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DateMar 21, 2018
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Event Starts8:00 PM
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VenueSan Jose Civic
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On SaleOn Sale Now
The Piano Guys
Event Details
The Piano Guys became an Internet sensation by way of their immensely successful series of strikingly original self-made music videos. They’ve made over 65 since joining forces in early 2011, including their hit video, an innovative 10-handed version of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.” On the heels of their latest release Uncharted, The Piano Guys will perform live at the City National Civic on March 21.
The Piano Guys have performed everywhere from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to The Today Show as well have been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Buzzfeed, People Magazine, Mashable and so on.
The Piano Guys consists of just one piano player, Jon Schmidt, and one other instrumentalist, Steven Sharp Nelson, on cello. The duo are joined by - Paul Anderson and Al van der Beek – whom are equally significant members of the group.
The spectacular ThePianoGuys videos, which have so far netted over 1.2 billion YouTube views (their YouTube channel also has over 5.4 million subscribers), are essentially divined by Anderson. "Jon had built up a fan base for 20 years, and we used that as a springboard for getting exposure," Anderson notes, "but it's all about the merits of the videos, and share-ability. People see them and then share them with their friends on Facebook, and before you know it, they can take off."
Currently, The Piano Guys have over 1.6 million Facebook fans who have shared videos like "Michael Meets Mozart," which features over 100 tracks of cello textures, including a deep bass drum sound created by tapping on the cello body; a shaker sound made by Nelson rubbing rosin on his bow; and a record-scratch noise caused by his scraping a quarter on the strings. "Michael Meets Mozart" is on The Piano Guys debut CD, as is "Cello Wars," the ambitious video which resulted from a six-month production required to realize its Star Wars-inspired light saber/cello bow concept, since rewarded by over 37 million YouTube views.
With van der Beek’s studio prowess together with the inventive cinematography of Anderson, Schmidt and Nelson have forged a fresh approach to the growing classical crossover fusion of classical and pop music that in their case has connected quietly but emotionally with a massive audience.