Walk the Moon

History

In 2011, the band members began to paint their faces for live performances and they would bring enough paint to share with audience members. They have claimed it has become a “live tradition”. Bonnaroo’s camera crew documented the painting process in a short video from the 2011 festival. Preceding the release of their album, Walk the Moon went on tour with Young the Giant and Kaiser Chiefs, as well as releasing a three-song sampler, Anna Sun EP, in January 2012. The band played at the Sasquatch Music Festival and Firefly Music Festival. They are known for their energetic performances and tireless touring schedule Before the release of their self-titled album, Walk the Moon joined many other performers at the Music Midtown festival and performed on the Great Southeast Music Hall Stage in Atlanta, Georgia in September 2011. In the spring 2011, the band went on a short tour with the west coast band, Grouplove, as well as supported Panic! at the Disco and Weezer on select dates. The band played on the main stage at the 20th Anniversary of Lollapalooza and also supported Local Natives in an Official Lollaplooza Aftershow at Lincoln Hall.

i want! i want!

The band's self-released album i Want! i Want! was recorded by Chris Schmidt and Ben Cochran at Soap Floats Recording Studio in their hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. The lead single from the album, "Anna Sun", became a surprise hit in the summer of 2011 following an endorsement by the Esquire article "30 Summer Songs Every Man Should Listen To". Written by Petricca and New York songwriter Nick Lerangis as their time at Kenyon College came to an end. "It's about college, about maintaining that little bit of being a kid," Petricca said. "Don't be afraid to play." The song was named after one of their favorite teachers (see here and here) It was named song of the summer by MTV and Seventeen Mag, and one of the top songs of the year by Amazon. It has been officially remixed by Fool's Gold and received a Trouble Productions remix by Robert Hammond Jr. Anna Sun rose to the number one spot on Alt. Nation on Sirius XM Radio. "Anna Sun" was added to the video rotation of American Eagle Outfitters stores in May 2011. It was featured on the hit TV show Vampire Diaries in the first episode of season three. It was also the free single of the week on iTunes for the week of May 15. Filmed in 2011 in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, the "Anna Sun" music video was released to coincide with the album. The video was shot on-location at the Cincinnati Mockbee building, as well as at a city park. It was directed and produced by Patrick Meier of the Cincinnati company, Contrast Productions, and features original choreography from Kim Popa of PONES Inc., as well as a cast full of the band's friends and locals from Cincinnati. MTV Hive calls the video a "hilariously choreographed, neon-colored and awesomely shot in one take" production.

Walk the Moon

The band’s self-titled major label debut Walk the Moon was released on June 19, 2012. The same day they appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. On June 27, 2012, the band joined many other performers at Summerfest Music Festival and performed on the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage. The first single was "Anna Sun" which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Alternative chart and number 20 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart. Also in 2012, Walk The Moon played in the iTunes Festival in London, appeared in KROQ's Weenie Roast 2012, and was the supporting act for Fun on their European tour. Their song “Quesadilla” was added to the official FIFA 13 soundtrack and their second single, “Tightrope” was used in a commercial for the HP Envy 4 Ultrabook laptop. and was featured in the game Saints Row IV. Petricca appeared on the song "Finale" by Madeon, which was included on the FIFA 13 soundtrack.

Talking Is Hard

On September 9, 2014, Walk The Moon released the single "Shut Up and Dance" (stylized as "SHUT UP + DANCE") in advance of their new album. It was written by the band members and songwriters Ben Berger and Ryan McMahon. The song is based on an experience frontman Nicholas Petricca had at a Los Angeles nightclub. His girlfriend invited him to dance, inspiring the title, which he envisioned as an anthem for letting go of frustration and having fun.

The song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a number-one hit on the magazine's Alternative Songs chart and the Hot Adult Contemporary chart. Outside the United States, the song topped the charts in Poland, peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom, the top twenty of the charts in New Zealand and Sweden and the top thirty of the charts in the Netherlands. The band has performed "Shut Up and Dance" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Good Morning America.

During October 2014, the band released a series of pictures and videos on their Facebook page that hinted at the album's title. The title was officially revealed to be Talking Is Hard on October 29, 2014, with a release date set for December 2. On November 10, 2014, the band released the cover artwork and song listing for Talking is Hard. On November 17, 2014, they released "Different Colors" as the second single off the album. On November 24, 2014, the album was surprise released on Spotify a week before its set release date. On December 2, 2014 the album was released in digital, CD, and vinyl formats. The album also charted at number 26 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release.

In July 2015, the Cincinnati-originated band performed "Shut Up and Dance" in front of a hometown crowd at Great American Ballpark, prior to the start of the Home Run Derby.

On July 24, 2015 they joined Taylor Swift on stage at the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro Massachusetts during her 1989 tour, to perform "Shut Up and Dance"

On November 16, 2015, the group sang the national anthem, preceding a Monday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans, which was played at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

The band performed their breakout hit "Shut Up and Dance", which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, live at the 43rd Annual American Music Awards (AMA) on November 22, 2015. They were first-time AMA nominees for:

The band's competition for New Artist of the Year included, Sam Hunt (winner), Fetty Wap, Tove Lo, and The Weeknd. For Favorite Pop/Rock Band the competition was One Direction (winner) and Maroon 5. The other finalists for the Favorite Alternative Rock award were Fall Out Boy (winner) and Hozier. The band's live performance at the 2015 AMAs can be seen here.

On January 1, 2016, they performed "Shut Up and Dance" and "Work This Body" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve in New York to honor the New Year. The band is also featured on The Knocks' song titled "Best For Last" which was released on their debut album, entitled "55". The album was released on March 4, 2016, under the label Big Beat Records.

Musical style and Influences

Walk the Moon have cited Talking Heads, David Bowie, The Police, Tears for Fears and Phil Collins as influences Walk the Moon's use of eighties musical mainstays such as keyboard and synthesizer is also notable.

Discography

Live Albums