Damian Kulash
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Damian Kulash | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Damian Joseph Kulash, Jr. |
| Born | October 7, 1975 |
| Origin | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, Indie rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1998-present |
| Label(s) | Capitol |
| Associated acts | OK Go |
Damian Joseph Kulash Jr. (born October 7, 1975) is the lead singer and guitarist for Chicago-based rock band OK Go.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Born in Washington D.C., Kulash graduated from St. Albans School in 1994, and later Brown University in 1998 with a concentration in Art-Semiotics.
While in college at Brown, Kulash played in at least three bands - A La Playa, Calixto Chinchile, and Square. He released three CDs his senior year: an album of experimental Elvis covers (for his senior project), an eponymously-titled 5 song EP from his electronic pop band Square (tastefully packaged between two metal disks held together by a large bolt), and Appendices, a collection of more than a dozen miscellaneous recordings from his time in college, including solo songs, collaborations with friends, class projects, studio experiments, and recordings from previous bands.
Included on the Appendices record are the original recordings of "Bye Bye Baby," which was later re-recorded for OK Go's debut record, and 4 songs from a never-finished EP for his Pixies-meets-Shudder to Think punk band A La Playa, which was a very popular band during its short existence (and which played several shows with early incarnations of art punk legends Les Savy Fav and Lightning Bolt).
In May 1998, Kulash won Brown University's Weston Prize in music composition.
The family name was originally "Kulas" when Kulash's great-grandparents lived in Europe. One of his grandfathers invented the modern day fish stick.[1] His other grandfather discovered a species of click beetle which was then named after him. It is called Glyphonyx kulashi.
[edit] Musical career
As a result of courses he took in electronic music, Kulash became interested in more highly produced, carefully crafted music. After graduation from Brown, Kulash moved to Chicago, and it was not until 1998 that the band officially formed. After becoming popular in Chicago as a result of regularly playing top clubs and appearances on National Public Radio's "This American Life", OK Go signed to Capitol Records. They have released two albums. Prior to this, in 1996, he was in a band named Calixto Chinchile in which he played an early version of the Ok Go song Hello My Treacherous Friends.[2]
Kulash's music is considered to be a geek form of rock, much like Weezer's music (Kulash has the geek background - at least two of his former bandmates from one of his bands at Brown are now professors). Kulash married his girlfriend, a Brown graduate and artist, in 2005 and currently lives in Los Angeles. He was greatly influenced by many bands from the Washington D.C. area such as Fugazi, Q and Not U, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Lungfish, and The Dismemberment Plan. He is also a fan of post-hardcore and indie rock. He was also one half of the short-lived Washington, D.C. based independent record label Level Records (1994-1996). Level Records released various 7"s, compilations, and CDs for bands such as Branch Manager (who later went on to Dischord Records) and Frodus, which actually had previous OK Go member Andrew Duncan on bass guitar/vocal duties for a short time).
On March 12, 2006, Kulash was arrested while standing in front of the Orlando House of Blues talking to fans. He was charged for resisting a police officer without violence. During his arrest, Kulash convinced the police officer to watch the video of "A Million Ways" on his computer.[3]
In August 2006, Kulash appeared on an episode of The Colbert Report to discuss the band putting their music videos on YouTube instead of going through the normal corporate video-making process.
[edit] References
- ^ OK Go Podcast #2 http://www.okgo.net/fun_podcasts.asp
- ^ Blog Post By Damian http://thewilltorock.blogspot.com/2007/07/letter-from-damian.html
- ^ The J Stands For Jailbird http://thewilltorock.blogspot.com/2006/03/j-stands-for-jailbird.html
- Walson, Michelle. (March/April 2002). Smart Music That's Fun Brown Alumni Magazine Online.
- Ok Go Biography Accessed October 24, 2005.
- Program, Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance, Brown University, Weston Prices May 1998
