luminati. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing that pretty much every weekend this summer, which has been good.鈥�
He said he enjoys the energy of playing the big festivals.
鈥淔estivals are incredible,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can find yourself playing in front of 20 or 30,000 people. But solo shows are fun too, where you鈥檙e playing for 2,000 to 4,000 hardcore fans. They both have their merits. We鈥檙e actually excited and looking forward to the Squamish festival, because it鈥檚 got a great lineup and we have something cool planned for the show.鈥�
Find out what Walk Off The Earth have planned, Friday (August 8) at the Squamish Valley Music Festival.
