A creative band’s PR stunt – ditch instruments for iPhones

Oh, what some people will do for a little viral publicity…  Actually, seriously, this is pretty cool.

It’s not uncommon for street musicians or talented homeless guys to barge into a subway car and try to get some spare change from entertained commuters. But this performance was a bit out of the ordinary.

There’s a viral video  going around of a group of people playing the song Take Me Out. But this performance was missing a seemingly critical component – instruments.

Instead, each member of the group had his own iPhone, running special apps to replace the real-life instruments they would otherwise use. So whether it was the keyboard or drums, the group recreated the rock band experience without any actual rock band equipment.

Unbeknownst to many of the viewers this video has found on YouTube, though, this performance was highly staged and planned for days, possibly even weeks in advance, and not some impromptu performance like it tries to lead people to believe.

The group is called Atomic Tom, and it is a real band with albums on sale and tour dates across the country. Additionally, a handful of people on the subway were fans of the band that showed up because they advertised it on their Twitter page.

However, not everyone was in on it, and it’s still a fun video to watch. Check it out below, but just know that it’s more of a choreographed publicity stunt than some crazy guys who just happened to be filmed on the subway: