Oli Brown of RavenEye (INTERVIEW)

It takes a lot of guts to start something new; especially when the last adventure had generated positive accolades and four recordings. And when the change, on paper at least, seems so dramatic, you might not know how your fans will swallow the new you.

For Oli Brown, the young British blues guitarist that Classic Rock magazine once hailed as “one of the best and brightest guitar heroes performing in the world today,” it took a little contemplation before jumping into the deep end with both feet flying. But the pull was strong and Brown felt compelled to release his inner Soundgarden-loving, Hendrix-worshiping molecules and tune his guitar in a more rock direction. Hence the debut earlier this month of a 5-song EP, Breaking Out, by Brown’s new power trio RavenEye.

Brown is a musician who believes in “the vibe.” He feeds off it, loves the challenge of building it up within an audience who is unfamiliar with his music. “I’ve always sort of loved that kind of music,” he told me during our interview last week, explaining why he jumped off the blues tracks onto the darker side of rock & roll. Whereas before he had been playing Leadbelly and Willie Dixon covers, his antennae was still versatile enough to latch onto diverse mixtures of music, The Black Keys, Anders Osborne and Al Kooper among them, while not being afraid to showcase his own creations as well. With Osborne at the helm for the EP, Brown picked out songs from his plethora of originals he had been working on and let loose with the fire in his belly burning out from such songs as the title-track first single, “Breaking Out.” “Oli and the boys are awesome,” Osborne told me. “It was a treat making that record.”

So with all the excitement of frolicking around in something new, Brown called in from England to talk about his old blues roots, his new RavenEye band, having an opening slot on some Slash European dates, and grasping that sometimes elusive “vibe.”

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Okay, you had a good career going as a solid blues musician. When did Tony Iommi invade your soul and turn you to the dark side?

(laughs) When I was younger, I had major support from a label and I didn’t have a chance to really think about everything I wanted to do. I’ve always loved rock music as well. I’m a huge Chris Cornell fan. I took like a year off a couple of years ago, to just really figure out what I wanted to do and I figured now was the time I really want to commit to doing something heavier and put all my energy and time into starting something completely different.

Why did you want to become a band and not just pursue this as a solo?

I guess with the solo thing, I still want to play my blues, still want to play that kind of music and that kind of style and still be that kind of performer and do the acoustic shows as well. But my favorite rock bands are all bands. They’re not really rock solo artists. It’s always been Sabbath, Queens Of The Stone Age. I wanted to create something with an identity as a band rather than being about me.

You have five songs on the EP. Did those come before or after you formed your band?

They came before. I recorded ten tracks last year in March. Before I went in to record, I sat by myself for a couple of weeks and I had a drum kit and a bass guitar and just recorded as many demos as I possibly could. I recorded every single song that I could think of and got all my ideas down. I originally just wanted to see what direction I was going and then I went to record them and one of the songs that was being recorded was “Breaking Out” and at that point I didn’t want to record that song. I had the idea of putting that song down and I figured it was too dark and heavy for my blues stuff. But that really kick-started me and I recorded the song and I was really happy with it. And then I realized I didn’t want my direction to be dictated by my confinement. I really wanted to express and venture into sounds and styles. I’ve been doing the blues thing for eight years now and I love it but I think I needed a change.

Anders Osborne produced the RavenEye EP. Why do you like him so much and what was the most important thing he did to make this EP the best it could be?

I fell in love with Ash Wednesday Blues and when touring America [with Blinddog Smokin’] I had a chance to start checking out music again and that’s when American Patchwork was out and I fell all over again. It was just one of those albums and that’s when I really wanted to venture to the heavier side, the rockier side of blues, where he’s capped some attitude. He really kind of pushed me to start thinking about heavier sounds. It was an amazing experience to me to sit with him. He’s a hero to me, as a guitar player and singer. He’s just a very spiritual, wonderful human being to be around and encouraged me to put down “Breaking Out” onto the record. If it wasn’t for that, I’d have never gotten onto the idea of making RavenEye. I loved my time with him.

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You said you wrote a lot of songs. What was your method of elimination?

It was really the ones that spoke to me the most. Some of them were more progressed and some of them were more defined in the sound. A few of the songs sounded too similar to each other and you couldn’t differentiate between them. That actually happened with “You Got It” on the EP. “You Got It” is a mix of two complete different songs that had a similar feel and I really wanted to have one song and decided to put them together and I really liked that sort of arrangement. When you start coming out with all these ideas at once, the similarities start coming out in the writing and you can put them together and create one song.

Was there any temptation to do a blues song, like ones you had done before?

Yeah, I was still figuring out what I wanted to do and some of the tracks I recorded they are still there and I’m still figuring out how to release that stuff. But I plan on holding onto them right now and build up the foundation for RavenEye. But there are some lighter songs, some bluesier-based songs, that are definitely coming out in the future.

What was the inspiration behind the song “Breaking Out”?

Lyrically it’s about breaking out of personal conformities. You can be your own worst enemy, especially when it comes to making decisions that will give others a chance to have an opinion of. It’s the idea of moving in what you believe in. This song is the reason RavenEye really came together. I wanted to put a band together that’s just rock music and I would have never pushed further into the idea if it wasn’t for writing this song. It was like some personal therapy or motivation I guess!

What about “Run Away”?

It was about me leaving England. I think I was struggling at that point in time just trying to figure out who I wanted to be and where I wanted to go and being let down by the people who were with me at that time. And at that point, I wasn’t sure what to do. I had an amazing opportunity to go and stay in Canada for a while and it was about that, about the heartbreak that completely turned me upside down and I didn’t really expect that. But I started realizing a lot of things I had to give up in that relationship and maybe the best thing was to just run away.

Do you remember what triggered you to write your first song?

Yeah, I do. I was sixteen and I was playing in a band called Blinddog Smokin’, an American band, and I went out with them for two months touring. The bass player, Roland Pritzler, said one day, cause they were telling me to sing and I never wanted to be a singer. But Roland booked some studio time and said, “I want you to write two songs and then we’re going to record them.” (laughs) So I did. I sat down and wrote a song called “Missing You,” which was the first song I ever wrote, and it’s actually on my first solo album. And I wrote it about when I was in America for two months, I had this whole package thing where I had a card to read every day, from friends, like letters, and each day I would open a letter. So that was the first song I really remembering writing.

When did you start taking guitar seriously? Cause you started when you were like twelve.

I think as soon as I got my first guitar lesson and I learned the James Bond theme, cause I taught myself it. The teacher probably gave me the card and I sat down with her and learned it. I think that kicked everything off. Later on I was getting more opportunities but I think in that point in time I knew that I wanted to do it. That sense of accomplishment and just the feeling I got. I think pretty much from the first time I played the guitar, I knew this was what I was going to do. I didn’t know that it would take me this far but I tried to make sure it would take me this far (laughs).

What were your first steps towards being a professional musician? You left the bedroom and went where?

(laughs) I went to America on that whole touring experience. The guys in Blinddog Smokin’ invited me to tour with them for two months to give me an education on the blues. They’re an amazing blues band and they wanted me to go out with them to experience life on the road. Every night when I was there, I would be up to the early hours after a show or just during the day and I’d do music lessons. The lead singer of the band [Carl Gustafson] became a big mentor for me and he made me aware of stage presence and really gave me a lot of focus and told me I had to put a band together and front it and start singing. That was the biggest step for me in terms of, alright, I’ve got to make this happen. I can’t ever thank these guys for the time and energy they put in to me, just making sure I’m doing it and working hard at it, the education they gave me.

Did you grow up in a musical family?

Yeah, my dad always played guitar. He had a huge collection of guitars and was always playing them. For the few days of summer in England, we’d put the speakers outside and be playing this music, like Buddy Guy. Our family is a big music family. My sister loves music and is as passionate about it as I am but in a completely different kind of music. She loves hip hop and rap and R&B.

Who would you say was THE artist or band that literally changed your life when you heard them?

Hendrix. Always, always Hendrix for me. His was one of the first guitar solos that I kind of learned. He’s really the reason I started playing guitar. I loved his style, I loved everything about the songs. Hendrix changed my life for sure.

Which solo was it you learned and what was the most complicated aspect of learning licks Hendrix created?

“Hey Joe.” I think the most complicated aspect is getting the feel. The solos are just numbers on a tab sheet – I can’t read music so it was tab for me, which is fine to read and play along. Getting the sounds/feel close to the way Hendrix did it is a whole different story. The real guitar legends are all about how they play the notes and when not to. That’s what was so hard to recreate. Didn’t stop me from wanting to learn as many as possible though!

Did Hendrix lead you to original blues or did you find that via another way?

My dad was into Buddy Guy and I learned a few of those artists. After Hendrix, I found Stevie Ray Vaughan and was curious about that and that’s how I found Albert King, cause Stevie Ray Vaughan was a big Albert King fan. I was definitely more into the fire of players like Hendrix and those who created something else. But to really understand me, you have to go back to the roots and start at the beginning, players like Leadbelly and Robert Johnson, the foundation of rock music. Hendrix wouldn’t be playing that music if it wasn’t for the blues and the original players.

You’ve opened up for some of these guys, like Buddy Guy and Johnny Winter. Which one of them did you feel an immediate kinship to?

Buddy Guy. As an entertainer, no matter what he does on the guitar, he just has something that is so intoxicating about his show. Everyone is just in a trance. When we did the few shows at festivals, it’s such a different atmosphere than anything you’ve ever seen. Like, everyone is just captivated by him. They’re looking at a legend and he’s just owning it and I love the show. I don’t like it when guys just stand and play. It doesn’t affect me emotionally. But it was such a unique experience and people were captivated.

How did you find John Mayall?

You never really expect them to come out and check out the show and hang out backstage and talk about the songs. But he was just a very genuine, nice guy. And once again, a killer showman. Twenty-five gigs in twenty-four days. He just powered through it and delivered. At one point he was very sick in the middle of the tour and he goes on stage and he kills it. But the adrenalin kicks in and he was totally fine for the next hour and a half.

Who was the first real rock star you ever met?

Keith Richards of all people. I was told at a festival that he called up to ask if I was there as he wanted to come to say hello. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked when I was brought round to be introduced, although he wasn’t … He mistook me for Ollie Brown, a six foot tall percussionist that used to play with the Rolling Stones every now and then. It became pretty awkward after that, the look on his face when he realized he got it wrong (laughs). It was still amazing to meet him and I’ll never forget that look on his face. Still laugh about it now.

The British Blues Awards have been very, very good to you. Did that recognition add to or take away any pressure to live up to those accolades?

They were amazing to receive but they didn’t change my perception in any sense, musically nor as a performer. You want your music to be out there for the people. My passion is touring, my passion is to play and entertain people and see people’s faces. It didn’t really give me extra power or position cause I didn’t want it to be that. And as far as the realization of what really means the most to me is seeing people at shows and seeing people affected. That means the most to me.

How different are your live shows with RavenEye from your blues shows?

Crazy (laughs). I am onstage and it chemically kind of changes my body and who I am. For the blues thing, it’s still a good show, it’s just a more controlled show. The blues show, you want people to really pay attention to the sound and the nuances, as an individual as well as the band; whereas RavenEye is more of an energy and the sound as a whole is this wall of sound and energy that is shared between everyone and that’s when I really feel that this band really comes to life cause it’s more kinetic energy and fans jumping around. We like to put everything into the night, including our bodies. It’s the kind of music we want to bounce to and have an atmosphere with everyone in the room. We work on the premise that everyone is in the band, we are all there, let’s have a good time and let’s get wild.

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You talk about “the vibe” quite often, that you have to feel it. So what is “the vibe” to you?

It’s a combination of many things. It’s what happens with the drums, what happens on the bass, how we feel during that day, how it feels inside that room, how the sound crew is, how it sounds onstage, how it feels onstage, how the audience is jumping about; there are so many little micro things that encompass what the vibe is for me. It’s amazing how connected we all start to feel. I love where the band is kind of unknown and we have to make the vibe, we have to set the standard of, this is what we are, this is our show, let’s get going. I love that. I love being the unknown and just going all out for it and the idea of winning people over. After a few songs, people are kind of figuring you out. It’s always more work cause you’ve really got to get out there and people are watching you and they’re waiting to figure out what they think of the band. I love creating the vibe and when you do win them over and bring them into the show and making it special.

You’re going to be opening for Slash in June in Europe. How has he been an influence on you?

I think every young guitar player wants to be Slash at some point. He had everything, the style, attitude and a killer player. I remember wanting to be like him playing on top of a grand piano like in “November Rain.” It’s pretty wild to be supporting him, can’t wait for the shows, nervous for sure but incredibly excited to go out and play them.

Why do you enjoy using his pedal brand?

The Slash MXR Fuzz has a wicked sound. We recorded the record with it too. There’s just a consistency to the fuzz on it. Sometimes I find that fuzz pedals can compress a lot and dip the low end out. This one still keeps a lot of the lower frequencies in. I love it.

What was the coolest guitar you ever saw?

My Matt Black Hofner Verythin. I know it’s a bit obvious to go for one I own but I fell in love with it when I saw a few photos of it pop up online. It’s such a beautiful instrument, the shape, style and color of it. Semi-Hollow guitars are where it’s at for me. They can pick up all that feedback and sound amazing with some hard fuzz on them.

What is your summer going to be like?

We’re doing some gigs here and there, like we’re doing the Slash shows. I’m going to spend a lot of time writing. My next focus is getting the next project ready. I want the next part to be ready and the band to be well-groomed enough that it comes out solid, you know. So it’s more preparation at the moment, planning ahead to the future. We’re looking at coming to America in October. I think next year is mainly some festivals but this year it’s just preliminaries.

Does it feel like you’ve been doing this for almost ten years?

It feels like I’ve always been doing it since I can remember. Music has been my only passion but yeah (laughs) it does feel like a while.

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