No Longer The Hush Puppies 12.21.2006

[Katy]

Cameron Adams
December 21, 2006 12:00am
(Edited to remove source as link was no longer valid)

The Sick Puppies hug up to fame with an internet hit, writes CAMERON ADAMS.
FOR a band which specialises in aggressive rock, it's ironic Sydney trio Sick Puppies have scored a breakthrough thanks to spreading the love.

Sick Puppies frontman Shimon Moore made a video to cheer up a mate whose grandmother had died.

The friend, Juan Mann, is known in Sydney for his "Free Hugs" campaign.

Moore used Sick Puppies' All the Same to soundtrack footage of Mann's no-charge embraces and posted it on http://www.youtube.com

Before long the Free Hugs campaign gained internet word of mouth which spread around the world - with Mann and Moore flown to Chicago to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

"It was the most surreal moment of my life," Moore says.

"They paid for us to fly to Oprah because of this stupid little idea and stupid little video I made. And they played the video on Oprah, which means 100 million people in America saw it."

At last count, the Free Hugs video had 7.9 million views on You Tube, but it doesn't stop there.

"As well as the one we posted on You Tube, it's been on AOL, Google, Yahoo!, My Space, there's 10 rips (copies) which are getting up to half a million hits each . . . I can't even calculate the amount of people who've seen it," Moore says.

"The songs on our My Space page are getting 10-15,000 plays a day because of it. It's nice that it's because of something special."

The Sick Puppies have been based in LA for three years, heading there after winning Triple J's Unearthed competition in 2001.

The band had slogged around the LA scene before their overnight internet exposure.

"We were looking for the hit song, the hit-video concept, the big tour, the right break," Moore says.

"Then Free Hugs happened, we decided to ride that for a while and see how it goes. I never thought it'd take us where we've gone, but I'm happy to accept it."

The trio recorded their debut album in LA, due out early next year.

"We did showcases to all the record labels nine months ago," Moore says. "We didn't get the response we wanted. After Free Hugs they all called back and are all throwing around numbers."'

The band have signed to a major touring agency in the US, but are happy to release their new album independently if needed.

"It's nice to have a major, get a bunch of money and make things easier, but it's all about touring for us," Moore says.

He can personally recommend the internet to bands.

"It puts the power back in the audience's hands. Whatever creates results is actually getting results, it's not marketing," he says.

The Sick Puppies' new EP not only features Stay the Same, but the far more brutal Pitiful, where Moore lists a string of chemicals he can't afford.

"I haven't tried every drug, but it sounds good," Moore says.

"Everyone's been that low. I was working a sandwich board sign. It's not a job you're proud of but you have to make sacrifices to make music. It's s--- work.

"The funny thing is our album is so non-Free Hugs oriented. You can't keep going down that road.

"But people are reacting to the songs so well, so I say spread the love for a few months and see what happens."

Sick Puppies EP (Roadshow) out now. Sick Puppies, Esplanade Hotel, St Kilda, tonight, $20. Big Day Out, Princes Park, January 28 (sold out).

[angelbear425]

[Donna]

That was great Katy - thanks for posting!

[Crystal]

[frodolover36]

haha i love it! great find!!

i just looked and the video is up to 31,073,493 views! dang thats crazy!

[Matthew]

[Katy]

Crystal - I didn't even notice that the first time around!