OK Go | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Chicago,Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
| Website | okgo |
OK Go is an Americanrock band originally fromChicago,Illinois, now based inLos Angeles,California. The band is composed ofDamian Kulash (lead vocals,guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass,vocals), Dan Konopka (drums andpercussion), andAndy Ross (guitar,keyboards and vocals), who joined them in 2005, replacing original guitarist Andy Duncan. The band is known for its quirky and complex music videos which are often elaborately choreographed to be filmed in a single long take.
The original members formed as OK Go in 1998 and released two studio albums before Duncan's departure. The band's video for "Here It Goes Again" won aGrammy Award for Best Music Video in 2007.
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 | |
 OK Go - Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?, 15:52,Diffuser.fm[1] |
The band's lead singer,Damian Kulash, met bassist Tim Nordwind atInterlochen Arts Camp nearTraverse City, Michigan, when they were 11.[2] The band name comes from an inside joke developed at Interlochen; their art teacher had an oftenhigh assistant who would repeatedly say, "OK... Go!" while they were drawing.[3] They kept in touch after camp, often exchanging mixtapes which influenced each other's musical tastes and the band's future sound. They met the band's future guitarist and keyboardist Andy Duncan in high school.[4] Nordwind and Duncan moved toChicago for college, and, with drummer Dan Konopka, formed the band Stanley's Joyful Noise.[5] After graduating fromBrown University, Kulash moved to Chicago.[5] The quartet formed OK Go with the name being "an obvious choice for us" according to Nordwind.[3]
The band marketed themselves aggressively, putting up posters all around Chicago and touring heavily.[5] Within a year the group had shared the stage with international artists such asElliott Smith,the Promise Ring,the Olivia Tremor Control andSloan.[5] At the end of 2000, the band was invited by radio hostIra Glass to serve as the house band for live performances ofThis American Life.[5] Glass also helped the band creatively after asking Kulash the question, "Do you see yourselves as being earnest or clever?"[5] Kulash struggled with the question before deciding that the answer wasearnest. "I wanted to write a full-on rock song, one that made me feel like Queen songs made me feel," after which he wrote "Get Over It".[5]
The band self-released two EPs, titledBrown EP (2000) andPink EP (2001), which were culled from an album's worth of songs recorded in February 2000 with producer Dave Trumfio, to serve as demos.[6][citation needed] The demos did not land the band a label deal, but got them the attention of booking agent Frank Riley, who booked them as the opening act for a few shows byThey Might Be Giants.[5] OK Go would eventually open for the Giants on five tours; singerJohn Flansburgh briefly sought to co-manage them.[7]
In 2001 the group moved to Los Angeles,[8] although they considered their Chicago roots important even a decade later.[9]
In April 2001, the band signed with Capitol Records,[5] forgoing offers from bigger labels because they believed that, as the first signing by newly hired label president Andy Slater,[10] they would get more attention and support.[11]
The band recorded itsself-titled debut album at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. OK Go's original plan was to do minor tweaks to its original demo recordings; instead, the band rerecorded everything and added five new songs, including the first single "Get Over It,"[5] which later appeared inTriple Play Baseball,Madden NFL 2003, andGuitar Hero 5 video games.[12]
The label delayed the album's release from its original June 2002 date to September 17.[5] To promote the album, the label sent out miniature ping pong tables to press outlets,[7] a reference to the "Get Over It" video directed byFrancis Lawrence, while the band toured with acts includingthe Vines,Phantom Planet,Superdrag,the Donnas,Fountains of Wayne, andMew,[5][13][14][15][16] and played festival shows including Leeds in 2002 and 2003, and NoisePop, Reading, Witnness, and T in the Park in 2003.[17][18][19][20][21][22]
In the United States, the album reached #1 on theBillboard Heatseekers Chart and #107 on theBillboard 200 Chart.[23][24] In the United Kingdom, the first single "Get Over It" debuted at no. 27,[25] in theUK singles chart on March 16, 2003, and the band performed it on that week's edition ofTop of the Pops. Also that week, the single'svideo was named video of the week byQ magazine.[26]
The band's second album,Oh No, was recorded inMalmö, Sweden, in the fall of 2004 and was produced byTore Johansson (the Cardigans,Franz Ferdinand) and mixed byDave Sardy (Nine Inch Nails,Jet,System of a Down). In February 2005, Andy Duncan left the band, citing creative differences, major label pressures, and the band's rigorous touring schedule.[12][27] Duncan was replaced byAndy Ross, who beat out 34 other guitarists who auditioned for the role, in a process that ended with each candidate being asked about their willingness to do a choreographed dance on stage.[28] Ross introduced himself to the band's fans by writing a blog post entitled "The Will To Rock," in which he detailed life on the road, beginning with his first show with the band on February 18, 2005.[29]
Released in August 2005,Oh No gained popularity for its first single, "A Million Ways". Ross programmed a web application, hosted at a1000000ways.com, that allowed people to hear the single and to share it with their friends in exchange for free downloads from the iTunes music store.[30][failed verification] The video for "A Million Ways" featured the band in a backyard performing a dance choreographed by lead singer Kulash's sister,Trish Sie. By August 2006, the video had become the most downloaded music video ever, with over 9 million downloads.[31] The band performed the dance live on British TV showSoccer AM, as well as on the late-night American comedy showMad TV. The US version of the album includes "9027 km", a 35-minute track of lead singerDamian Kulash's girlfriend sleeping that is not listed on the album art.[32] Fans speculated that the track's name is derived from the distance between Los Angeles, California, and Malmö, Sweden, where the album was recorded and that the track was included to prevent the band's label from using the extra space fordigital rights management (DRM) software.[32] On December 6, 2005, Kulash published anop-ed piece inThe New York Times advocating against record labels' use of DRM.[33]
The band toured extensively to supportOh No, sharing dates withDeath Cab For Cutie,Panic! at the Disco,Kaiser Chiefs, andSnow Patrol.[28][34][35][36] They did special performances, including free shows on New Year's Eve in New York City's Times Square and in the parking lot before theUniversity of Michigan-vs.-Michigan State University football game[37] They played festivals such as theEdinburgh Fringe Festival,Bennicassim in Spain,Formoz Festival in Taiwan,Summer Sonic in Japan, andIncheon Pentaport in South Korea.[38][39][40][41][42]
On November 7, 2006, after the success of the "Here It Goes Again" video, the band released a deluxe DVD version of the album.[32] The DVD contains a documentary on the making of the album, the four official Capitol Records videos, a video of the band's appearance onChic-a-Go-Go, a "super cut" of the hundreds of fan versions of the "A Million Ways" dance, a behind-the-scenes video of the making of "Here It Goes Again", rehearsals for the 2006MTV Video Music Awards, an acoustic performance of "What to Do," a video for "There's A Fire" featuring video game characters, a dance booth version of "Don't Ask Me”, and live versions of "Do What You Want" and "You're So Damn Hot."[32]
After visitingNew Orleans in 2007, the band returned to record anEP with New Orleansfunk rock bandBonerama and producer Mark Nevers,[43] to raise money for musicians who were still displaced by the 2005Hurricane Katrina. The EP, entitledYou're Not Alone, was released on Mardi Gras, February 5, 2008.[44] The title is taken from a line in David Bowie's "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide", a cover of which appears on the EP, along with renditions of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" and three songs fromOh No.[43] The EP was sold through iTunes and raised over $40,000, which helped buy a new home for New Orleans musicianAl "Carnival Time" Johnson in the Musicians Village. Johnson, who sings on "I Will Be Released," the final song on the EP, moved into his new home in December 2008.[45] In support of the EP, OK Go andBonearama played benefit shows on January 11, 2008, atTipitina's in New Orleans, and on February 2, 2008, at the9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The D.C. show was streamed live by NPR and featured on a subsequent NPR podcast.[43][46]
On October 12, 2008, OK Go announced that the members had finished writing new songs for its third album and were in the studios in upstate New York with producerDave Fridmann (the Flaming Lips,MGMT).[47] The band previewed its third album, titledOf the Blue Colour of the Sky, with several dates on the U.S. East Coast, starting inPhiladelphia on March 6, 2009, at the TLA Theatre. The name of the album comes from a pseudo-scientific book written byAugustus Pleasonton in 1876 entitledThe Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Colour of the Sky. The members of the band have said that these songs are the "danciest, most anthemic, most heartbroken, and honest songs" of their career, and the album itself takes a much more funky, dance-prone, yet melancholy sound to it, drawing influence fromPrince. On May 7, 2009, a song from the album, titled "Skyscrapers," was released for streaming online.[48] The first single, "WTF?", was released on November 17, 2009. On January 8, 2010, OK Go appeared onThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and performed a song from the album, "This Too Shall Pass".Of the Blue Colour of the Sky was released on January 12, 2010.[49]
After the first two videos forOf the Blue Colour of the Sky were posted to YouTube in 2009, the band was quickly met with complaints from fans who were only able to view them on YouTube. In response, Kulash posted a long letter on the band's website explaining the record label's policies. The letter itself went viral,[50] after being reprinted in Gizmodo,[51] cited as "required reading" on BoingBoing,[52] and excerpted on many other websites. At the end of the letter, Kulash included embed codes for the band's most recent video in direct opposition to the desires of the label. On February 20, 2010, theNew York Times printed an op-ed in which Kulash furthered the arguments he made in his open letter.[53]
On March 9, 2010, the band uploaded a video to YouTube entitled "OK Go Announces new label," in which Kulash, accompanied by two dogs in neckties, announces the creation ofParacadute.[10] On March 10, 2010, the band announced it had cut ties withEMI andCapitol and formed theindependent labelParacadute.[54] The split became official on April 1, 2010. Paracadute then assumed ownership of the album, "Of the Blue Colour of the Sky", though the band's first two albums, "OK Go" and "Oh No" remained catalog items of EMI.[55] That night OK Go performed a single from its newly independent record on Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel.[56] Now charting its own destiny as an independent entity, the band has attempted to plot a new course for itself, as Kulash puts it: "We're trying to be a DIY [do-it-yourself] band in a post-major label world."[57]
The first wholly new release on the band's label Paracadute Recordings was180/365,[58] a live album recorded over several shows in 2010, mixed by producer Fridmann, and released on June 21, 2011. The album title refers to the number of concerts the band played in the course of one year. A stream of the album premiered on the technology websiteMashable before its official street date.[59] To celebrate the release, the band printed and sold 200 signed copies of180/365: The Book, a limited-edition book of tour photographs by Nathaniel Wood that was made available only to purchasers of the album.[60] The album was sold digitally and on CD in six-panel eco-friendly "Tron Pack" packaging from Norway.[61]
In July 2012, the band partnered withthe Humble Bundle for a pay-what-you-will release of the remix collectionTwelve Remixes Of Four Songs, alongside titles fromMC Frontalot,They Might Be Giants,Christopher Tin,Hitoshi Sakimoto, andJonathan Coulton.[62]
The band's most successful example of its new business model was taking money fromState Farm Insurance, which was looking to tap into a younger audience by creating a piece of interesting digital content.[63] The band created a music video for "This Too Shall Pass", in which a toy truck with State Farm branding was used to start a largeRube Goldberg machine built in a warehouse.[64] Released on March 1, 2010, the video quickly went viral, with 1.4 million YouTube views in the first 48 hours[63] and over 50 million total views as of February 2016[update].[65] Since that video, OK Go has employed a similar model in projects funded byRange Rover,[66]Yahoo,[67]Cisco,[68]Samsung,[69]Google Chrome,[70]Jose Cuervo,[71] andChevrolet.[72]
In December 2012, OK Go released a collection of rare songs, B-sides and covers called "Twelve Days of OK Go". The collection was released for free on the band's website and includes covers of songs bythe Beatles,They Might Be Giants,the Kinks,Adam and the Ants, andPixies.[73]
FollowingTwelve Days of OK Go, in January 2013 the band announcedTwelve Months of OK Go, a free long-form release of new and rare recordings, B-sides, and covers. One song per month was distributed through the band's email list and freeMP3 web store.[74] The collection includes covers of songs bythe Breeders,the Specials, andNelly.[75] In March 2013, OK Go released a new single, "I'm Not Through", through "Twelve Months of OK Go" and in partnership with advertising agencySaatchi & Saatchi for The Saatchi & Saatchi Music Video Challenge.[76]
On April 3, 2013, OK Go announced on its YouTube channel that the band was recording its fourth studio album.[77] On May 6, 2014, OK Go announced that the album,Hungry Ghosts, would be released in October 2014. The album was made available for pre-order on the direct-to-fan platform,PledgeMusic.[78] The first official single, "The Writing's on the Wall" was released on June 17, 2014, along with a music video which received over 7 million views on YouTube within a week.[79]
On October 14, 2014,Hungry Ghosts was released. Since then, the Pledge Music campaign has stopped. A music video for "I Won't Let You Down" was released on October 27, 2014. In its first two weeks, the video hit 12 million views on YouTube.[80] The video features a cameo from the J-pop bandPerfume.[81][82]
The video for "Upside Down & Inside Out" was released on February 11, 2016, where the band perform the song while moving about in microgravity, with the aid of areduced-gravity aircraft provided by the RussianS7 Airlines.[83][84]
On July 20, 2016, OK Go released "I Don't Understand You," a stand-alone single that was a collaboration with Perfume, as ending theme of TOKYO MX 20th Anniversary Memorial TV Animation 3DCG short 'SUshi Police' anime series.[85]
On November 24, 2016, OK Go released the music video for "The One Moment", featuring multiple seemingly unconnected events filmed in the span of a few seconds. The video is then slowed down to reveal each action being played in perfect synchronization with the song.[86][87]
On November 23, 2017, OK Go released the music video for "Obsession." 567 printers were used to create a multicolored backdrop in the video.[88][89]
In early 2020, during the beginning of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Kulash and his wife fell ill withthe 2019 novel coronavirus.[90] After his recovery, while the band members were following stay-at-home orders at their homes, they wrote and recorded "All Together Now" and filmed a video for it over two months as a tribute to the healthcare workers battling the infection. The song and video were released on May 12, 2020; proceeds went toPartners in Health.[91][92] The band uploaded several alternate music videos for "All Together Now" on YouTube, including clips sent to them by fans.
In early 2021, the band released an acoustic cover of "This Will Be Our Year" bythe Zombies, which they also covered in 2004.
In 2021, Kulash hinted in an interview that he might do another video in zero gravity for a future song similar to "Upside Down and Inside Out."[93]
In 2022 and early 2023, the band became involved in a legal dispute with Minnesota companyPost Consumer Brands, which registered a trademark on the phrase "OK Go!" for a new line of portable breakfast cereals. A lawyer for the band cited a previous collaboration between OK Go and Post as evidence that the "namejacking" was most likely intentional.[94] On May 31, 2023, OK Go and Post reached a settlement, which resulted in Post abandoning its registration of the "OK Go!" name.[95]
In late 2024, OK Go announced through their newsletter that they had finished recording their then-untitled fifth album. On October 1, 2024, OK Go posted a YouTube video in which they said the album would be released in early 2025. The video also described "4 Flavors of OK Go", a series of Spotify playlists the band listened to while creating the album. The first playlist, "Arty Party", was released the same day;[96] the second, "Shall We Dance?", on November 11, 2024.[97]
On January 16, 2025, the band posted a music video for "A Stone Only Rolls Downhill", the first song on the album, which is namedAnd the Adjacent Possible.[98]
OK Go has earned fame for its creative and often low-budgetmusic videos, most of which have been promoted through Internet video sharing sites such asYouTube.[99] Many of these have becomeviral; the 2006 video for "Here It Goes Again", in which the band performed a complex routine on motorized treadmills, had received over 50 million views on YouTube four years later when EMI took it off the platform during a dispute with YouTube.[100] The subsequent reposting had been viewed over 66 million times as of February 15, 2025. The band's video for "Needing/Getting", funded byChevrolet and released February 5, 2012, debuted duringSuper Bowl XLVI and within the year received more than 47 million views on YouTube.[101]Samuel Bayer, who produced many music videos in the 1990s, said that OK Go's promotion of music videos on the Internet was akin toNirvana's ushering in thegrunge movement.[100] Many of the videos use long or single-shot takes, whichSalon's Matt Zoller Seitz claims "restore[s] a sense of wonder to the musical number by letting the performers' humanity shine through and allowing them to do their thing with a minimum of filmmaking interference".[102] OK Go won the 14th AnnualWebby Special Achievement Award for Film and Video Artist of the Year.[103] The video for "This Too Shall Pass" was named both "Video of the Year" and "Best Rock Video" at the 3rd annualUK Music Video Awards.[104] "This Too Shall Pass" won the LA Film Fest's Audience Award for Best Music Video,[105] UK MVA Awards – Music Video of the Year Winner 2010,[106] among others.
The band has worked with directors includingFrancis Lawrence, Olivier Gondry (brother ofMichel Gondry), Brian L. Perkins, Scott Keiner, and Todd Sullivan. The videos have been screened and displayed at museums, art galleries, and film festivals around the world includingthe Guggenheim Museum,[107]the Museum of the Moving Image,[108]the Edinburgh International Film Festival,[109]the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,the Los Angeles Film Festival,[110][111] and theSaatchi & Saatchi New Director's Showcase.[112]
In 2008, Damian Kulash said that the band had not produced the music videos as part of any overt "Machiavellian" marketing campaign. "In neither case did we think, 'A-ha, this will get people to buy our records.' It has always been our position that the reason you wind up in a rock band is you want to make stuff. You want to do creative things for a living."[113] On the release of the band's video for "The Writing's on the Wall" in 2014, Kulash explained toRolling Stone that the band continued to make such quirky videos following their success after "Here It Goes Again" because the band worried about being considered a one-hit wonder: "We could go in two directions: We could either try to out-cool it – try to out-run it likeRadiohead did with 'Creep' – or just embrace it and go, OK, what really worked here."[114]
"Get Over It" is featured in theEA Sportsvideo gamesTriple Play 2002 andMadden NFL 2003, while a censored version of "Don't Ask Me" is featured inMVP Baseball 2003[115][116][117] and as background to the transitions in the British TV showThe Inbetweeners.
Also, "Here It Goes Again" was featured inRock Band,Guitar Hero 5 andSSX on Tour; while "Do What You Want" was featured in a back to school television campaign forJ. C. Penney and the video gamesEA SportsNHL 06,Guitar Hero: On Tour, andBurnout Revenge.[118][119][120] "Invincible" was a theme song forABC'sSaturday Night Football for the 2006 season.[120] The band's song "A Million Ways" was featured inBand Hero.[121]
The band contributed a cover ofthe Zombies "This Will Be Our Year" as the lead track ofFuture Soundtrack for America, a political benefit album put out byBarsuk Records in the fall of 2004.[122] Lead singer Damian Kulash wrote a how-to-guide entitled "How Your Band Can Fire Bush" for bands hoping to help unseat PresidentGeorge W. Bush.[123][124]
After visitingNew Orleans in 2006, the band recorded anEP with New Orleansfunk rock bandBonerama, to raise money for musicians who were still displaced by the 2005Hurricane Katrina. The EP, entitledYou're Not Alone, was released on February 5, 2008.[44][125]
In 2007, OK Go wrote the fight song for a Chicago soccer team,Chicago Fire S.C. The song was offered on the team's official website as a free download. Also in 2007, OK Go covered thePixies "Gigantic" forAmerican Laundromat RecordsDig for Fire: A Tribute to Pixies CD.[126]
The band's song "Do What You Want" could also be heard on the in-game radio in theLucasArts published video gameThrillville: Off The Rails. "Here It Goes Again" is also featured in the minigame Stunt Rider.[127]
In 2009, the band appeared as the wedding band Tastes Like Chicken inDreamWorks'I Love You, Man starringPaul Rudd andJason Segel.[128]
In April 2010, OK Go collaborated with Brett Doar of Syyn Labs to build a specialityRube Goldberg Machine called "The Colbert Machine" for the band's appearance onThe Colbert Report.[129] At the end of the episode, the band performed "This Too Shall Pass" with hostStephen Colbert singing lead vocals.[129] Later that year, the OK Go song "Here It Goes Again" was included in the soundtrack for the children's filmRamona and Beezus.[130]
In 2011, OK Go were featured in the meta-documentaryThe Greatest Movie Ever Sold byMorgan Spurlock with the song "The Greatest Song I Ever Heard". In the film, Damian Kulash says: "Does that mean... Hold on, if we make the theme forThe Greatest Movie Ever Sold, does that mean that we're the greatest rock band ever to write a theme song?" whereby Spurlock responds: "Absolutely."[131]
On May 9, 2013, the band, through its label Paracadute,[64] released "Say the Same Thing", a collaborative word guessing game app foriOS andAndroid in which two players attempt to guess the same word, by finding common points between two random starting words.[132] The app, which was created by guitaristAndy Ross during the band's down time, is based on an improv game which the band plays together while on tour. The band advertised the app by releasing a comedic video that introduces and explains the game.[133] On May 15, 2013, "Say the Same Thing" became the 50 billionth download inApple'sApp Store.[133]
OK Go also contributed a song to the 2015 filmHot Tub Time Machine 2, titled "You're a Fucking Nerd and No One Likes You".[134]
In February 2015, the band was featured in a segment created to help children learn colors in a premiere for "The Cookie Thief", aSesame Street movie special.[135]
In March 2015, OK Go made a cameo appearance in the music video for "Pick Me Up" by Japanese electropop groupPerfume, following Perfume's cameo appearance at the beginning of OK Go's "I Won't Let You Down".
In June 2019, the band was featured in the Ripley's Believe It or Not television program on theTravel Channel, showing the making of the music video for their song "The One Moment".
In 2021, the band recorded the theme for theApple TV+ children's showHello, Jack! The Kindness Show, entitled "Try a Little Act of Kindness", and appeared as themselves in the season finale.
A rendition of their song "This Too Shall Pass" titled "This Too Shall (Flash)" was included in the 2023 filmThe Flash.
The band composed a new original song titled "This" for the 2023 Apple TV movieThe Beanie Bubble, directed by Kulash and his wifeKristin Gore. The single and associated video were released on July 21, 2023.[136]
In 2007, the band releasedYou're Not Alone, a charity EP whose proceeds raised money for musicians displaced byHurricane Katrina. The successful EP, which helped purchase a home for New Orleans musicianAl "Carnival Time" Johnson, was the most public example of the band's increasing interest in politics and social issues, as the campaign included promotional appearances onLate Night with David Letterman as well as charity concerts. Earlier examples of the band's activism include a ten-pagePDF titled "How Your Band Can Fire Bush," which was written by Kulash and distributed on the band's website.[137][138] Other efforts have included direct appeals to fans of the band via the band's email newsletter,[139] auctioning themselves off on behalf of Sweet Relief Musician's Fund,[140] and theBurrito Project in which the group enlisted fans to join them in handing outburritos to homeless people before concerts. In Chicago, the band partnered with the Inspiration Corporation, a local provider of services to the homeless.[141] The band has played several high-profile political and charity events, including aSuper Tuesday Voter Awareness show hosted byStella in 2008,[142] and a star-studded benefit in Los Angeles led byFrank Black, and including"Weird Al" Yankovic,Tenacious D, and others.[143] Lead singer Damian Kulash has writtenop-eds inThe New York Times ondigital rights management[144] andnet neutrality,[145] an issue he also testified about in front of the House Judiciary Antitrust Task Force about in March 2008,[146] and also discussed with theFCC commissioner. The day after that meeting, it was announced that the Internet would be reclassified under Title 2 of the telecommunications act — one of the band's short-term goals,[147] which the band members nodded to in their five-wordWebby acceptance speech: "Fight for Net Neutrality now."[148]
The band has also used the massive popularity of its videos to further its favored causes. Downloads of the "White Knuckles" video went toASPCA and were earmarked for ruralanimal shelters, and the video itself ends with a call to supportanimal rescue.[149] A marching band costume from "This Too Shall Pass" was auctioned off to feed the homeless[150] and eleven of the signedGretsch guitars and amplifiers used in "Needing/Getting" were sold to benefit theFender Music Foundation, which provides instruments to music education programs.[151][152]
OK Go has also allowed its music on benefit albums, most notablyDear New Orleans, a 31-song online compilation that benefits a variety of New Orleans organizations. Lyrics from the band's contribution, "Louisiana Land", reference a number of New Orleans personalities and institutions, which theNew Orleans Times-Picayune called "indicative of just how deeply the members of OK Go waded into the local gestalt."[153] and theFuture Soundtrack for America, a compilation released byBarsuk Records that benefitedMoveOn.org and Music for America, which included OK Go's cover of "This Will Be Our Year" byThe Zombies.[154]
On January 18, 2017, two days beforeDonald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, OK Go released a cover of the politically chargedMorrissey song "Interesting Drug". The music video includes images of Trump and other prominent political figures as bad people and ends with a list of organizations the band recommends viewers support. Fans of the band had mixed reactions, prompting this status update on OK GO's Facebook page: "Morrissey Official wrote this song almost 30 years ago but it seems truer to us now than ever. The comments we’ve gotten over the past day are fascinating. We especially applaud those who disagree with us without abandoning civility or respect. You give us hope."[155]
In recent years, OK Go has worked on OK Go Sandbox to create music videos and educational tools with the Playful Learning Lab (a partnership with the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota).
From 2002 to 2005, OK Go toured across North America and Europe on tours withthe Vines,Phantom Planet,Superdrag,the Music,Fountains of Wayne,Kaiser Chiefs,the Redwalls,Brendan Benson, andShe Wants Revenge.[156]
On October 20, 2005, OK Go appeared onGood Morning America to teach and perform the dance from the "A Million Ways" video.[157]
On December 31, 2005, the band performed surrounded by pyrotechnics and confetti on the Pontiac Garage Stage in New York City for theTimes Square New Year's Eve Celebration.[158]
In May 2006, OK Go toured withPanic! at the Disco; in September the band toured the U.K. supportingMotion City Soundtrack before returning to the United States to tour withDeath Cab for Cutie in late 2006 andSnow Patrol in Spring 2007. In Summer 2007, OK Go opened forthe Fray on its North American tour.[156]
On February 4, 2008, OK Go headlined a fundraiser for theBarack Obama presidential campaign atBowery Ballroom in New York City on the night before theSuper Tuesday elections.[159] The event was hosted by singer/songwriterCraig Wedren and the comedy groupStella.[159]
On February 23, 2008, the band performed at the release party forBen Karlin's collection of essaysThings I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me at theSteve Allen Theater in Hollywood.[160] Lead singer Damian Kulash contributed an essay for the collection entitled "A Dog Is Not A Reason To Stay Together."[161] ComediansStephen Colbert,Will Forte,Andy Richter,Dan Savage, andPatton Oswalt also contributed essays to the collection.[162]
From 2009 to 2011, OK Go headlined an extensive tour across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia in support ofOf the Blue Colour of the Sky, including festival appearances atKanrocksas Music Festival (Kansas City, U.S.A.), Festival Cultura Quente (Caldas de Reis, Spain), andPositivus Festival (Salacgrīva, Latvia).[156]
On May 6, 2010,The Baltimore Sun reported that OK Go was sellingUSB flash drives with recordings of each show on the Spring 2010 U.S. Tour[163]
On May 23, 2010, the band performed live underwater on stage atMaker Faire in San Mateo California.[164] The band members' heads were each submerged in water bubbles attached to breathing apparatuses for the duration of the performance, with lead singer Damian Kulash completely submerged in a tank of water.[164]
On June 10, 2010, the band was the surprise musical guest atApple Inc.'s 2010World Wide Developers Conference.[165]
In October 2010, OK Go performed acoustic versions of "White Knuckles", "Here It Goes Again", and "This Too Shall Pass", along with a handbell version of "Return", at the Poptech! Conference in Camden, ME.[166]
On November 17, 2010, OK Go visitedtheToday Show for a specialToday Goes Viral series and helped hostsAnn Curry,Meredith Vieira,Matt Lauer, andAl Roker create astop motion video set to "White Knuckles." In the video, the hosts were enclosed in glass containers filled with brightly colored ping pong balls.[167]
On November 27, 2010, OK Go joined theYo Gabba Gabba! Party In My City tour for a special guest performance at theNokia Theatre in Los Angeles.[168]
On June 23, 2011, the band gave a free concert at theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the Millennium Stage. During the show, the band performed "Return" on handbells.[169] In advance of the performance, the Kennedy Center invited 15 Twitter followers and guests to film the show, in order to produce the organization's first crowd-sourced concert video.[170]
On August 3, 2011, OK Go performed atBarack Obama's 50th birthday party, along with musiciansJennifer Hudson andHerbie Hancock at theAragon Ballroom in Chicago.[171][172]
On August 10, 2011, the band did a live television performance of the dance the members created withPilobolus for their "All Is Not Lost" interactive video on the NBC showAmerica's Got Talent[173]
On January 31, 2012, OK Go appeared on the children's television showSesame Street in a video called "3 Primary Colors" meant to teach the young audience about red, yellow, blue, and the colors made when you mix them.[174] "3 Primary Colors" was simultaneously released as a game on theSesame Street website.[174]
On May 10, 2012, OK Go was the featured band onThis American Life Live!, a special performance of the show telecast live to movie theaters across the US and Canada.[175] By downloading a smartphone app coded by guitarist Andy Ross, viewers were able to play along with the band's handbell performance of "Needing/Getting".[176]
OK Go's music style has generally been regarded asalternative rock,[177][178][179][180]power pop,[181][182]pop rock,[183][184][185]indie rock,[186][187] andindie pop.[182][188]
Current
Former
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |