INTERVIEW - Okies (RBC Bluesfest 2018 Series)
Okies - July 5th - 6:30pm - Black Sheep Stage
Okies, from Alymer, QC, have been making waves on both sides of the river for a while now. The trio just came off of a short run tour with Ottawa's All Day Breakfast, and now they are ready to hit the Black Sheep Stage at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest! We caught up with their drummer Thomas, who shed some light on what the band has been up to! Check it out:
Q: How long has your group been together?
A: We've been together just over 4 years now.
Q: Describe the sound of your music.
A: One person once said it was like Alt-J remixed an unreleased Fleet Foxes album and I thought that was just hilariously spot-on. So I'll go with that.
Q:Have you released any new material recently? If not, do you have anything on the way?
A: We released our first full-length LP this last December entitled "Aylmer". We haven't been able to do much writing since we released it what with trying to promote the album as much as possible and also that we all, ironically, don't live in Aylmer anymore and instead all live in different places. But this summer we've had a lot of time to spend together and we've been slowly putting together new songs that we're really excited about. Hopefully we'll be able to go into the studio before the end of the year to polish off another release.
Q:It's going be a hot and sweaty festival, once again! How do you plan on keeping cool while on stage?
A: Easy. Beer, and lots of it.
Q: What are your group's plans for the rest of the summer?
A: We have a show coming up on July 13th that we're really excited about. It's something we put together with a few other local bands all over the National Capital Region and it's a benefit concert. It'll be at Avant-Garde bar and all the proceeds will go to the Wabano Center for Aboriginal Health right here in Ottawa, so please come and show your support! But other than that we're just trying to write as much as possible before hopefully booking some studio time!
Q: What local artists are you listening to right now that other people should check out?
A: All Day Breakfast is a band we just got off tour with and their new EP "Good Luck" is freaking unbelievable. They're also a couple of really cool, down-to-earth guys too. Elementals are also awesome. Riishi Von Rex, Outside I'm a Giant, Townes. Just to name a few.
Q: Where can people find you online? A: You can find us on all those social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc... We're also on pretty much all the streaming services like Spotify, Bandcamp, Google Play, iTunes as well as YouTube
