BIO - Three brothers from other mothers (and fathers)
got together, from the OC, LA and DC, to create a miscellaneous
collection of musical works aka OLIO. Inspired by everything from Black
Sabbath to Barry White these guys stir up an eclectic blend of
rock/pop/funk music and serve it up hot! Whether it’s songs about
break-ups, make-outs, shake-ups or four letter words, Olio produces
electrifying, positive music from their studio in Los
Angeles, CA. On stage Arif Hodzic sings and breaks strings (sometimes
his right hand gets heavy), DeHaven Carrington grooves on drums and
croons (when the lights are low and the mood is right), and newest
member Kelley Hill is a fireball of energy, bouncing on one leg and just
tearing the bass up (you may even see metal shavings come off the
neck).
Olio hit the road in the USA the summer of 2013 for their
“Comeback Kings Tour.” Played a successful string of dates in Seattle,
Portland, San Francisco and cities in between in June and Scottsdale,
Austin, Fort Worth, Little Rock, Columbus, Philadelphia, NYC, DC, Kill
Devil Hills and Atlanta in July and August. 5 weeks, 11,000 miles and 30
shows! They went back into the studio to record a brand new album
"Untitled" due for release in March 2014. This is a much anticipated
project, after their time with recording legend Eddie Kramer, who
produced the band's last two EP's, the aforementioned Comeback Kings
& the yet to be released France Sessions.
Back on December
18, 2012 Olio released the Comeback Kings EP produced by legendary
producer/engineer Eddie Kramer (Hendrix, Zeppelin, Beatles, Stones,
Santana, Woodstock, Kiss, Frampton, Robert Randolph, Grace Potter). This
session was born from a project at Loyola Marymount University where
Eddie and the band recorded their first single together "Hello/Goodbye".
This prompted a new relationship so the band & Eddie could finish
an EP. Before the project was done, Eddie needed a band to do a session
in France for a Recording Workshop for some of the worlds top young
Producers.
So Olio got on a plane and while there, they laid down
the foundation tracks for the France Sessions EP. More importantly they
wrote two new songs while there. One of which is "Rich People Problems"
which Eddie loved and had the band record it immediately! old school
style, no click track, just push record and go! The song is now a staple
in the live shows and shows the raw energy of the band as well as their
groovesmanship. the second song "Round & Round" can be heard on
their 2014 release "Untitled."
2011 is what kind of started all
of this good fortune. Olio won the Emerging Artist Competition held by
Rusty’s on the Santa Monica Pier. They were the only band to play the
Twilight Dance Series twice in one summer, opening for Dawes with
Jackson Browne in front of a crowd of several thousand music lovers.
Shortly there after bassist Kelley Hill joined the band and they have
been non-stop ever since.
Other accolades include the celebrated
release of their 2010 single “Get It Good” following the success of the
2009 11 song album “Living The Dream.” The songs are dynamic ranging
from the nylon stringed sweetness of “Completely Beautiful” about the
profound impact of becoming a parent (received an Honorable Mention
Award in the 2008 West Coast Songwriters International Competition) to a
hard rock/rap collab that already has 20,000 NJ Devils fans shouting
“Here We Go” at the Prudential Center. Their homage to the mamacita de
futbol aka “Soccer Mom” inspired one impassioned UK critic to call them
“sexist and subtle as a sledghammer.” (Olio still thinks Benny Hill,
John Cleese and Ricky Gervais are funny) The sound created is rich and
packs a punch reminiscent of the John Mayer Trio while thematically
aiming for Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life.”
To
experience Olio only on recording is like Vader without the Darth.
Whether it’s 30 minutes or 3 hours, the energy generated by these three
could power a small town (or even the lesser known planet
Zeta-Reticulan5). So, maybe the question isn’t Who or What is Olio but
rather When and Where?