Newsminer.com Article- 2/15/08

[Samsung]

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Sick Puppies: Hugs are free, but the show costs money
By Christi Hang

Published Friday, February 15, 2008

It sounds like a quick way to get rabies, but Sick Puppies are famous for being involved with free hugs.

Fortunately, the incident didn’t involved any ill canines. The Australian band, which is now based out of Los Angeles, became YouTube darlings after its video of a man giving away hugs at no charge racked up more than 20 million views.

Now the alt-rock band kicks off a two-month U.S. tour with a pair of shows in Alaska, including a concert Saturday at The Blue Loon.

Lead singer Shimon Moore said he was looking forward to returning to Alaska because of the great reception the band received during their last tour of the state in 2006. Sick Puppies didn’t make it to Fairbanks, but Moore said the band built a following over the short time period.

“It was packed from word-of-mouth and people returning,” he said.

Word-of-mouth is also what spread Sick Puppies’ “Free Hugs” video across YouTube. Filmed by Moore, the video details Juan Mann’s campaign to give “free hugs,” with the song “All the Same” as the soundtrack. The song has since peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard U.S. Modern Rock chart.

Moore said he is interested in making more films, but all of that will have to take a backseat to his musical ambitions. He founded Sick Puppies with bassist Emma Anzai in high school, with a goal of making it big.

“The plan was to become a rock star, and musicianship came along the way,” Moore said.

On the way to becoming rock stars, the band beat out 3,000 musical acts to win Australia’s Triple J’s Unearthed competition in 2000. The win came as a surprise to Moore, who thought the radio station was calling him back because he left something behind when he dropped off the band’s demo tape.

“I thought there was no way we could have won,” he said.

After attracting some attention with its win, the band recorded its debut, “Welcome to the Real World” later that year. One track that didn’t make it to the album was the band’s cover of the Destiny’s Child hit, “Say My Name.” Although Destiny’s Child stopped the cover’s release, it can still be found online.

On his morning drive, Moore said the Destiny’s Child song would be the last song he would hear. He said it bothered him because he wanted to end his drive with a rock song.

“I wanted to hear a rock song, so I made one,” he said.

On his morning drives now, Moore is seeing a lot more traffic. Sick Puppies relocated to Los Angeles three years ago and Moore said he finds his adopted homeland very supportive.

“In my limited experience, the people are more encouraging,” Moore said.

Not that Sick Puppies will be spending a lot of time at home. The band is constantly touring, which is Moore’s favorite and least favorite thing about being in a rock band.

“Just playing a show and sleeping, those are my two favorite things in the world,” he said.

On the cusp of a two-month road trip that spans across the U.S., Moore said the band is planning a combination of relaxation and rehearsal to tighten up its set and include some audience participation.

“People should expect to have the best night of their lives, because we plan to,” Moore said.[/quote]

[Crystal]

[Donna]

Great article - thanks for posting it Sam!! And I definitely agree with Shim - sleeping is one of my favorite things

[Becky]