Walk the Moon is an American indie rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lead
singer Nicholas Petricca started the band in 2008 while a student at Kenyon
College and went through several member changes before finally coming together
with current members Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman, and Eli Maiman in 2010. The
band's name is derived from the song "Walking on the Moon" by The Police. The
group independently released their debut album, I Want! I Want!, in November
2010, receiving airplay for the track "Anna Sun" on multiple Alternative radio
stations. In February 2011, Walk the Moon signed with Mick Management. They
signed to RCA Records and released their first major label album, their second
overall, the self-titled Walk the Moon, in June 2012. It is composed of many of
their original tracks from I Want! I Want! as well as new tracks that were
written specifically for the album and were meant to reflect the kind of energy
the band produced in their live shows. In December 2014, the band released
their second major-label studio album, Talking Is Hard. This album includes
their biggest hit to date, "Shut Up and Dance," which has so far charted at
number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 1 on Billboard's Rock
Songs chart and Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.
SPIN Magazine described them as a "poppy, art-rock quartet". They were
also deemed a Nylon Magazine Band Crush for their "swirly pop beats, infectious
guitar riffs, and loud, sing-a-long choruses."
History = "Anna Sun" =
"Anna Sun" was named the song of the summer in a 2011 Esquire article "30
Summer Songs Every Man Should Listen To". Written by Petricca and New York
singer/songwriter Nick Lerangis towards the end of their college career, the
song is named after their professor from Kenyon College and is meant to symbolize
youth. "It's about college, about maintaining that little bit of being a
kid," Petricca said. "Don't be afraid to play."
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. Filmed in 2011 in Cincinnati's
Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, the "Anna Sun" music video was released to
coincide with the disc. The video was shot on-location at the Cincinnati
Mockbee building, as well as Petricca's own home. 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. "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. It was
also named song of the summer by MTV and Seventeen Mag as well as one of the top
songs of the year by Amazon. It has been officially remixed by Fool's Gold and by
Trouble Productions. It also rose to the number one spot on Alt. Nation on Sirius
XM Radio. Along with the success of Anna Sun, Alt. Nation named them a band you
need to know for the Summer of 2012. = 2012–13: Walk the Moon =
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 of 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. 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, RCA put the band on tour with Young the Giant and Kaiser Chiefs,
as well as released a three-song sampler, Anna Sun EP, in January of
2012. The band played at the Sasquatch Music Festival and Firefly Music
Festival. The band’s self-titled major label debut Walk the Moon was released
on June 19, 2012, the same day that the band appeared on the Late Show with Dave
Letterman. The band has also appeared on Conan on July 18th, 2012, Late Night
with Jimmy Fallon on April 5th 2012, and Last Call with Carson Daly back in 2011.
On June 27th, 2012, the band joined many other performers at Summerfest Music
Festival and performed on the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage. 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. Lead singer Petricca also appeared on the song "Finale" by
Madeon, which also appeared on the FIFA 13 soundtrack.
= 2014–present: Talking Is Hard = On September 9, 2014, Walk the Moon
released the single "Shut Up and Dance" in advance of their new album. Over the
course of 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. It was the number 4 album on iTunes the day of its release.
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.
Members Discography
Studio albums I Want! I Want!
Walk the Moon Talking Is Hard
Awards and nominations References
External links Official Website
Walk the Moon discography at MusicBrainz