Pomplamoose: The quirky success story of one couple's social media.

Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte of Pomplamoose.

You wouldn't think that naming your group after a grapefruit, (French: pamplemousse), would lead to anything, but apparently grapefruit has powerful properties that go beyond thoughts of breakfast. I first learned of Pomplamoose in 2010, by which time they had already had over 100,000 songs downloaded online. Now they have 3 million views per month on YouTube, and make a good living via iTunes. Though when Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn (Natalie Dawn Knutsen) hooked up in the summer of 2008, their goals were much smaller, and their equipment and recording spaces were a lot less tech, and of lesser quality than they are today. They had no inkling they would one day be on a lot of people's minds; they simply wanted to share their love of music online, and make enough money to keep doing music for a living. Here's their take on how they do what they do: http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/17/keen-on-pomplamoose-how-nataly-and-jack-are-reinventing-the-music-business-tctv/

Pomplamoose first made a big splash in the musical pond with their Hyundai holiday TV spots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g947151eKQo Hyundai remodeled the couple's garage into a recording studio to shoot the spots. Today, corporate sponsorships and contracts have added a hefty chunk to Pomplamoose's income.

Their choreography and video edits are similar in style to the old Monkey's videos, (who weren't in Pomplamoose's league as musicians),  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfuBREMXxts  and this is right in line with their style of music, which is Pop with a capital 'P.' But not the usual pop. (I would not be surprised if they redo "Valerie," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," and "I'm a Believer" in the near future). This kind of fresh off the grill type of musical entertainment has been seen before, but not in this way. They aren't Sonny and Cher, but they are as entertaining. Pomplamoose adds the special ingredient of love and romance to doing music. A phrase to describe Pomplamoose? A loving and humorous spontaneity, and inventive musical chemistry. Their musical and romantic chemistry are fresh and genuine, as romantic as when Adam Sandler sang to Drew Barrymore, in "The Wedding Singer," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPsW2FYprfI It is this love connection, and love of music, that make Pomplamoose work as a band, and as a couple, and why millions of fans love them. They're the real deal, even though some have been put off by Dawn's eye shifting antics. It's just part of style of the musical act. Dawn's delivery of deadpan lines is simply an expression of her quirky personality. She's young, give her time.

Pomplamoose http://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic  has made a perfect marriage of the old music, that of the pre-Depression era, the 1960s, and the offbeat Indie songs of the 21st Century, however, Conte and Dawn describe their work as falling into the pop genre. Dawn's sweet retro voice, though, is right out of the 1920s and 1930s, and Conte's manic and joyful instrumentals and goofy expressions are uniquely his own. Together, they make world class entertainment, in an industry where Lady Gaga, Madonna, and rock band theatrics - with light shows and "smoke and mirrors" are the norm. Their musical approach falls somewhere in the honest realm of watching a group of bluegrass musicians in someone's living room, and hanging out with Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash one sunny afternoon in the 1960s.

Their work is split between cover songs and originals. Nataly has her own channel on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/natalydawn where you can hear covers such as "Superman's Song." Pomplamoose has done fabulous covers of "Mr. Sandman," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xMCNmUaGko Beyonce's "Single Ladies, (Put A Ring On It)," and many others. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIr8-f2OWhs&feature=player_embedded But cover songs aren't Pomplanoose's most memorable music. Their originals are as lyrically good as any folk songs, which is no small feat. They are not as sappy or saccharine as the Pee Wee Herman era band named Aqua, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyhrYis509A yet they have the same fun attitude without the electronica or the "Let's make fun of Southern California" style lyrics. No, with Pomplamoose its all natural talent. They don't dress up, it's a come as you are Pomplamoose party. Sweatshirts and jeans are the norm.

Their covers and originals have wit, charm, and inventiveness. Even the old Moody Blues members should take note of Conte's and Nataly's multi-instrumental virtuosity. Anything that can be used to make music is used, and used well. Nataly spent a good deal of her early life in France and Belgium, so the French have a particular fondness for her. So look for a European tour at some point. Here is an early French song of hers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJuKoPaSpOU&feature=relmfu  In 2011, Pomplamoose toured with another YouTube friendly band, OK GO http://okgo.net/ whose zany videos are even more like the Monkey's than Pomplamoose.

Pomplamoose are not the first, nor will they be the last to use social media as an effective detour around the old school way to get from Point A to Point B in the music business. At this moment there are probably a lot of music producers talking about them in the boardrooms of the major music labels. I suspect those high rollers of the music business are speaking with voices that are a bit shaky, because Pomplamoose's way is the way of the future, and a large proportion of future musical artists are going to follow in their footsteps.

Fans of Pomplamoose can reach them via:

Pomplamoose
PO Box 1323
Rohnert Park, CA 94927
pomplamoosemusic@gmail.com