Hungry Ghost
By Efren Martinez
On March 21st OK Go returns to The Warfield in San Francisco. In October of 2014, OK Go released their latest LP “Hungry Ghost” that features 12 amazing new songs. OK Go has been hitting the airwaves hard for some time now. They’ve had numerous hit singles, as well as award-winning videos and commercials that leave more than an impression on us. Just recently, I hooked up again with the band’s bass guitarist and vocalist Tim Norwind. A great deal of excitement has been circling the band since we spoke back in June 2014, and I wanted to break it down for all of you OK Go fans prior to their show on the 21st of March.
MV: What was behind the thought of calling your latest LP Hungry Ghost?
TN: Hungry Ghosts live in the gray area between desire and content. It’s a Buddhist concept. Many of the themes on the record are about the ups and downs of love and relationships. And many of the songs are about the struggle between wanting something and understanding and accepting that sometimes you can have it, and sometimes you can’t, and sometimes you have something in between that drives you even crazier.
MV: Was it a collaboration of writers [writing] the songs on Hungry Ghost or was it all on just one individual band member?
TN: Many of the songs on Hungry Ghosts are a collaboration. Often times the initial idea comes from one person, but then we usually take the nugget of an idea and run it through the OK Go gauntlet until we have something that feels emotional and melodic.
MV: What kind of responses have you been getting from your fans in regards to Hungry Ghost?
TN: Many fans have had a really great reaction to Hungry Ghosts. Even playing the songs live before the record came out, people seemed to instantly react well to the songs. In general, most people think it’s the most pop and electronic record we’ve put out to date.
MV: The songs “I Won’t Let You Down” and “The One Moment” seem to be getting the most play; any thoughts why?
TN: “I Won’t Let You Down” is perhaps the most upbeat and dance-y song on the record. And I think it’s just a lot of fun. “The One Moment” I think holds a lot of emotional weight, and pulls the heart strings in a way that a lot of people seem to relate to and feel.
MV: OK Go’s reputation is huge with having the coolest videos. Has it been much of a challenge to continuously be able to make every video better than your last?
TN: We honestly don’t think about topping ourselves. We’re most concerned with keeping things challenging, and making the things we find to be the most exciting and interesting.
MV: Outside of your new music, what’s different about your Hungry Ghost tour verses your last tour?
TN: The Hungry Ghost tour is a lot more interactive and technologically advanced. At the end of the day, it’s a big party celebrating music, art, film, dance, the audience, and the opportunity to be in the same room with a bunch of people for an evening to have an experience together.
Retro/Entertainment Editor
Efren Martinez
OK Go Band Members:
Damian Kulash
Tim Nordwind
Dan Konopka
Andy “Rusty” Ross
Hometown:
Los Angeles, CA
Record Label:
Paracadute
The new album, Hungry Ghosts, is out now. Download it from iTunes now: http://smarturl.it/HungryGhostsiTunes
Ticket Sales:
http://okgo.net/shows
Media:
http://www.okgo.net/
http://www.twitter.com/okgo
http://www.myspace.com/okgo
http://www.youtube.com/okgo
https://www.soundcloud.com/okgo
