It seems that mobile apps are the new music videos. Quite a few musicians have been releasing apps to coincide with new song releases—Cassius did so for their song “I Love U So,” where users could put their phone up to their mouths and lip synch along with a pre-made video featuring eight different mouths, then upload the result. OK Go released a GPS enabled app that turned their fans into a human Etch-A-Sketch. And recently, San Francisco band The Ferocious Few have released the Pocket Rock-It iPhone app, which is a digitalised take on the band’s penchant for playing impromptu gigs in unexpected places on the streets of San Francisco. The app lets you experience this live performance anywhere you want by holding up your iPhone and “placing” the band in any location. You choose whether you want a solo or duet performance (duet lets you sync with another device using bluetooth so you can have both musicians performing), then choose whether you want drums or guitar. Hold your phone up and you’ll see your miniature musicians rocking out, virtually, on any surface you desire.When we asked the creative team how the app came about they told us, “The app really came from us being fans of the band. The Ferocious Few has a reputation of popping up unexpectedly in random places all over San Francisco, so we wanted to convey that sense of spontaneity in an experience that was true to the personality of the band. We came up with the idea of using smartphones to give people the experience of an impromptu Ferocious Few concert just like they do in real life.”There are added benefits to releasing an app to coincide with a video, for an unsigned band like The Ferocious Few, who don’t have a major record label’s PR muscle to promote their new releases, it’s a way to reach a potentially large amount of people. And along with the internet, which allows for ease of distribution, it’s another creative way to promote and spread your music. “We had two main goals in releasing an app along with the music video,” said Darren Wong, one of the creative strategists on the project. “The first was to create a different way to experience the band, an interactive experience that still felt true to their essence. Second, we wanted to grow the fan base by reaching a different audience that the band may not normally attract.” Part of the appeal of releasing an app is generating a buzz around it, hoping it’ll take off and reach a wider, tech-savvy, international fanbase, which is especially likely now, while the trend is still a bit of a novelty.You can go download the app for free at the app store: Pocket Rock-It iPhone app.
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