Alberta rocker group Oldbury recently took time out of their busy schedule to chat with GayCalgary Magazine. These boys are helping to put Red Deer on the map as they work their way up in the music industry; Oldbury has already opened for big names such as Our Lady Peace and Sublime. The band spoke to us in an Email interview:
GC: It is great to hear such a distinctive sound coming from GayCalgary’s home province of Alberta. Can you tell us a bit about your roots?
O: The band has been on the scene for eight years now. We are very fortunate to still have 3 of the founding members: Josh Baynes (Lead Vocal), Craig Olsen (Bass/Vocal) and Jeff Talbot (Drums). Ryan Marchant (Guitar/Vocal) joined the band over a year ago but it feels like he has been with us the entire time. Losing members and finding replacements is always a difficult thing but Ryan is such a great fit in musical style and personality that he has fast become a part of the Oldbury family.
GC: What have been the biggest challenges being a band from small town Alberta?
O: There are certainly challenges (not many talent scouts are hanging out in Red Deer) but our little city has an amazing live music community. All of the bands are friends with each other and work together to promote and further everyone’s interests. Red Deer is also great from a geographical perspective as it gives us easy access to Calgary, Edmonton and really all of Alberta.
GC: What inspired you to pursue music? Was there a specific artist or era of music that really spoke to you and made you decide music was your destiny?
O: All of us were drawn to music early on in life. All of us played in various high-school rock bands before we even met and had a taste of the delicious rock-sauce before Oldbury was formed. Once we sampled the sauce we were addicted to Rock!
All of us were greatly influenced by the 90’s music scene, as that was the decade that we were teenagers and first getting into using music as a method of separating ourselves from the influence of our parents and finding those first threads of individuality. Bands like NOFX, Pearl Jam, Big wreck, Soundgarden, Counting Crows, Bad Religion and many more provided the soundtrack to those years. Hints of those epic acts can still be heard in our songs.
GC: In July you released RIDE! Can you tell us about this album?
O: RIDE! Is our second album and we tried very hard to apply the lessons learned from recording the first album. The result of that effort is a solid rock album that really exudes the personality of the band. To us the album is a nine-song story of pursuing a dream that requires constant sacrifice while at the same time enjoying life and truly having fun. Life is a blazing dragon, so....RIDE!
GC: Every song offers a different flavor of emotion, and energy. What inspires your lyrics?
O: We are glad you noticed! We work hard to make sure that each song is its own individual entity while still maintaining the Oldbury vibe. The lyrics are all based on the lives that we live every day. Some of them are very story based and written literally about a specific experience (Bentagain and Loss Vegas are prime examples) and some are about the emotion that comes along with being in a band; that insanely formidable feeling of connecting with a crowd and giving them everything we have (the theme behind Absolutely Everything).
GC: What category do you feel your distinctive sound would fall into?
O: This is always the most difficult question to answer. We are certainly a rock band but as you noticed each song contains different elements of other genres. Punk, classic rock, pop, folk, and alternative music all make appearances in different songs. Josh calls it "Kinetic Rock" because every song no matter what the tempo or theme has the momentum of a freight train; a runaway heartbeat.
GC: Can you tell us what the atmosphere at one of your live shows is like?
O: We want people’s hearts to pound, to feel a sense of power, to feel what we feel when we are pouring our souls onto a stage. It is an atmosphere of energy! We are a band that works hard to entertain; we want the crowd to jump and dance and sing so we lead by example. No one is bored at an Oldbury show!
GC: What have been your proudest achievements so far?
The most recent is being invited to Toronto for Canadian Music Week in March 2013 for sure. Other things would be playing the Boonstock Music Festival, rocking the Edmonton Events Center, playing opening spots for Sublime, The Trews, Our Lady Peace and Trooper, Winning the Kokanee Freeride Battle of the Bands, releasing the album RIDE! and our new music video "Car Ride" that has been getting tons of views on YouTube.
GC: To date, what has been your favourite track? Do you have a favourite song to perform live?
O: I think that our two favorites right now are Bentagain and Loss Vegas. Both of these songs are very personal and the crowd always gets into them and sings along. There is no feeling on earth like the feeling you get when the crowd takes over the chorus. A choir of awesome!
GC: What has been the most memorable performance?
O: I would say Boonstock 2011. We got to open for Sublime and the crowd was massive, not to mention super responsive to our show. We could feel the roar from the sea of people in our chests.
GC: What can fans expect to see from Oldbury in 2013?
O: Expect tons of shows and a Canadian tour in March that will take us through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. We also plan on releasing a new EP after the tour. Keep your eyes out for our name on the 2013 Boonstock lineup as well. It is all about building the momentum that we have gotten started in 2012.
GC: The rest of the world is missing out on hearing your distinct sound. Any plans for an international tour in the works?
O: Not as of yet but we have been chatting with some booking agents about cracking into different countries. So far Japan and a few European nations have been tossed around as possibilities.
GC: Any closing thoughts for the readers of GayCalgary Magazine?
O: Just thank you. Thank you for caring about live music, not just our band but all of the hardworking indie acts out there. Thank you for going out to shows and supporting the bars, festivals and organizations that provide us places to play and faces to play to. Live music is a living beast that must be fed to keep it alive and strong....FEED THE BEAST!!!