The four musicians from Chicago have been storming the charts across the USA, and their lively rock ’n roll is filling clubs and concert halls. Since their video “Here it goes again” won a Grammy for best short form music video, OK GO are making headway in Europe moving from an insider’s tip to acclaimed trend setters. Now the band have taken advantage of their European tour schedule to visit the audio specialist Sennheiser in Wedemark.

OK GO frontman Damian Kulash (back, 3rd from the left ), guitarist Andy Ross (back, 3rd from the right) and their tour team were given a tour of the Sennheiser premises by market manager Jörk Meyerrose (front left) and industry team manager Stephan Scherthan (front right) 

       

Wow, that really is something”, marvelled OK GO singer Damian Kulash. He was hardly able to tear himself away from Sennheiser’s fully automated evolution microphone assembly line. Together with lead guitarist Andy Ross he was fascinated as he watched how the machinery wound the voice-coils out of microscopically thin wire, precisely glued an ultra-thin diaphragm to the coil and how a gripper arm then assembled the complete microphone all in just a few seconds. “I will dream about this production quality“, laughed Damian Kulash, “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

The Chicago-based musicians took advantage of their European tour, whilst en route from Berlin to Brussels, to accept an invitation issued at the Winter NAMM in Anaheim, California where OK GO, the shooting stars of the American charts had been highly acclaimed and celebrated. Michael Polten, Director of Product Marketing at Sennheiser, suggested to them that they visit Wedemark during their European tour. “On stage they use our e 945 microphone, so I thought it would definitely be exciting for them to see where and how they are made“, said Michael Polten.

OK GO have been playing together since 1998 and are a band that has developed out of friendships dating back to when they were young. They achieved their breakthrough in the USA last year with their album “Oh No”. Their fans go crazy about their simple, cheerful rock ’n roll and also about their original and individualistic videos and live performances. The video of “A Million Ways” has been downloaded more than half a million times and the song topped the charts practically overnight. Now OK GO have gone one better: Their short form video “Here it goes again” has virtually achieved cult status on the Internet with more than 1.5 million downloads and was acclaimed with a Grammy Award in February.

For the chart-toppers the visit to Sennheiser was “an absolute highlight” said guitarist Andy Ross. “Not only to see how the microphones are produced but also to be able to discuss them with the experts has been an unforgettable experience for us.” They made the most of the plant tour to have lively discussions with Stephan Scherthan, Sennheiser’s Industry Team Manager for the Music Industry, with Jörk Meyerrose, Market Manager Americas and Canada and with Günther Hitz, Manager Customer Support. “We use the MD 421 for studio recordings,” said Damian Kulash, “It is a genuine classic which matches our sounds outstandingly well. When I see the effort and meticulousness used here to produce it, I understand even better where Sennheiser’s legendary reputation comes from”.

They were particularly struck by the anechoic chamber used to test the microphones — not only because of the precision and integrity of the measuring equipment but also because of the unusual design of the room. Perhaps it will give them inspiration for a new video — for at the end of the day they do have an inclination towards exotic staging sets. The Grammy video “Here it goes again” is a three-minute, fascinatingly comic choreography of treadmills in the gym.

As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, the Sennheiser Group with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, had total sales of about €300 million in 2005. The export share is 82.5%. Sennheiser has a total workforce of more than 1,650 employees, of whom about 60% are employed in Germany. Sennheiser is active worldwide and, in addition to other partnerships, has its own sales subsidiaries in France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, China, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Download pressrelease:
pressrelease_23.02.07_gb.zip (3,92 MB)

For further information about Sennheiser please visit us on the Internet at http://www.sennheiser.com/ or contact:

Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG  
Press and PR - Edelgard Marquardt  
Am Labor 1 - 30900 Wedemark - Germany 
Phone: +49 (5130) 600-329   
Fax: +49 (5130) 600-295   
E-mail: marquare@sennheiser.com

fischerAppelt Kommunikation
Sandra Hartwig
Waterloohain 5 - 22769 Hamburg
Phone: +49 (40) 899 699-976
Fax: +49 (40) 899 699-30
E-mail: sah@fischerappelt.de