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Crisis Averted With OLLIE TWOHILL · HEAVY Music Interviews

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  Speaker 1: Hey guys, my name is Oli two Hill.
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  Speaker 2: I am a singer song right up from the Northern Rivers, Australia,
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  Speaker 2: but I have recently moved to the Gold Coast, so
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  Speaker 2: now I'm a Gold Coast boy. I play a bit
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  Speaker 2: of old rock music, maybe a little bit of pop
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  Speaker 2: punk as well, chucked a little bit of folk rock
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  Speaker 2: in there, and that's me. But yeah, overall, I've been
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  Speaker 2: playing music now for almost twenty years, which has been insane,
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  Speaker 2: but yeah, loving every minute.
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  Speaker 3: Of it fantastically. Thanks for joining us today.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for having me. Chris.
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  Speaker 3: No pleasure to say.
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  Speaker 4: You recently released your latest single, Crisis, back on August
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  Speaker 4: of twenty ninth.
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  Speaker 3: It's been about a month now, Rosa. How's the earlier
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  Speaker 3: reception been.
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  Speaker 1: So far, reception has been insane. People are really getting
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  Speaker 1: behind the track, which is awesome to see, especially since
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  Speaker 1: the context of the song is quite an angry song,
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  Speaker 1: and I feel like there's a lot of turmoil in
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  Speaker 1: the world and I feel like a lot of people
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  Speaker 1: can get behind it. So yeah, it's great so far.
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  Speaker 3: No if we'll get into.
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  Speaker 4: The subject made of this song next, but first about
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  Speaker 4: the song musically and what you were down for with it.
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  Speaker 2: So musically, I don't really have much of a basis
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  Speaker 2: when I write my songs. I kind of just I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I listened to bits and pieces of different music, but
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  Speaker 2: for the most part, I kind of just sit with
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  Speaker 2: my guitar and I tried to try and pick out
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  Speaker 2: the first thing that resonates with me. And Yeah, for Crisis,
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  Speaker 2: I just came up with that opening progression. It wasn't
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  Speaker 2: anything too crazy, but it was just enough for me
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  Speaker 2: to you know, grab the hook, and you know, within
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  Speaker 2: a couple of days the song was written, which is, Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's awesome when that happens here.
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  Speaker 3: It doesn't happen often enough, does it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah? Literally, Oh, it's such a grind.
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  Speaker 2: It's funny, like some songs can take like a couple
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  Speaker 2: of hours. Another song can take Like there's one song
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  Speaker 2: I've written called Stone Could Killer, which is like a
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  Speaker 2: bank robbery style song. It took me nine months to
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  Speaker 2: write that song, and you know it, it's crazy what
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  Speaker 2: can happen?
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  Speaker 1: You know?
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  Speaker 4: So how much did it change from the start of
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  Speaker 4: the finish?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's funny, like I actually first started writing the
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  Speaker 2: lyrics for the song, so I had like the first
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  Speaker 2: verse for the song and I was auditioning to join
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  Speaker 2: this metal band, and I, yeah, I did like the
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  Speaker 2: little verse for it, just to kind of give him
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  Speaker 2: a teaser, and yeah, we had one rehearsal and then
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  Speaker 2: they decided that I wasn't fit for the cunt, so
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  Speaker 2: I kind of kept it and then sat in it
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  Speaker 2: for a while, and I was like, I need to
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  Speaker 2: do something with this because it's such a sick concept,
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  Speaker 2: and waited a couple of months and then found the
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  Speaker 2: riff and then yeah, I just kept chipping away, slowly
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  Speaker 2: but surely, and nine months later Stone.
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  Speaker 1: Called Kill was born.
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  Speaker 3: It's like a baby, that's right.
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  Speaker 4: Like you said, it's a bit of a crazy song,
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  Speaker 4: So write us through it a bit more detail on
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  Speaker 4: what it's actually about.
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  Speaker 2: So Crisis to me is just a call out to
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  Speaker 2: the world. Really, I feel like there's so much tannam
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  Speaker 2: oil in this world. There's a lot of hate going around,
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  Speaker 2: there's war, there's you know, all different sorts of turmoil
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  Speaker 2: happening right now. And yeah, it's kind of a call
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  Speaker 2: out to the world to be like, come on, like
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  Speaker 2: where humans as a whole, you know, let's work together,
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  Speaker 2: let's try and separate our differences and make greater change
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  Speaker 2: for the you know, the world to come.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: Nice, Now, this song seems you write, compose, and perform
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  Speaker 4: every instrument for the first time in your career.
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  Speaker 3: So how challenging was.
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  Speaker 1: That, dude.
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  Speaker 2: Honestly, it has been a passion project of mine to like,
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  Speaker 2: it's been a bit of a dream to kind of
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  Speaker 2: have a song to where I played every instrument, and
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  Speaker 2: christ just just felt like the most natural fit to
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  Speaker 2: sort of step into that realm. I remember before making
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  Speaker 2: the decision, I had two weeks to kind of get
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  Speaker 2: ready in the studio and I didn't have at the time.
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  Speaker 2: I didn't have a drum kit, and I did to
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  Speaker 2: go to my uncle's place and practice that didn't even
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  Speaker 2: have a base either. And yeah, I just had to
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  Speaker 2: try and come up with the parts as quick as
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  Speaker 2: I could. But honestly, it's amazing. It is insane the
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  Speaker 2: level of work that I put into it, and I'm
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  Speaker 2: really really happy with how things turned out, especially considering
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  Speaker 2: I'm not known to be a bassist or a guitarist.
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  Speaker 2: I'm predominantly known to be a guitarist singer, So yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it was a nice change of pace.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, and you also recently played your First Kick with
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  Speaker 4: a full band and then Divine on Alder twenty four,
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  Speaker 4: So how did that go?
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  Speaker 1: Honestly, it was insane. We had a great reception.
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  Speaker 2: We got just under fifty people there, which is amazing,
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  Speaker 2: and yeah, it was my first time venturing on the
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  Speaker 2: Gold Coast with the band, which was great, and also
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  Speaker 2: just first band gig as a whole. So yeah, overall,
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  Speaker 2: just very very stoked with how things went. The opening acts.
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  Speaker 2: I had Bent Band, which they're like a pop punk band,
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  Speaker 2: and I had a Mirror who she used to sing
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  Speaker 2: in a band called Chasing Velvets, but she yeah, she
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  Speaker 2: retired from that and now she's doing her own solo stuff.
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  Speaker 2: But she's like an R and B soul singer and
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  Speaker 2: she's killer, absolutely killer. So it was great to have
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  Speaker 2: some great support acts on board and then me get
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  Speaker 2: to do the final final touches on things, and yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it was a great afternoon.
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  Speaker 3: I did. Have you always been a solo stuff to
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  Speaker 3: that point?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I've been a professional musician now for this
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  Speaker 2: is my twelfth year in the making, and yeah, I've
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  Speaker 2: always done it solo. I just tried to find band
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  Speaker 2: members when I was like fourteen fifteen and kept the
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  Speaker 2: search going, and I didn't really find people that had
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  Speaker 2: the same passion or drive to music like I did,
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  Speaker 2: so I kind of just kept playing solo. And yeah,
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  Speaker 2: once I moved off the coast, I met a bunch
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  Speaker 2: more people, and you know, I just threw my name
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  Speaker 2: and the heart and just was like, screw it, let's
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  Speaker 2: just try and make a band. And I met some
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  Speaker 2: people who were super keen on what I do and
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  Speaker 2: which makes my life a hell of a lot easier.
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  Speaker 1: And yeah, the rest is history.
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  Speaker 3: So from now on, you're a full band and you're
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  Speaker 3: not not a soloist.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, full band moving forward.
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  Speaker 2: I still like to keep my sort of solo name,
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  Speaker 2: my actual name, Oli two Hill, just because that way.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I like to be able to contribute with
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  Speaker 2: songs where I have the full bands. I might also
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  Speaker 2: want to do other songs where I just do everything
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  Speaker 2: myself too, And it's kind of a passion project for
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  Speaker 2: me at the end of the day.
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  Speaker 1: So but yeah, it's awesome.
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  Speaker 3: Man.
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  Speaker 4: I don't forget to speak to someone who's done it
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  Speaker 4: solo for so many years and then gone to a
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  Speaker 4: band situation.
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  Speaker 3: So what are some of the pros and cons of each.
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  Speaker 1: That's a good question.
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  Speaker 2: I feel like playing solo you get a lot more
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  Speaker 2: sort of freedom to do what you want really, you know,
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  Speaker 2: you don't have any other opinions or you know, pressure
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  Speaker 2: to write a certain.
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  Speaker 1: Way, which for me is amazing.
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  Speaker 2: It's the best feeling in the world being able to,
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  Speaker 2: you know, just write what I want to write and
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  Speaker 2: you know, not have anyone try and question it. But
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  Speaker 2: I feel like the downside is is, you know, especially
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  Speaker 2: if I'm wanting to play shows with other bands and stuff,
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  Speaker 2: they sort of look at a solo artist and they
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  Speaker 2: go solo. Why would you want to, you know, pick
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  Speaker 2: a solo artist when you can pick a four piece band.
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  Speaker 2: And I completely understand that too, And you know, but
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  Speaker 2: it is a little it does suck a bit, but
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  Speaker 2: you know, it's it is really fun playing solo though,
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  Speaker 2: for sure. But yeah, playing with the band has definitely
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  Speaker 2: made a big difference as well, because now I'm able to,
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  Speaker 2: you know, play bigger and better venues. Now I get
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  Speaker 2: to you know, make my music the way that I
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  Speaker 2: intend to, you know, with other people behind me, so
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  Speaker 2: which makes things amazing very nice.
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  Speaker 3: Now. Crisis a standalone single or is it part of
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  Speaker 3: a bigger project.
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  Speaker 2: So Crisis is a part of my Calamity EP. So
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  Speaker 2: the EP is going to be dropping next year. I
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  Speaker 2: haven't set a date just yet. I'm actually still in
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  Speaker 2: the process of recording it. But yeah, it's pretty much
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  Speaker 2: Crisis to me, is the focal point. It's really the
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  Speaker 2: song that I feel like encapsulates what Calamity really is.
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  Speaker 2: And yeah, it's it's really really exciting to be able
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  Speaker 2: to release my first official EP. I did like a
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  Speaker 2: demo back in the day. I did like a five
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  Speaker 2: track demo, but yeah, I don't really count that as
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  Speaker 2: an EP. This is like my first official, fully fleshed EP.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, it's exciting.
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  Speaker 3: Man, I think you're going to finish that off with
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  Speaker 3: the band? Are you going to finish it off doing
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  Speaker 3: everything yourself?
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  Speaker 2: So initially the plan was I was going to do
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  Speaker 2: everything myself, but yeah, time sort of got away on
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  Speaker 2: us a little bit, so I decided I have the band,
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  Speaker 2: let's use the band. And it was a bit of
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  Speaker 2: a creative process, but all of us being able to
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  Speaker 2: get to write our parts, you know, And it was
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  Speaker 2: great for me because I got to conduct a little
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  Speaker 2: bits and pieces as well. You know, try and really
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  Speaker 2: capture what I was wanting on the project as well.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, honestly, I wouldn't change it any other way.
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  Speaker 4: I have to look into this too, but I can't
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  Speaker 4: remember any other time and albums or an ep is
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  Speaker 4: started with one person doing everything and then progressed to
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  Speaker 4: having a whole band on there, so you might have
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  Speaker 4: might have been history and making.
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  Speaker 2: There two bro hopefully, So I mean, hey, if I'm
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  Speaker 2: the first, then that's sick. I'll definitely take that cround
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  Speaker 2: if it's there.
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  Speaker 4: Price is a good sonic representation of what you expect
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  Speaker 4: from the Holy Pea definitely.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Crisis to me is it's the real sort of
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  Speaker 2: change of direction for me. I've you know, tinkered with
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  Speaker 2: the sound of you know, trying to go pop punk
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  Speaker 2: and add different sort of heavier elements into it. But
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  Speaker 2: I feel like Crisis is really the focal point, being
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  Speaker 2: like I am an old rock artist now and you
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  Speaker 2: can expect a lot of, you know, a bit more
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  Speaker 2: heavier stuff in there, but also still keep it to
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  Speaker 2: my traditional Holli two hill sound that people know and love.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, it's great.
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  Speaker 4: I want to be aout the rest of twenty twenty five, Bro,
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  Speaker 4: What do you got played any gibs or something coming up?
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  Speaker 1: I do so at this stage.
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  Speaker 2: I have got a gig on the twenty ninth of December,
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  Speaker 2: finnally enough.
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  Speaker 1: It's at dender Vine again, so I am playing on.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I on a bill with a few other artists.
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  Speaker 2: I know Alanta Stone is playing. I can't remember the
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  Speaker 2: other bands. I haven't heard of the other bands beforehand,
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  Speaker 2: but I will do my research and I'll be sure.
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  Speaker 2: If you want to find out who those are, then
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  Speaker 2: you know, be sure to follow me on all my
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: all your favorite social media platforms and you can find out.
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  Speaker 1: But yeah, so that's when I was the one big
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  Speaker 1: one at the moments.
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  Speaker 2: I also do covers gigs at the moment, so I've
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  Speaker 2: got plenty of those going around as well, anywhere between
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  Speaker 2: sort of Bulumbar, my hometown, and all the way up
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  Speaker 2: to Brisbane.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, there's a lot to look forward to for sure.
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  Speaker 4: Manjas brother of very nice gent with you, Oli. The
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  Speaker 4: single crisis is out now. This sounds like there's a
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  Speaker 4: loo going on with you, so best of Blackman all
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  Speaker 4: of it.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Chris, and same to you, man.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you so much for having me on and yeah,
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  Speaker 2: thanks guys for tuning in.
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  Speaker 1: I hope to hear from you guys soon