Kii Arens

In 1994, Arens joined his brother, Brynn Arens (Obsession/Fun House/Oddfathers), in the rock band Flipp, active from 1994–2003. He assumed guitar and backup vocal duties. The band embraced the Glam-rock genre reminiscent of the early 1970s, even amid its decline as a result of bands such as Nirvana and Kurt Cobain. Their Hollywood Records debut, Flipp (1997), saw them opening for bands such as Oasis, The Ramones and Cheap Trick. They released two follow-up albums, Blow it out your Ass (2000) and Volume (2002). Although Flipp has never officially disbanded, they have not performed live since 2003.

A visit to Los Angeles in 2003 prompted Arens' move[4] to his current location on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. As his work in album art and band merchandising continued, he began creating unique, non-music associated art pieces. His pieces soon appeared in many galleries around Los Angeles, notably: M Modern, Subliminal Projects, Gallery 1988, and his own gallery, La-La Land Gallery, which opened in 2004.

Arens has exhibited in many shows, notably: Happy War… It’s the bomb, the first official show at La-La Land, which featured the work of Arens and many local pop-artists, including: Shepard Fairey, Chris Reccardi, Gary Baseman, Niagara, and many others. Art in the Dark, another show, was an exhibition of Arens' own pieces, images created using black light reactive paints and lighting rigs, which concealed hidden content that could be revealed upon the flip of a switch. In 2005, he traveled back to the Twin Cities, to exhibit a gallery show at Ox-Op gallery. The show was based around Spin-o-Paint / Paint-by-numbers / Oil paint.[5]

Later that year, lalalandgallery.com was created, an online venue for a series of customized lightboxes created by Arens. The lightboxes were also exhibited at La-La Land, and featured in a story by the Los Angeles Times. His "Hot Lunch Artshow" followed in Oct. 2005, and featured classic tin lunch boxes customized with local Pop art. By 2008, Arens found himself as curator of an art show based on the concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.[6] It included pieces for artists such as Liza Minnelli,[7] Grace Jones, and Femi Kuti. His first major concert poster was completed that year as well, for a Beck/Spoon/MGMT show at the Hollywood Bowl.

This has spurred a career in concert print creation that continues to present, with over 250 pieces created for artists such as Radiohead,[8] Queens of the Stone Age, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, The Weeknd, Sonic Youth, The Who, Devo, Diana Ross, Divine Fits, The Pixies, Tony Bennett, Glen Campbell, Bruno Mars, Tame Impala, The Beach Boys and many others.[9] He also has created posters for various All Tomorrow's Parties events, as well as Goldenvoice's Coachella. In 2010, Arens created a print for Radiohead's Haiti benefit concert in Los Angeles.[10] Two editions of 250 prints were sold, and helped add to a grand total of $572,754 raised by the band during the event.[11]

In November 2011, Arens co-directed the video "Ghost on the Canvas" for country musician Glen Campbell. It features Paul Westerberg of the Replacements, who also penned the track.[12] Arens' admiration for Campbell lead him to co-direct two more videos for the artist. "A Better Place" (2012), featuring Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age,[13] and "Hey Little One" (2013),[14] a tribute to Glen's wife, Kimberly Woollen, who helped Campbell in his battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Arens directed the video for "Vampyre of Time and Memory", a track from Queens of the Stone Age's sixth album, ...Like Clockwork (2013).[15] The video featured three separate rooms that the viewer can navigate, creating a unique viewing experience.[16] He also directed "Living Each Day" by Kirin J Callinan in 2017,[17] and co-directed "Asleep at the Wheel" (with Jason Trucco) by Band of Skulls in 2014,[18] and "On Graveyard Hill" (with Bobbi Rich) by Pixies in 2019.[19]

In 2019 Arens directed the music video for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again". Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, the song was performed by John and Taron Egerton, who portrayed John in the biopic Rocketman.