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Nurses Stage Concert Via Chat Roulette

NursesWhile most bands utilize social media such as Twitter to connect with fans, Portland, Ore.-based indie trio Nurses are taking Internet pursuits to a whole new level. Last Tuesday the avant pop band performed the first-ever live concert via Chat Roulette, the always-interesting, often-creepy international video chat site.

Nurses played a 45-minute set in front of 15 computers in the living room of vocalist and guitarist Aaron Chapman. According to Chapman, playing to unsuspecting Chat Roulette users via webcams was a surreal experience unlike anything else, much like using the site itself.

"If a stranger just stumbled into one of our live shows, they'd probably just sit patiently and watch, even if they weren't into it," Chapman tells Spinner. "With a Chat Roulette performance, the people watching are in their own homes and it's completely anonymous, so they can -- and will -- tell you if they don't like your music."

The idea of playing a live show via Chat Roulette intrigued the band because of the random nature of the site. One minute you're video-chatting with friendly strangers -- or even celebs, such as the Jonas Brothers, who have been spotted on the site -- the next you're in NSFW territory.

"The weirdest part of Chat Roulette has been all the guys masturbating!" Chapman says. "I don't really see how the site is relevant as porn, so it's shocking to me. We did this performance on Chat Roulette, but I didn't tell my mom to tune in. I didn't want her to see that!"

While Chapman admits that his band can be "old-fashioned when it comes to technology," Nurses embraced the video format and recorded footage of its viewers during the Chat Roulette show. The clips are currently being edited to create a video that portrays the band's weird yet wonderful experience of performing on Chat Roulette.

"When you're in a band, you're usually trying to get as many people as possible to hear your music, but this wasn't about gaining attention," Chapman says. "It was really interesting to do a show on a site with 50,000 users, but only 15 people at a time can watch."

Nurses, who are on the Dead Oceans label, join the Tallest Man on Earth next month for a national tour, where the band will surely play shows to more than 15 people.

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Sam

Actually they weren't the first band to do a live concert on chatroullete. Ben Folds did it a few months ago, it was pretty awesome!

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1931654

July 27 2010 at 10:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jordan

Nurses Play Chatroulette Video
http://intothewoods.tv/chatroulette/

March 16 2010 at 4:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
LeeAnn

This is really groundbreaking territory. The Nurses should receive a nice chunk of press for this. Do you think I will find them on http://www.chatroulettevideos.com ?

March 10 2010 at 9:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
James

People tend to play every kind of video you can think of through their cameras. Most of the not safe content is pranksters chatroulette spoofing.

March 08 2010 at 2:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Shelly

I can't wait to see the compliation of this when it's ready. If anyone has any screenshots of Nurses playing live please submit them to http://chatrouletteimages.com (there is a cash prize contest for this months best submission)

March 04 2010 at 1:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply