Haus of Gaga

The Haus of Gaga is the name used by Lady Gaga to describe her behind-the-scenes creative team. The name is inspired by the German "Bauhaus" which she told in an interview in Germany and a play on the word "House" used by famous fashion brands. Furthermore, "Haus" is literally German for "house". This should not be confused with House of Gaga Publishing, the publishing company for her music, which is managed by her father, Joe Germanotta.

Background

Inspired by Andy Warhol's Factory, the Haus is a collective who works on various projects for Lady Gaga. These projects include clothing, stage sets, props (Disco Stick, iPod LCD Glasses, etc.), sounds for her live performance. In her own words: "It’s my creative team and it was really organic. I was a bit frustrated at the beginning, being so new to the business and going forward with a major label. I wanted to put my own money into the show because, when you’re a new artist, you kind of have to prove yourself. I was making money as a songwriter and I didn’t want a condo or a car because I don’t drive and I’m never fucking home, so I just wanted to put all my money into the performance."

Lady Gaga explaining the process:

Members

The Haus started with her close friends including Gaga's creative director, Matthew Williams and people hired to work with her. The first list of members was first published in August 2008 inside the liner notes of The Fame. The list was expanded when the US edition of The Fame came out with four new members (S. "Kamikazee" M., David "Dark" C., A. “The Ornament" C. and DJ Space Cowboy).

Creative

• Founder — Lady Gaga (2008—Present)
• Fashion director — Nicola Formichetti (June 2009—2011)
  • Stylist and designer — Anna Trevelyan, Brandon Maxwell (2009—Present)
• Creative coordinator and choreography assistant — Lacee Franks (2009—Present)
• Makeup artist — Sarah Nicole Tanno (2014—Present), Tara Savelo (Fall 2009—2014)
• Hairstylist and creator — Frederic Aspiras (Fall 2009—Present)
• Designer — Perry Meek (Fall 2009—Present)
• Personal assistant — Lane Bentley (2008—Present)
• Assistant — Sonja Durham (Since 2008—2017)
• Photographer — Terry Richardson (2010—2014)
• Artist — Helen Green

Dancers

• Dancers and band makeup — Sarah Nicole Tanno (Fall 2009—Present)
• Co-choreographer/dancer (2008—2011), choreographer (2011—Present) — Richard Jackson
• Asiel Hardison, Ian McKenzie (2008—Present)
• Graham Breitenstein, Montana Efaw, Sloan-Taylor Rabinor, Amanda Balen, Jeremy Hudson (2009—Present)
• Victor Rojas (2010—Present)
• Knicole Breahn Haggins, Kevin Frey, David Lei Brandt (2012—Present)
• China Taylor, Nicholas Geurts (2014—Present)

Band

• Keyboard — Brockett Parsons (2010—Present)
• Drums — George "Spanky" McCurdy (2010—Present)
• Bass — Lanar “Kern” Brantley (2010—Present)
• Guitar — Ricky Tillo (2010—Present)
• Guitar — Tim Stewart  (2012-Present)

Management

• A&R for Streamline Records — Vincent Herbert (2008—Present)
• Atom Factory Inc.
  • Bobby Campbell (November 2013—Present)
  • Troy Carter (Manager, 2007—November 2013)
  • Amanda Valez (Management assistant)
  • Allison Streuter (Management assistant)
  • Bobby Campbell (Marketing Director)
• Wendi Morris (Road management)
• Philip "Ky" Cabot (Road management)

Dogs

Pacific Coast Harlequin Lava and her son, Rumpus, are owned by Suzzane Kelleher-Duckett. They were used in every music video made after "Just Dance". She gave them alternative nicknames Aless and Abbey Road. They also made a cameo in the short film, The Fame: Part One. In October 2009, Rumpus died after a hike in Los Angeles. He had no signs of injury and appeared to be in perfect health before passing. There has been a necropsy and results are to be expected soon. He was to be in the music video for "Bad Romance" but was replaced by Lava. In the video for "Alejandro", Lava was replaced by Luna and Soleil, a pair of 2-year-old Black Great Dane littermates. Luna can be seen at 0:15 - 0:16 and Soleil can be seen at 6:54.

Creations

In a nutshell, the Haus of Gaga was created in order to help Lady Gaga realize her ideas. Since 2008, the creative team mixed art, fashion and music for every aspect of her live show. Over time, the Haus decided to hire other artists and companies to help them. As of now, a mix of both the Haus, artists and external help are used to make new creations. Since 2008, the creative team mixed art, fashion, and music into every aspect of her shows. Over time, the Haus decided to hire other artists and companies to help them. As of now, the Haus, artists, and external help are used to make new creations.

Media

Haus of Gaga app

On February 23, 2009, the Haus of Gaga App was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It was created by Universal Music Group and is offered as a free download through the App Store. The main feature of the app are webisodes starring Lady Gaga called “Transmission Gagavision” in which she discusses her fashion inspirations and the works created by the Haus design team. The webisodes were produced on a weekly basis from June 24, 2008, until March 31, 2009. On March 30, 2011, Gaga announced that the webisodes would return during the first week of April. On April 6, she released webisode number 41, under the shortened name Gagavision. The app also includes tour dates, news, and allows fans to chat with each other. Billboard named the Haus of Gaga app as one of the top five artist apps for the iPhone.

Haus of Gaga 2008 Blog

Main article: Blog

The Haus of Gaga Blog was written by Lady Gaga as a promotional effort for her debut album “The Fame”. It was hosted on LadyGaga.com, her official website. Updated sporadically between May 1 and December 22, 2008, Gaga wrote a total of 29 blog posts. Most of her entries focus on details about her videos and performances, particularly the wardrobes and props created by the Haus of Gaga. Also discussed are fashion, celebrities, music artists, and fan videos. Some of the posts provided insight into recent Haus designs, including pictures of items in production.

Former members

These are members that are now retired from the Haus. For example, Space Cowboy is now working on his career. The two dancers, Dina and Coco's contract were not renewed since 2008. They were replaced with the new group of dancers. David "Dark" Ciemny was described as the "tech guy" and his wife, Angela "The Ornament" as her librarian in an interview with Nardwuar. David Ciemny was Gaga's tour manager worldwide from 2008 to 2009 (18 months).

Dancers

• Celine "Coco" Thubert (June 20—July 31, Sep 6—28 of 2008)
• Melissa "Dina" Emrico (May 11—September 28 of 2008)
• Cassidy Noblett (May—December 2010)
• Michael Silas (October 2008—2011)
• Bethany Strong (November 2009—2011)
• Mark Kanemura (September 2009—2013)

Musicians

• Space Cowboy (DJ, left during The Fame Ball Tour in 2009)
• Kareem "Jesus" Devlin Byrne (Guitar, 2009—2011)

Creative director

• Matthew "Dada" Williams (Designer, 2008—July of 2010)
• Laurieann "L.A.G." Gibson (Choreographer 2008—2011, creative director July 2010 to October 2011)
• Troy Carter (Manager, 2007—November of 2013)

Personnel

• David "Dark" Ciemny (Road manager, 2008—2009)
• Angela "The Ornament" Cinema (Assistant, 2009)
• Megan D. (Assistant, 2009)
• Leah "L.L" Landon (Artist manager/development for The Coalition, 2008—2009)
• Dancers and band makeup — Marissa Jade Willinsky (January 2010 to May of 2011)
• Sharon Gault (2008—2009)
• Billy B (2009—2011)
• Todd Tourso (2010)
• Jennifer O'Neil (2008 to 2011)

Unknown role

• R. "Ninja" (2008)
• S. "Kamikazee" M. (2008)

References

— HAUS OF GAGA — History  · List of members  · Films  · Concert tours Fashion  · Creations + Collaborations of the Haus of Gaga