You've seen them dance like graceful maniacs in their own Chicago backyard to the tune of "A Million Ways." You've wondered at their remarkable facility with treadmills and how it applied to a song called "Here It Goes Again." But if things work out the way they're supposed to, the band members who make up OK Go will soon be famous for more than quirky videos. They'll be the laser-shooting guitar heroes of the future!
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OK Go!, 6:30 to 7 p.m. daily from Tuesday, December 1, through Saturday, December 5, at Design Miami/, NE 39th Street and NE First Court, Miami. Admission to the fair is $20. Call 305-572-0866, or
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OK Go has teamed with East-Germany born, London-based electronics wiz Moritz Waldemeyer for a project so far-fetched, we're surprised people will even be able to get close to it. But get close to it they will, at this year's Design Miami/ fair. And they'll have five days to do so.
The big idea is this: Waldemeyer, the man responsible for OK Go's LED-laden Vegas jackets from a few years back, has now designed a set of guitars that not only shoot lasers from their necks but also display images with every note played upon their superduper fretboards. And if all that color isn't enough, those guitars (which, by the way, are all Gibsons) will be tricked out by Fendi, the brand backing the whole enterprise.
"The guitars have lasers that shoot off of the head stock as if they were a continuation of the string," explains OK Go singer/guitarist Damian Kulash. "They actually represent what the strings are doing. So when we play, you essentially see the lasers play. We'll be doing a combination of a planned routine, where we paint things on the back wall, and just playing.
"What's incredible about these things is that it's technology that's never been made before," he continues. "So we'll be playing with it to see what we can make. That's kind of what our band's like. Our most shining moments tend to be when we give ourselves ludicrous but strict confines in which to play."
And though Kulash says they'll perform "mostly OK Go songs," there's no saying what could happen. "I think the guitars will be telling us what will look cool, what will feel cool. I think being in this surreal bubble will present its own creative answers."
In other words, expect to hear some of the more guitar-heavy tracks from the past such as "Do What You Want," "It's a Disaster," and "Invincible." It's a safe bet the set will also include the new, Prince-like single "WTF," off the forthcoming Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. And expect them all to be souped-up, stretched beyond the outer limits, and outfitted for a tomorrow even H.G. Wells would've considered long gone crazy.
