The New Sound Of Chicago…OK GO by Corine Jurgerson  Power-pop band OK GO may very well be the most bizarre band to emerge from the Windy City over the past few years. Delightfully sweet without overdose, with a slightly kitschy edge that exudes fun, these four guys built their band around energy and camp.
Their songs are infectiously catchy: an eclectic mix of guitars, organs, drums and vocals that will keep your head bopping for weeks. They aren’t exactly sore on the eyes, either; a definite plus for female fans. Influenced by the likes of The Cars to the Clash, with a little bit of the Pixies mixed in – OK GO has successfully revived the New Wave era. If you’ve missed out on the buzz about OK GO up to this point; here’s the abridged story: Vocalist/guitarist Damian Kulash and bassist Tim Nordwind met at summer camp back when they were just wee little rock stars. They formed a band called The Greased Ferrets, banging on folding chairs for drums and writing songs about things that eleven-year-olds find lyric-worthy. The two remained friends throughout the years, and in 1999 they formed OK GO with friends Dan Konopka (drums) and Andy Duncan (keyboards/guitar.) The guys soon went on tour with The NPR radio show, This American Life, and released their first self-titled album on Capitol Records. Headline tours followed, and the general buzz about the band seemed to be – “Have you seen this band that performs choreographed boy-band dances?” Choreographed boy-band dances? You read it right. Of course, the dances are all in mockery, but they give the band a sort of stand-out trait. “If you’re going to play 200 shows in a year, its definitely something you’ve done night after night, and you get really good at doing the same old things, the same old schtick,” Kulash commented, “If you’re going to do that, why not put on a show? I’m actually recognizing the whole intentionality of the thing. If you’re going to be aware of what you’re doing on stage, why not have it be awesome? Why not have it be something a little bit more entertaining? I also like the fact that we’re just comically bad dancers, so to see us try to do choreographed maneuvers on stage while we’re playing a rock show is just amusing.”  But despite their successes and stage antics, the band, like so many others on the scene today, is already going through lineup changes. Word broke in mid-January that guitarist Andy Duncan had left the band. “It’s all amicable, but the short version of it is that he really hates touring,” Kulash explained. “It’s sort of miserable on the road and we have a lot of touring to start doing soon because we have our second record coming up and we’ll be on the road pretty much non-stop for a year or two.” The band is currently searching for a new guitarist that will permanently fill Duncan’s vacant position. However, Duncan did record the upcoming album with the band over in Malmo, Sweden. The record, produced by Tore Johannson (The Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand) will be a bit different than OK GO’s first endeavor. “It’s a much rawer record,” Kulash said. “On the first record we were really sort of going for an overproduced sort of plastic sound. I was sort of obsessed with the Cars and that kind of thing at the time. And this record sounds a lot more like a rock band. It’s a lot rawer, a lot simpler in a lot of ways. But much more energetic. I mean, its certainly not a more angsty or angry record, really, but it’s a much higher energy record.” Listen for tunes that have a riffy, classic rock edge, as well as some signature radio-friendly songs. There’s even a soul-sounding cut added to the mix! The guys hit the road beginning February 18th, and will visit Chicago on the 19th and 20th at the Empty Bottle and the Open End Gallery. So just what can we expect at the upcoming shows? More dancing, or just music? “We have to find someone [a replacement guitarist] who actually wants to do choreographed boy-band dances. But the idea is not dead,” Kulash laughed. “Right now we’re sort of rushing to learn the whole record in terms of a live show. It’s very a different thing to play your music live than it is to record it. So there’s a lot of work to do in the short term on just that, but I’m really excited in the long-term about working on a more ridiculous sort of stage show,” he said. After a moment of thought, Kulash concluded the interview with this nugget of wisdom –– “A friend of mine who is in a really great band once said, ‘The most giving thing you can do as a performer is to make a total ass of yourself’. I think that’s true. Like who wants to see somebody up there, posturing and posing? Entertain, you motherf*ckers. You know?” |
