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 Oli, thank you for
sparing the time.
How did you get started
in music?
Music has always been played in the house and my Dad loves the blues and
plays it all the time. Which in time made me want to pick up the guitar
after hearing all that music. So just really from hearing all my Dad's
blues collection as I was growing up.
Did you always want to
become a musician?
Before I wanted to become a musician I never knew what I wanted to do.
But when I found what music had to offer I never let go of it and kept
playing. So I would say yes. From when I finally had something in mind
about what I wanted to do it would be music.
What first attracted you
to the blues?
The showmanship. There was always a good front man who would tell
stories and really bring the crowd into the show. Of course the soul and
raw passion from the songs. But there is so much to learn from people
like Buddy Guy’s stagecraft.
What does the blues mean
to you?
Musically it means a lot to me as I love playing it and I wouldn’t want
to do anything else in my life.
Who are your favourite
blues artists (both old and new)?
Right now I am constantly listening to
Chris Cain who is a fantastic
jazz/blues player based in California. I suggest you check him out.
Who has influenced you
the most?
That’s too hard to say there are too many things that have influenced me
to just pick one. There are all sorts of elements I try to pick up and
it’s not all from the same source. Someone who has taught me personally
a lot is Carl Gustafson who is in a band called
Blinddog Smokin’. An incredible band
which taught me a lot.
What was the best album
you ever bought?
I can’t answer that. I have too many favourites and the collection is
getting bigger and bigger.
Are there any particular
songs that you’ve played that have special meaning to you?
The originals because they have been written to do with how I feel or
how the band feels collectively, hopefully how the audience may have
felt too about life experiences, good and bad. Missing You off my new
album “Open Road” is quite a personal song but it has a long story to it
so I wont go on.
What is your favourite
guitar?
My Stonetree. It looks like a strat but to me it sounds and plays nicer
then one, though this might change as I have another Stonetree guitar
arriving in a few days which is a red semi-hollow. Scott Platts is the
luthier and his guitars are all perfect. I hate going into his shop
because every guitar I want, they all play and sound phenomenal.
Tell me about the band,
when did you get together?
I found Simon Dring (Drummer) at a local jam night in a long hunt for
musicians to be part of this band and still needed a bass player but
luckily Simon knew a great bass player who he passed me onto. When we
got Fred (bass) to jam with us we clicked immediately and we knew
something was right between us three so we kept the band like that. We
got together at the beginning of 2007 almost 2 years have passed now and
its really took us by surprise. Time has flown by.
Tell me about your
experiences in supporting Walter Trout, Jon Cleary, Johnny Winter,
Robben Ford and the others?
Its fantastic I just love playing, they were all very nice and
supportive and gave me some good ideas and taught me some new things.
They were all really pleasant people who it was a pleasure to support. I
hope to meet them again in the near future.
How did you get involved
with recording your debut album Open Road for
Ruf Records?
I just kept at the studio next to the engineer when not recording and
watched what he was doing and giving my feedback all the time. I wanted
the album to sound good to me as well as the sound engineer. He did a
fantastic job at the CD and coping with me. At the end of it we were
both really happy with the outcome.
What’s it like as a
young musician in the current music business?
I don’t think about it and I try and avoid it. I don’t play this music
because I am young so it could seem a novelty. I play because I love
what I do and I love to entertain. I try and bring people into the music
in the band not because of the age but because of what we do. I don’t
want my age to be part of the show when people see it.
What’s it like on tour –
any amusing experiences?
It’s always good fun travelling with the band. We have so many amusing
experiences though none are really mentionable because they are all
quite rude!
How are the plans going
for the European tour in Jan/Feb 09?
Fantastic. I am really looking forward to going to Europe as I have
never played there before. It should be an exciting new experience.
A lot of music styles
are fads but the blues is always with us. Why do you think that is?
I think because it’s timeless and there is more to blues then just the
music. Its has fantastic representatives that are still playing this
music such as Buddy Guy and B.B. King. And more people keep coming such
as Chris Cain who just keep developing this music. It’s hard to say, I
just know that it’s constantly developing and I always love to see blues
shows.
How do you see the
future of blues music?
I could be wrong but I see it as it is now. I think it has a fantastic
dedicated following who passionately love their music. It may get back
into some sort of “fad” but I don’t care. I love the crowds as they are.
They are dedicated to their music and really appreciative.
Thank you, Oli.
Check out some photos of
The Oli Brown Band at Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues Club
Check out Oli's debut album Open Road on Ruf Records
Available here
www.olibrownband.com
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Website, Photos & Text © Copyright 2001-2008 Alan
White. All Rights Reserved.
For further information please email:
alan.white@earlyblues.com
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