Artist:Walk Off the Earth
Song:Red Hands
Album:R.E.V.O.
Walk Off the Earth started out as a YouTube cover band. Eventually there was enough buzz to get them a major label deal with Columbia. After two albums for Columbia, they returned to recording on their own label. They seem to like that independence. Walk Off the Earth are from Burlington, ON which is near Hamilton. They formed in 2006. The leader is Gianni "Luminati" Nicassio. All the members play various instruments. Nicassio produces the music. He started out posting YouTube videos. Nicassio turned Walk Off the Earth into a band in 2011. That's when Joel Cassady, Sarah Blackwood and Mike "Beard Guy" Taylor joined the band. Ryan Marshall had already been working with Nicassio. Their 2012 cover of Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know generated 175M views on YouTube. This led to a deal with Columbia Records and the 2013 album R.E.V.O. The single Red Hands reached #9 on the Canadian Singles chart. The single was certified 2XPlatinum mostly through downloads. Despite their rep as a cover band, most of the songs including Red Hands were written and produced by the band. They released a second album on Columbia Sing It All Away in 2015. It didn't do as well as the first album. The big advantage of being on a major label is the promotion budget. The drawback is they micromanage everything. I don't think Walk Off the Earth liked that part. So they left Columbia and now record for their own label with distribution from Sony owned RED. They don't get the promotion budget anymore but they are left alone. Mike Taylor died in 2018. Marshall left the band in 2019. Walk Off the Earth has released two albums since leaving Columbia. They hire musicians for touring. Here's the video for Red Hands by Walk Off the Earth.
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