Writing On The Road Just So-So For OK Go

CLEVELAND (TNA) – To use a cliché, it’s the best of times and the worst of times for the members of the Chicago-based quartet OK Go, the band that burst to online fame by dancing on YouTube.

The group is currently on a world tour capitalizing on the success of its latest release, "Oh No," but finds itself having to spend the off hours working on music for their next album.

Adding to the pressure is the growing buzz surrounding the band thanks to successful YouTube videos like the highly choreographed first hit, "A Million Ways," and its follow-up, "Here We Go Again," which featured the band doing a similar dance number on treadmills.

OK, now stop...no more treadmills.

The tunes made OK Go one of the most popular bands on YouTube, and "A Million Ways" still ranks as the No. 1 most downloaded video in music history.

It’s enough to make bassist Tim Norwind say "Oh no!" himself.

Luckily, modern technology is making things easier for the band.

"The first couple of days on tour, we had sound checks, but the mixers are all digital and once they’re set, we can pull into a city at 10 a.m. and not have to be at the venue until 6 p.m.," Norwind says.

"We’ve been setting up in hotel rooms with our Protools, but it’s hard to write – and it’s tough on the road."

But Norwind says the group can’t think about the past when the present and future await.

Currently, he says the grind of day-to-day touring makes it hard to think about that all important third album.

"We’re trying to write songs," Norwind laments. "But there’s lots of stuff that takes up each day. You gotta do laundry. You gotta exercise. There’s going to the FedEx store and, of course, doing interviews."

Writing on the road also is requiring Norwind and lead singer Damian Kulash, drummer Dan Konopka and guitarist/ keyboardist Andy Ross to stretch their songwriting muscles in new ways.

"There are a million different tricks to writing on the road – and we don’t know any of them," Norwind admits. "We opened for Cheap Trick and [guitarist] Rick Nielsen came down to meet us.

"He said, ‘How long you been together?’ I said, ‘Eight years.’ Then he asked, ‘How many albums you got?’ I told him, ‘Two.’ Then he said, ‘What is wrong with you?’ I asked him, ‘Do you write on the road?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ So I asked him which albums and he said, ‘Heaven Tonight,’ and ‘In Color,’ which are their best albums."

Right now, Norwind and the others each work on their own songs and bring them to the band. However, he doesn’t know which tunes will stick.

"Sometimes, I’ll bring a song and it stays intact. Other times, the only thing that stays is the groove," Norwind said. "So far, we’ve heard little pieces of each other’s work, but it’s hard to know exactly what we’ll be going into the studio with. We’re not sure what the next album is going to sound like."

OK Go wraps up its tour in September and Norwind says that’s when the band will focus on tunes for the next album.

"If all goes well, we hope to release a new album next summer," he said.