OK Go

We've Been Nominated For A VMA!

2009-08-04T18:07:00.000-04:00

The wise old souls at MTV have finally recognized what the civilized world has known for decades: OK Go should have won a VMA. In order to right past wrongs, the boys have been nominated for this year's Video Music Awards, in the category of Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moon Man).

Even better, they've stacked the deck in our favor, by putting the boys up against a bunch of unknowns and never-wases like Dr. Dre, Radiohead and the Beastie Boys. It might feel like a lock, but it's really anything but. We need you to vote as much as you can, as often as the Internet allows you.

Vote here.

And, as always, feel free to tweet about it and myspace it and facebook it and mommyblog it and all that other stuff, too.

Urban Legends and City Stories

2009-06-02T00:00:00.002-04:00

If you go to Banana Republic and buy something, they'll give you a download card for an album called "City Stories." The first track? Skyscrapers, the most recent OK Go opus, a song whose lyrics were scrawled on the back of the US Constitution in big sloppy letters by John Hancock himself (in witch's blood, no less). No Banana Republic nearby? You can hear it on myspace.com/okgo as well.

Hear The First Song From The New Album

2009-05-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

Entertainment Weekly has an article with Damian where he talks about recording the album, talks about how they named it, and previews the first song from the thing. It's called "Skyscrapers" and you can listen to it and read about it (at the same time!) right here.

San Diego Show May 9th

2009-05-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

If you're anywhere near San Diego, California, the boys are playing a make-up show tomorrow night at the House of Blues. Buy yourself some tickets and have yourself some fun. Get tickets.

Burrito Project & Chicago Apple Store Show

2009-04-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

The boys are playing twice in Chicago this Thursday--at 4pm at the Apple Store and that night at the Double Door--but before the shows they've teamed up with the Inspiration Corporation to try and do a little bit of good.

We're looking for 20 volunteers to meet up with OK Go on Thursday afternoon, eat lunch with the boys, and then head out with the band and volunteers from Inspiration Corporation to hand out burritos to people who are impoverished or currently homeless.

If you're interested in participating, email info at okgo.net with Burrito Project as the subject. Only do this if:

a) You're available Thursday from noon to 3pm
b) You can bring 12 homemade burritos (we'll provide the recipe) to hand out and to eat with the band.

If you have any questions, email them to info at okgo.net. Pete will get back to you soon.

OK Go is in Anaheim Tonight!

2009-04-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Remember how we had to postpone the Anaheim show a couple of weeks ago? That was sucky, huh? Well, forget it ever happened: The boys are playing the House of Blues in Anaheim tonight. If you're anywhere nearby, you should head over right this minute.

San Diego & Anaheim: We're So Sorry.

2009-03-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

Tonight's show in San Diego and tomorrow's show in Anaheim have been postponed. We're super sorry. Damian got sick this week and his doctor has ordered him not to sing for the next 48 hours. The new dates are below. We promise we'll try to convince Tim to give out free hugs before, after, and during the shows, when they do end up coming together.

Re-scheduled dates:

San Diego - May 9th

Anaheim - April 10th

-OK Go

Chicago Show Just Added. Other Shows Continuing As Planned.

2009-03-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

The boys have just added a special and quite lovely show to their schedule. It's at the world famous Double Door (it's true--two doors!) on April 23rd. The show is 21+ only, I'm sorry to say. But don't let that get in the way of your buying tickets here .

OK Go Rocks The Bells

2009-03-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

The boys continue their short tour of (parts of) these United States with a little jaunt down the western coast, starting March 20th in San Diego. Check the tour page for dates. You don't want to miss this:

I Love You, Man

2009-02-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Those four little words are what Tim says to Damian every time he starts the car or gets on an airplane, you know, just in case. It's also the title of a movie the boys are in, which comes out March 20th. They make a cameo appearance as a wedding band called "Tastes Like Chicken." Terrible, huh? I guess the producers had to come up with a band name so terrible that nobody else would use it. Oooops. Watch the trailer at iloveyouman.com.

Barack Obama Likes Our Style

2009-01-20T00:00:00.002-05:00

In celebration of the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama Jr. to the presidency of the United States Of America, we are delighted to present you this historic video, in which a young bassist talks about meeting our new president, and the wonder and gratitude he experienced upon learning something the mainstream media doesn't want you to know: Barack Obama likes Tim's style. It truly is an exciting day.

Tim Nordwind, Storyteller: The Day I Met Barack Obama

Your Biweekly Dose Of Fun Little Videos

2008-12-23T00:00:00.002-05:00

For your viewing pleasure, we present two videos of the boys in upstate New York, where they're recording their new album. The first is OK Go at Johnny Fridmann's junior high school holiday recital. The second is the video Damian, Andy, and Dan will play at ear-shattering levels the next time Tim decides to go to sleep early.

Video 1: Blazin' Fredonia

Video 2: A Sleepless Night With OK Go

Damian & Bonerama on Letterman Tonight

2008-02-10T23:35:00.000-05:00

Damian and Bonerama will be on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, Monday, February 11th. They´ll do a song from You're Not Alone, their brand new EP. The one you should buy because all of the proceeds go to help New Orleans musicians. And because it's good. Get it at iTunes.

A Big Exciting NYC Show To Remind You About Voting

2008-01-23T15:26:00.000-05:00

Feb 5th is Super Tuesday, when a bunch of states hold primaries. Feb 4th is Super Monday, when OK Go plays a show to celebrate voting at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. It's being billed as a Voter Awareness Show for Barack Obama, but fans of the rock who aren't fans of Barack should still go. It'll be awesome. Other performers include Nina Person (from the Cardigans) and Craig Wedren and Nathan Larson from Shudder To Think, one of Damian's all-time favorite bands. The boys of Stella host, and word is that a lot of famous people might talk. Get your tickets.

Also, in case this isn't obvious: We think you ought to vote in your primaries. You have our permission to skip school, work, and delay drinking practice to go and pick your leaders. Just remember you probably need to register first. It's real easy. Register now.

Exclusive VIP Tix Available for DC Show

2008-01-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

An Exclusive VIP Deal has been set for the Feb 2nd OK Go/Bonerama show in DC. Sixty bucks gets you two drink tickets, a post-show meet 'n' greet with the boys, plus entry to the VIP Viewing Area with its celestial snack spread. Before you freak out, please understand it's a benefit show and the boys have no interest in maintaining a tiered service that reserves the best rock for the richest people, except when all the money goes to New Orleans musicians who really, really need it. If you've bought tickets already, we're told you can upgrade. Buy Tickets.

New EP Feb 2! Special shows in New Orleans 1/11 & DC 2/2

2008-01-10T16:55:00.000-05:00

You´re Not Alone

OK Go spent the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans recording with the trombone soul monsters Bonerama, and soon the world will hear the insanely swaggering result: A benefit EP called You´re Not Alone that comes out Fat Tuesday of Mardi Gras with this tracklist:

Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (the Bowie tune)
A Million Ways
Oh Lately It's So Quiet
It's a Disaster
I Shall Be Released (the Dylan Tune, with "Carnival Time" Johnson on vocals)

The EP will be available only on iTunes, and 100%--every last penny-- of the proceeds will go toward rebuilding the New Orleans music community, which was devastated by Katrina. Awesomely, iTunes agreed to donate their share as did IODA, who helped us digitize and promote it. Money goes to Sweet Home New Orleans, an incredible organization, and also to build a new home for New Orleans R&B legend and amazing person Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, who lost everything in the storm and post-storm floods.

The band believes so strongly in this cause that they donated weeks of time and effort and resources that would otherwise have gone to making a new album or teaching Tim to talk to girls. Why bring this up? To convince you to buy the thing. It´s worth your money, all of which will go to helping out talented people in very real need. Do us, them and yourselves a favor and buy a copy.

SHOWS IN NOLA AND DC

OK Go & Bonerama are playing two benefit shows to celebrate the release. Buy a ticket to either and you´ll get a free download of You're Not Alone as a gift from OK Go. The first show is this Friday. Get on it! Buy plane tickets! Help build a house while you´re there!

Jan 11 -- New Orleans, LA – Tipitina's
Feb 2 -- Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

Again, every cent raised goes straight to the cause. If you can't make a show, you can still prove your awesomeness by donating to Sweet Home New Orleans right now.

Finally: Huge thanks to Music Travel Management, Horizon Entertainment Cargo, Sennheiser USA, and Gibson, who all made generous donations so these shows could happen.

Fuse Says We Rocked The World. Also, Nirvana.

2007-11-27T15:59:00.000-05:00

Fuse has dedicated an episode of Videos That Rocked The World to OK Go's very own Here It Goes Again, a video you may have seen once or twice. The episode debuts Thursday, November 29th at 10 PM EST and repeats at 1 PM EST the next day.

Here's something to tackle while you wait: Fuse has set up a wiki page for each video, which lets you log in and add your own comments, info, photos, videos, etc. Right now it's pretty bare. I say we attack.

Bonus: Here's a video that rocked our brains:
OK Go on The Simpsons

And here's one that will rock yours:
OK Go at KOKO in London

The Boys Get A Simpsons Shoutout Tonight!

2007-11-18T19:47:00.000-05:00

I've been looking everywhere for a clip of the TV promo, but can't seem to find it. So this image of Marge in gym clothes will have to do. I'm sure the OK Go shoutout is only a 2-second passing shot, but pretty exciting nonetheless.

OK Go Sorta on Oprah

2007-11-05T16:31:00.000-05:00

Oprah will be doing an entire episode about YouTube tomorrow and word on the street is that she'll show some part of the Here It Goes Again video, and maybe talk about it. There were rumors about an interview or a performance from the boys, but in the end OK Go lost out to Diddy, Paul Potts and 2004's person of the year: Tyson, the Skateboarding Bulldog. Learn more about the episode on Oprah's site. Learn more about the concept of skateboarding dogs in the world's most unnecessary wikipedia entry.

You Should KOKO

2007-10-26T15:33:00.000-04:00

OK Go will be performing in London on Nov. 22nd at KOKO, which has perhaps the fanciest-fonted website of all the clubs OK Go has played. The show is part of the Smirnoff Electric Cabaret, which promises to mix rock music with"aerial acrobats, magicians, beat-boxers" and a cubic kilometer of Smirnoff cocktails. Sounds like the recipe for the fun kind of a disaster. Buy your tickets now.

OK Go at Incheon Pentaport

2007-08-22T15:07:00.000-04:00

Here's video of our boys performing in front of a couple of tens of thousands at the Pentaport Rock Festival in South Korea last month. Now doesn't that look like fun?

A Letter From Damian

2007-07-31T18:54:00.000-04:00

Hello people,

It's me, Damian, in Australia. We're getting ready for a short little tour here, which is exciting because, like absolutely everyone, I'm super into marsupials, and it's a rare chance for a boy like me to watch the toilet flush backwards.

I'm writing to ask for your help with a little good old-fashioned world-saving. My close friend and former band-mate*, Oliver, is one of the brains behind DonorsChoose.org, one of the coolest non-profits I know of. They're finalists to win a huge grant from the American Express Member's Project and they need your vote -- it'll only take a couple minutes of your time, and it'll do a lot of good.

DonorsChoose.org is a website listing public school teachers' best ideas for classroom projects. Public school teachers, who are so chronically under-funded that they often have to pay for books and materials out of their own pockets, submit projects they need money for, and real people like you and Jorge and my mom (bless her heart) can browse the various submissions and choose to directly help fund the ones that strike a chord. It's an ingeniously simple system that actually helps the people who need the help; 100% of the money ($13 million so far!) goes to classroom projects, unless donors specifically earmark their donation to help keep the lights on at DonorsChoose.org.

The AmEx grant is huge (up to $5 million), and chosen by an online vote open to all AmEx cardholders. If we vote DonorsChoose.org to victory, every penny will go to fund the more than ten thousand classroom projects in their database; DonorsChoose.org won't keep a dime. Which is pretty cool.

Right now, our heroes are in 2nd place behind a project that's semi-secretly funded by Procter & Gamble (a $68 billion pharmaceuticals/manufacturing mega-corporation with 140 thousand employees), who want the grant money to help distribute their "Pur" water filtering system. This affiliation isn't mentioned on the site, but the NY Times wrote about it last week. Here's the article, and here's another one from Consumerist.com.

So, if you have an American Express card (or one of these other ones), do me (and 250 thousand public school kids) a favor and vote for vote for DonorsChoose.org.. And if you don't have an AmEx (or an advanced Hogswarts degree in computer hackery), forward this email to people who might.

In any event, you should check out DonorsChoose.org and see what it's all about. We found a few projects that seemed particularly awesome and put them in this registry. Browse those if you like, or search for your own. Only good things will come of it.

Thanks all,

Damian

PS: If reading a whole post about things that are good and positive and completely wholesome messed with your brain, sorry. To set it back to normal, here's a photo of the creepiest person I saw during our visit to Taiwan. Oops, here he is again.

*Wiki-nerds, start your engines. We were called Calixto Chinchile, and we existed for about 3 months in 1996. Or maybe it was 97. Somewhere out there, there's a recording of us playing the very first version of "Hello, My Treacherous Friends."

OK Go Sets In The East

2007-07-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

Over the next few weeks, OK Go will be scattering scrawled out setlists on the stages of South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Japan, five of our staunchest allies in the everlasting War on Rock That's Kinda Meh. OK Go will prevail, but only with your help. Hit the shows page for details. If you're in the area and want to help promote the shows, head to the Juggling Club.

Finally: Earlier today the boys played the Pentaport festival in South Korea. Quick question: Did they have any trouble adjusting to their new environment?

Short answer: No

Dance Contest Closure!

2007-06-15T14:38:00.000-04:00

Remember these ladies? Well, they'll be collecting their prize on Monday, June 18th in Cleveland, Ohio. That's right, they're going to dance on stage with the boys. Anyone attending this show should make copious photographs, videos, stipple portraits, etchings, and livebloggings of this historic event. Seriously. It's going to be awesome.

Also: If you're a winner and wondering about your trophies, know that they're on the way. Soon. We were trying to get everyone's mailing addresses but it's taking too long. If you haven't sent your info to us, email andrew@hornblowgroup.com and tell him what's what.

Just Released: OK Go - Live In Soho

2007-06-14T15:28:00.000-04:00

Is anything more wondrous than New York City on a Tuesday? Short answer: No. And the newly released OK Go - Live From SoHo proves it. The boys played an acoustic set at the Apple Store in SoHo on March 27th, and it's just been released on iTunes. The set includes live versions of Here It Goes Again, What To Do, A Million Ways, Do What You Want and a cover of ELO's Don't Bring Me Down all for just $4.49 as a regular download, and a few bucks more as a DRM-free superradiated iTunes Plus MP3. A worthy pickup in all formats. You can't afford not to buy it now.