INTERVIEW: OLIVER FOREST: A SOUNDTRACK FOR YOU AND YOUR BESTIES
My first exposure to your music was seeing you live. From the first song or two, I thought your live show was excellent. According to you, what makes a great live show?
Meg: A connection with the audience is pretty important. That's probably #1 for me especially when I go to see shows. I love when there is lightness to the vibe (not in terms of the topics discussed or sung about but more like a general lightheartedness).
Robin: I was introduced to what makes a good show through Oliver Forest. I had never realized what a good show was before. Before I joined the band, they started working with someone to make their show better in terms of performance. For me, it needs to be an experience from start to finish. I work in the cinema industry in Quebec. In my head, it's like a whole film and every single song is a scene. You have transitions between each of those scenes. All of the dialogue is important. The lighting is important. Where we are on stage at what moment should be important. To me, that's what makes a good show, this kind of synergy that happens. Everything is pretty planned with room for a little of organic stuff to happen too. Seeing the band now and comparing it to when I used to go see Oliver Forest live before I joined them, the performance has skyrocketed. It's been interesting to see that evolution. They were good live even before. There is actually a transition now between every song.
Josh: We cannot longer say the name of a song before we play it. *laughs. I think it's about the whole experience of the set. It's about making a good experience. That can look different for different bands.
Jon: I think a core element is knowing that the band is having a good time. That's something we definitely achieve. When we play, I think there is a real sense of fun, a real sense of wanting to be up there. Even if we played to an empty room we would still be happy doing it. I think you get that vibe when you are watching the show.
Do you approach every show the same way whether you are headlining or opening for another band? (example: that night versus. when you opened for Bastille)
Josh: Maybe not but we should. We were supposed to open for Bastille but the day of, the show got cancelled. At the end of the day, any show that you do, you want to captivate the audience whether you are headlining or opening. In my experience watching, I often see this lack of curating a show from openers. It's such a lost opportunity. That's where people most likely don't know you and won't necessarily be happy with you playing one song after the other. The headlining band can kind of get away with that.
Robin: I remember we practiced way more for that show (opening for Bastille). We rented a huge projector. I remember going to the South Shore to get that projector. We wanted to project the Oliver Forest logo and perhaps other things. We were definitely thinking more about how we could elevate the show. We were more precise about what we were going to wear and what the setlist would look like. We should probably be doing it more like Josh said.
Meg: For the opener, we do try to pack in as many as the fun moments. As a headliner, we take it easy for a second. We do some of the slower songs. We know people are there because they like our music.
Do you have any advice for opening bands who think they should just play the songs and that's it?
Josh: On paper, you should take every opportunity seriously. If you are going to play in front of a new audience, make sure you have the tools to captivate them. The more new eyes you are in front of, the more important it is to make a good impression on all of those people.
Meg: I feel like I had to make everything happen perfectly and I would get really anxious about things being not exactly how we rehearsed. At some point, we were like: "We just need to have fun." It does not have to be so intense. It helped us let loose. Also, if people aren't jamming, that's okay. You can still have fun and give the same amount. That's really the main thing.
Robin: I really think preparation is important. Some people rock on instincts. I'm an instinctful actor to some extent. The first time I started getting yeses at auditions was when I started learning my lines properly. Before you get on stage, know your lines, know your songs, know what they mean, know why you're there, know what your set is like. When you are extra prepared, that's when instincts and fun come out. That's something I still need to do.
You have a quite strong online presence. From photos to clips of you performing your songs (or dancing to your own music)+ music videos+ acoustic versions of originals. How do you manage to find the time and the motivation to deliver all of this content?
Robin: We are fortunate in many ways. I personally pretty much don't work. I feel like I have a lot of time on my hands. I have time to edit stuff when we have a song coming out. We all have this ability to move things around in our schedule very easily. That's probably key to be honest. We also schedule in advance a day to shoot a bunch of stuff. Sometimes, it's not planned at all. Sometimes before practice, Meg is like: "TIKTOKS! TIKTOKS!" Then, we know we need to shoot TikToks. We would have these days on Fridays where Megan and I would get together and edit a bunch of shorts and schedule them. For example, we would schedule one or two shorts a day for two weeks for a month and a half. Treating it like a job to a certain extent is important too. We also have friends that help us. Our friend Flip helped us during a whole day to film a bunch of shorts. Using the resources that we have. Building good relationships with people. Sometimes, the content doesn't do well.
Josh: The motivation comes and goes, I would say. Sometimes, I don't really want to do this. Not all is going to be fun and games.
Meg: We definitely take breaks. Thankfully, we have had some really nice music videos in the past. A lot of us have skills (editing, filming) that aren't music related that help us curate nice content.
Can you think of a specific TikTok that you filmed that was the most fun?
Josh: There is one we did for our song called "Trouble" where the first frame is Rob's exposed belly. It's very close to his stomach. He looks a bit pregnant.
Robin: We did a short for "Jean Guy". We had a little skit. In this song, there is a line that goes: "What would I do if I had to sacrifice you?" We reenacted a scene from the bible where the son gets carried by the father to get sacrificed on the mountain. Josh was picking me up. I was playing the son.
Meg: There was a green screen. It was very realistic. We did an acoustic version of "Somebody Else" on a mountain in Rigaud close to where John lives. It was peaceful. There is one where we went to a Dollarama and it was really funny. It was quiet and we were singing.
If your song "Best Friends" could be the soundtrack of any friendship of any TV show or movie, what duo/group friends and what TV show/movie would it be?
Meg: I would say Gilmore Girls. They're mother and daughter but they're like best friends! And now is the time for Gilmore Girls (fall, winter).
Robin: There is a movie called Mid 90s. It's the first movie that Jonah Hill directed. It's about this kid who wants to be a skater. It's all shot in 4:3. It's such a good movie! I would probably put it in that movie somehow, somewhere. To me, writing or thinking about that song, I would assign it to a friendship I have, my friendship with my buddy Sam. Everytime, I would talk about the lyrics to that song to the band, I would have a specific image in mind of that friendship with him: me leaving him before the sun goes down when I was in elementary school. Getting on my bike, leaving his house; the sky would be orange. I remember thinking: "He's still alive back there. Even if I don't see him anymore right now, he's still living. He's as conscious as I am. I wonder what he's doing. Tomorrow, I know I'll be able to ask him about it."
John: I would say Castaway with Tom Hanks.
Meg and Josh at an event In the Round, photo taken by me (Ariane/MusicBreather)
You have a self-sabotage anthem literally entitled "Sabotage". Is the song based on personal experiences?
Josh: It draws from people sabotaging themselves without even doing the extreme things mentioned in the lyrics.
Meg: I remember writing the second verse thinking about the randomest shit. So, no. It was fun to write though.
Robin: For me, it definitely comes from a place of truth. Josh was saying how some people a tendency to sabotage themselves. I don't have a tendency. I have a talent for it. Everything that is mentioned in the song, even though it's a bit far-fetched, I feel like most of it has happened to me. I have never brought weed across the border though.
There are 4 of you. If you could describe your music using 1 word (to someone who hasn't heard it before) what world would it be?
Meg: Electic!
Robin: Creamy!
Josh: Energetic!
John: Electic is definitely the word. When you go through our catalogue, there is divergence between styles. There are some running themes. There is a very melodic undertone in most of the music we do. What is interesting for us when we perform, it's not the same song being played with slight variations. It's completely different genres that come through. That is definitely the thing I love the most about the band. Josh can throw some Hip Hop influences at times. He produces everything. If I had to choose a word, I would say electrifying.
You have done many cool things so far such as performing an acoustic version of your song "Sabotage" on Rythme FM. Your song "Trouble" was heard on Salut Bonjour. What has been the highlight?
John: Performing on Rythme FM was fun. One of the hosts of that show was actually one of my really good high school friends. It wasn't planned through her at all. It was Matt Duff who hit us up. He happened to be working with her that summer. There was a nice personal element to it. Just the experience of playing on the radio was a lot of fun.
Josh: It's radio so you cannot swear and that song has a lot of it. We had to make some version of it that was equally quirky and campy.
Meg: We put some thought into it!
Robin: The fact that "Sabotage" was taken to be in the intro of a French Canadian show I auditioned for but didn't get the role. Our song "No Rush" was also picked to be in a show that I'm in that will come out eventually. The writer told me that they loved my band. My third highlight would be the show we did for Prima in Abiti, opening for Les Soeurs Boulay. That was a sick show! I got to play in front of my whole family. I'm from Abiti. I'm from Val-d'Or. 300 people were there. Packed room.
The music video for "No Rush"
What would you like to achieve next?
Josh: At the end of the day, we want to make great music that moves people.
Robin: Osheaga! Also, it could be fun to do a very small Quebec tour at some point (next year or two). It could be a nice little goal. Releasing an album next year is pretty much what I'm focussing on that is realistic.
You mentioned Osheaga. Have you attented Osheaga as a fan before?
Josh: Yes, and Meg has played with at least one act at Osheaga before and that was super cool!
Can you think of a specific set you really enjoyed?
Robin: I would say Childish Gambino.
Josh: Men I Trust, Mitski.
As we mentioned earlier, you have a song called "Best Friends". What qualities do you look for in a best friend?
Robin: If I had to pick one, I would say blunt honesty. I'm looking for someone who's incredibly honest and who's not afraid to have conversations about controversial topics, share their feelings. Through honesty, I see authenticity.
Ariane
LINKS TO FURTHER DISCOVER AND SUPPORT OLIVER FOREST
Even though this got published on Friday the 13th, today has been a very good day so far! And this interview is definitely something that made me happy today. This blog is my good luck charm.
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