You can add the band Pomplamoose to the long and growing list of YouTube sensations, with its cover of Beyonce’s "Single Ladies." Its members don’t have a record deal or a publicist, but that song’s video has been viewed almost 4 million times on YouTube alone.
Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn are Pomplamoose, and they recently sat down with Weekend All Things Considered guest host Linda Wertheimer to talk about their success. When it comes to Pomplamoose’s videos, what you see is what you get.
"There’s no hidden sounds, there’s no lip-synching, there’s no overdubbing. What you see is what you hear," Conte says. "Sometimes, there might be two or three Natalys harmonizing with herself, and then you’ll see those three videos juxtaposed together on the screen."
The video for "Single Ladies" was shot in Conte’s old bedroom, complete with blankets for sound dampeners. It’s an organic, glitz-free setting, which, according to Conte, is appropriate for their music.
"I guess I kinda don’t like how there’s such a pedestal for music culture and especially for band culture," he says. "It just feels fake; it feels like smoke and mirrors. I feel like music doesn’t have to be like that. It can be something that’s very normal and very accessible."
The group has made no hard copies of its albums; no CDs have been printed. Nevertheless, they make their living on sales, having sold about 100,000 songs last year.
