Ok Go

OK Go (formed 1998)

OK Go is an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, and now based in Los Angeles, California. The band members consist of Damian Kulash (lead singer, guitarist), Tim Nordwind (bassist and singer), Dan Konopka (drummer, percussion) and Andy Ross (guitarist, keyboardist and singer), who joined them in 2005 to Andy Duncan.

Formation: At the age of eleven, frontman Damian Kulash went to Interlochen Arts Camp to do graphic design. Here he met bassist Tim Nordwind doing music. The band name later derived from their art teacher saying, "OK.Go!" prior to drawing. Keeping in touch after Camp had ended, they later met keyboardist and guitarist Andy Duncan in high school. Nordwind and Duncan then moved to college in Chicago and formed the band Stanley's Joyful Noise with drummer Dan Konopka. Kulash moved to Chicago in 1998 and joined the group - their name was then changed to OK Go. 

Musical Career: Within a year the band had already played alongside international acts from the likes of Sloan and Elliott Smith. The year 2000 saw the self-release of OK Go's first demos. Entitled Brown EP, it was followed by Pink EP a year later, where the band first revealed the electronic elements of their sound. Despite not getting them a record deal, the demos got booking agent Frank Riley engaged, who then offered them shows with They Might Be Giants. OK GO have always referred to themselves as a Chicago band, regardless of them moving to Los Angeles throughout their career. Believing they would get more support from newly hired label President Andy Slater, the group turned down offers from bigger labels in favour of Capitol Records, who they signed to in April 2001. 

The band's debut self-titled debut album was launched in September 2002, reaching number one on the US Billboard Heatseekers Chart. Every track on the record was re-recorded despite original plans to keep the majority of the recordings from their earlier demos, whilst new songs were also added such as the first single 'Get Over It'. The single received good exposure as it was featured in EA Sports Triple Play Baseball and Madden NFL 2003 video games and had its video named Video of the Week by Q magazine. Live shows followed, with the band touring with acts like the Vines and Phantom Planet, and performing a festivals such as Leeds Festival in 2002 and 2003. 

Released in August 2005, OK Go's second album Oh No, produced by Tore Johansson (the Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand) and mixed by Dave Sardy (Nine Inch Nails) gained popularity through its first single 'A Million Ways'. The single's music video simply consisted of the band members dancing in a back yard, and became the most downloaded video ever by August 2006 (9 million downloads). Prior to the record's release, Andy Duncan left OK Go in February 2005 due to label pressure, intense touring schedules and creative differences with the group. Duncan was replaced by Andy Ross who came out on top of thirty-four competing guitarists in a competition for the place. The contest ended with each candidate being questioned on their willingness to dance on stage. The band then started touring once again, this time alongside acts such as Kaiser Chiefs and Snow Patrol. New Year's Eve that year included a free show from the band in New York City's Times Square. 

The EP You're Not Alone, recorded by OK Go and New Orleans funk rock group Bonerama, was released in February 2008 to fundraise for the musicians of New Orleans after the devastating effects of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Sold exclusively through iTunes, the EP generated over $40,000. Ok Go's next album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, came out on January 12th 2010. Now becoming famous for their music videos, the first two videos of the new album were uploaded online in 2009, but met with complaints from fans only able to view them on YouTube. Kulash responded with a long letter posted on the band's website explaining the record label's policies. The letter later went viral. 

March 2010 saw a big announcement from OK Go - the band had left labels EMI and Capitol and created their own independent label Paracadute. Whilst the label successfully claimed ownership of the album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, OK Go's first two records remained the property of EMI. The biggest achievement made by the band's new business model came in the form of the hugely popular music video for the song 'This Too Shall Pass', made in collaboration with State Farm Insurance, and featuring a large Rube Goldberg Machine constructed in a warehouse. Uploaded in March 2010, the video received 1.4 million YouTube views in the first 48 hours. 180/365 was the name given to the first new release on Paracadute Recordings, and was essentially a live album recorded over numerous shows in 2010. Launched in June 2011, the name refers to the number of concerts played by OK Go over the course of one year.

'Twelve Days of OK Go' and 'Twelve Months of OK Go' were released digitally via the band's website in December 2012 and January 2013 - featuring rare songs, B-Sides and covers from the band. The band's fourth studio album Hungry Ghosts came out in October 2014 and peaked at number 74 in the US Billboard chart. 

Other Achievements: OK Go's videos have received credit from a variety of sources. The group won the 14th Annual Webby Special Achievement Award for Film and Artist of the year; the video to 'This Too Shall Pass' has been awarded 'Video of the Year and 'Best Rock Video' at the 3rd annual UK Music Video Awards as well as the LA Film Fest's Audience Award for Best Music Video and UK MVA Awards - Music Video of the Year Winner 2010. The band's video for "Here It Goes Again" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video back in 2007. Their videos have been screened at museums, art galleries and film festivals including the Edinburgh International Film Festival.