Today we’d like to introduce you to Owen Weber.
Hi Owen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Alton, Illinois, and grew up a little drive away in Grafton. Since I was a kid, I’ve been interested in music. I played drums in a band and jazz band throughout my schooling. Sometime in my sophomore year of high school, I started to pick up the guitar. The addition of learning guitar helped me understand the music better. Around the same time, my dad gave me his old digital Tascam multitrack to record some music (mainly Mac Demarco covers and stuff I was writing). This was my workflow until the Spring of 2020 when the pandemic shut down my school. Conveniently, Albeton started giving a free trial of Live during the pandemic. This is how I began recording most of the tracks of the first EP, “Untitled 2019-2021”, except “You,” which was done on the Tascam. Inspired by Tame Impala and Alex G, I kept writing and recording tracks throughout high school as a fun way to be creative. To show my work, I released the music under the name Olive, a nickname my friend gave me in high school.
In the fall of my first year at college, I released my first album, “Roots,” which was a collection of songs written in my senior year of high school that I recorded and mixed throughout that year and the summer of 2022. In that same semester, I began writing on and off in my dorm room and working with Prof. Vandiver in the studio at school which resulted in the “Folk” EP in February 2023. I recorded that EP during my last week of winter break on an old Tascam cassette machine. By the spring semester, I started wanting to play music, so I got my longtime family friend Jake Gordon to play bass with me (we had been a small band in high school previously). Jake and I began learning tunes for a theoretical live set until sometime in July when I ran into Ian Whitmore at Maevas Coffee in Alton. Ian had been playing drums in the local music scene for a while and said he had heard my music through a Spotify tag I put up outside the shop. After some discussion, he offered to play drums for Olive. I accepted, of course, on the condition that I play drums live for his solo project (a win-win scenario!). From there, we began working on learning Olive tunes as a band, and in August, I asked my longtime friend Cole Raub to play lead guitar for the band, which he graciously agreed to. Since then, we’ve been playing gigs around the Alton and STL area and having a lot of fun doing it. I am working on finalizing a new Olive release while being a full-time jazz performance major at SIUE.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Other than the usual life challenges, things with Olive have been relatively smooth. I am thrilled and grateful that I can bring these songs to life with a full band and continue to write music with my friends. This is just the beginning of things.
Thanks for sharing that. So, tell us more about your work next.
Currently, I’m working on a bachelor’s in jazz performance with a specialization in drums. So drums are my main instrument, but I still play guitar and sing for Olive live, and I played all the instruments, recorded, mixed, and mastered all of the current Olive releases. I also play drums for Ian Whitmore’s solo project and my dad’s country band, Jake Weber and the Lonesome Drifters. If I had to pick, I would be most proud of the next Olive release because it has been the most time-consuming and well-produced work. People tell me I’m always busy, so I think that may be what sets me apart. I’m always looking forward to the next big thing.
What matters most to you?
Out of all the music I play, I continue to work on creative efforts because of that feeling you’ve connected with someone. I only originally began writing music as a solo project because of the influence of people like Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. Like many other albums at low points, their album “Lonerism” got me through a rough time in high school. I make music so that someone else can get through a rough time. The more profound connection to the listener, whether it be your parents, friends, or people you haven’t even met before, keeps me creative. That’s what matters most to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://olivemusics.wordpress.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivemusics
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082471088044
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@olivemusic21
- Other: https://linktr.ee/olivemusics
Image Credits
Jessica Gould, Lincoln Warner, Alex St. Cin
