BRIAN OLIVE is this month’s Under Appreciated Rock Artist of the Month and is a super-talented singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is firmly in the rock tradition.  His albums are a (mostly) quiet storm blending roots music and psychedelia, with an astonishing number of moods, and sometimes in the same song.  

Along with the second album, Big Red and Barbacoa by past UARB Hacienda, I got a copy of his debut CD, Brian Olive in a surprise package of 3 albums that Suzy Shaw sent me in one of my Bomp! mailorder orders.  Brian Olive was previously in two rock bands having long Wikipedia articles, the Greenhornes and Soledad Brothers, though there is no article on him individually. 

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It is hard for me to pick out favorite songs on these albums; it is such fun just sitting back and listening to all the places that Brian Olive takes the listener.  I will single out “Back Sliding Soul” as a particular favorite; this song is featured on the Alive Records compilation album, Where is Parker Griggs?. 

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While he was still in high school in Ohio, Brian Olive was the guitarist in a band called Us and Them that released a four-track tape.  The garage rock band called the Greenhornes that included some members of Us and Them was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio by Craig Fox (guitar and vocals), Jack Lawrence (bass guitar), Patrick Keeler (drums), Brian Olive (guitar), and Jared McKinney (keyboards).  The group relocated to Detroit and released two albums in their original incarnation, Gun for You (1999) and The Greenhornes (2001).  Brian Olive left the band to join Soledad Brothers before the second album was released, and Jared McKinney also departed the following year; Olive was replaced by guitarist and vocalist Eric Stein.  This line-up of the Greenhornes released an album called Dual Mono in 2002.  Eric Stein left in 2002 to join the Griefs, leaving the three core members by 2003. 

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Jack White of the White Stripes organized a band called the Do-Whaters that included the rhythm section from the Greenhornes, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, plus Dave Feeny, another Detroit musician and producer.  They became the backing band for Loretta Lynn on her universally acclaimed 2004 comeback album, Van Lear Rose, which was masterminded and produced by Jack White. 

As quoted in Wikipedia:  “Rhapsody ranked the album #16 on its Country’s Best Albums of the Decade list:  ‘Jack White, of the bizarre and bluesy duo the White Stripes, produced this effort to jaw-dropping effect.  Van Lear Rose is a stripped-down effort that isn’t afraid to get dirty – both in its dark subject matter and in its raucous, gritty tones.  And as much as this body of work highlights [Loretta] Lynn’s down-home vocals (which are as strong as ever), it’s White’s production that sends her crashing – literally – into the 21st century.  On paper, these two disparate souls have little in common, but the bold excitement of the music proves the two are a match made in heaven.’” 

At a later date, Jack White would perform the same magic for the 2011 album by Wanda Jackson, The Party Ain’t Over.  It is doubtful that I would have had a chance to see her in concert in Bay St. Louis without the career revival that this album achieved. 

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A collaboration by the Greenhornes with British singer/songwriter Holly Golightly resulted in the song “There is an End”; it became the theme song for the Jim Jarmusch film, Broken Flowers (2005). 

An EP by the band called East Grand Blues came out in 2005, and a compilation album called Sewed Soles followed quickly.  While members are involved in other projects, the three-member Greenhornes remain active and released an album in 2010, Four Stars.  

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Jack White’s next musical project, the Raconteurs grew out of the Do-Whaters that had backed Loretta Lynn on Van Lear Rose; the band was organized in 2005 by Jack White, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler of the Greenhornes, and Brendan Benson (vocals, guitars, keyboards).  Since a Queensland band was already using that name, they are called the Saboteurs in Australia.  The Raconteurs was a high-profile band from the beginning, since Jack White was so well known. 

Their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers was released in May 2006; it was named Album of the Year by the British magazine Mojo.  The Raconteurs spent much of that year touring, including eight dates as the opening act for Bob Dylan in November 2006.  

Another album, Consolers of the Lonely came out in 2008.  By early 2010, the future of the Raconteurs was uncertain; Brendan Benson was quoted in February as saying:  “I think we’re all just really focused on other things.”  The band is on hiatus at present, though they have made several appearances during the past five years, including a partial reunion at one of Jack White’s solo concerts in late January 2015, when Jack Lawrence and Brendan Benson joined White on stage during his encore performance. 

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The Dead Weather is Jack White’s current band and was organized in 2009; other bandmembers include Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes, Dean Fertita (previously in Queens of the Stone Age – he also contributed to the Raconteurs album Consolers of the Lonely), and Alison Mosshart (lead singer of the indie rock band the Kills). 

The genesis of the band sprung from a concert by the Raconteurs in Memphis, when Jack White lost his voice; he asked Alison Mosshart to fill in for him on vocals.  He later asked her to record a song with him and Jack Lawrence, and they met Dean Fertita at the studio.  The Dead Weather has released two studio albums, Horehounds (2009) and Sea of Cowards (2010); Live at Third Man Records West came out between these two.  Another album is promised in 2015. 

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Soledad Brothers was formed in 1998 in Maumee, Ohio.  The name is taken from a trio of former members of the Black Panther Party who became known as the Soledad Brothers; they had been convicted of killing a white prison guard in Soledad Prison in California in January 1970.  Efforts by a number of celebrities eventually resulted in acquittal during a new trial in March 1972, though George Jackson had previously been killed during a prison uprising in 1970, and the other two are evidently still incarcerated. 

Soledad Brothers (band) grew out of a punk blues band called Henry and June, which was active from 1994 to 1996.  This name is evidently a reference to American writer Henry Miller and his wife, June Miller – or more likely, an erotic film featuring the couple called Henry & June that is based on a book of the same name, Henry and June by the famed French diarist Anaïs Nin. 

Johnny Wirick met Benjamin Smith when he joined Henry and June where Smith was already the drummer.  They later formed a two-piece band called Johnny Walker; Wirick then took the name Johnny Walker as an alias, while Smith began calling himself Ben Swank.  In 1998, they started using the name Soledad Brothers. 

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Soledad Brothers released two singles for Italy Records and Estrus Records in 1998 and 1999, plus a self-produced album in 1998 called Master Supertone having a truly tiny release (just 20 copies were pressed).  Jack White had produced the band’s second single, “The Gospel According to John”, and its success led to the album Soledad Brothers that came out on Estrus Records in 2000.  The other half of the White Stripes, Meg White contributed some percussion to the album also.  Besides their shared passion for blues rock, there were also personal reasons that led to this collaboration.  Jack White and Ben Swank had previously been roommates, and Johnny Walker played slide guitar on two tracks on the band’s debut album, The White Stripes (1999):  “Suzy Lee” and “I Fought Piranhas”.  Walker is also credited with teaching Jack White how to play slide guitar. 

A second Soledad Brothers album on Estrus Records followed in 2002, Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move.   

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Brian Olive, who was then in the Greenhornes, was recruited by Soledad Brothers shortly before the release of their second album, Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move.  In keeping with the stage names being used by the other two bandmembers in Soledad Brothers, Olive took the name Oliver Henry (“O. Henry”) during his time with the band.  Additionally, Brian Olive and Meg White had a long-term relationship in this time period. 

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I have the last two albums by Soledad Brothers:  Voice of Treason (2004) on Sanctuary Records and The Hardest Walk (2006) on Alive Records.  The Alive CD has an enlargement of their drumhead on the back cover, with the band name, the Black Panther Party logo (a panther naturally), and a slogan in Latin:  “Libertas Unitas Fraternitas”.  The meaning is “liberty, unity, brotherhood” and is similar to the slogan of the French Revolution – Liberté, Equalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) – that remains the National Motto of France.   

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Each Soledad Brothers album is more inventive and satisfying than the one before.  Both of those that I have are excellent albums; “Downtown Paranoia Blues” from the most recent album was an instant favorite.  Oliver Henry (Brian Olive) is credited on The Hardest Walk with fuzz piano, tenor and baritone sax, vocals, guitars, percussion, acoustic piano, flutes, and organ.  Sadly, Soledad Brothers broke up within weeks of the release of The Hardest Walk.  

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Brian Olive regained his name and sought to be in a band where he was the one calling the shots; that normally means a solo career.  His debut album, Brian Olive came out in 2009 on Alive Records (the same label as the last album by Soledad Brothers).  Brian Olive provides lead vocals and plays guitar, piano and woodwinds.  Backing musicians include his old friends Jared McKinney and Craig Fox of the Greenhornes, Mike Weinel (formerly of Heartless Bastards), and Dan Allaire, who has been the drummer for the Brian Jonestown Massacre since 2002.  Also there was a vocal trio assembled for the sessions composed of the Kadish Sisters and Donna Jay. 

Writing for Allmusic, Mark Deming raves:  “Most of the tunes on Brian Olive are rooted in rhythm & blues in one way or another, but the man sure isn’t shy about showing how many ways he can bend the sound to his will; ‘Stealin’’ is a funky New Orleans second-line shuffle, ‘Jubilee Line’ has a bassline James Jamerson would have been happy to call his own fortified with free jazz sax wailing, ‘High Low’ reveals echoes of 1950’s cool jazz for bachelor pads, and ‘Killing Stone’ is a piano-based rocker that recalls the early-’70s Rolling Stones.  [Brian] Olive also dips his toes into breezy faux-tropicalia on the light and sensuous ‘Echoing Light’ and some tripped-out acoustic psychedelia on ‘There Is Love’.  Olive clearly scores high on the eclecticism checklist, but he’s also a fine songwriter, generating memorable tunes regardless of his stylistic bag. . . .  Overall, Brian Olive is an impressive and pleasing solo debut that shows his chops as a producer, arranger, and songwriter make him more than just some Midwest sideman, and he should get back into the studio posthaste if there’s more where this came from.” 

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Brian Olive did as Mark Deming of Allmusic suggested; he was apparently already working on his second album, Two of Everything (2011) when the first one, Brian Olive came out.  Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys co-produced the album with Olive, and the two also share engineering duties on this venture.  Auerbach provides backing vocals along with five women. 

Patrick Rodgers writing for Nashville Scene has this to say about the Brian Olive oeuvre:  “Think high cooing vocals and airy harmonies above bluesy, gum-smacking grooves that simmer and shimmer, augmented on phenomenal cuts like ‘Back Sliding Soul’ by arrangements full of ear candy — underwater boogie piano, rump-rocking percussion, shrapnel blasts of rubbery guitar and greasy sax, and Esquivel-like electro-doinkage (wait, is that really a bagpipe?).” 

Mark Deming was just as enthusiastic about this album in his Allmusic review:  “Two of Everything doesn’t sound like [Brian] Olive has turned his back on his blues-based earlier work, but he is veering in a different direction; the results sometimes suggest a Midwestern take on Northern soul as Olive and [Dan] Auerbach throw just a little pop polish on Olive’s vocals and let the pianos and saxophones give the music a subtle but distinct retro feel, even as the steady pulse of several tunes nods politely to hip-hop.  But even as Two of Everything travels down a smoother road than its precursor, it still sounds organic, committed, and heartfelt; and Olive sure knows how to write a memorable tune:  ‘Strange Attracter’ faces a chunky, T. Rex-style guitar figure against an insistent piano-and-drum pattern that fills up the dance floor; ‘Back Sliding Soul’ suggests an unlikely but effective collaboration between NRBQ and Mark Ronson; ‘Left Side Rock’ bounces hard Southern funk rhythms off aggressive horn samples, and ‘Lost in Dreams’ is a beautifully languid bit of stoned soul love pleading.  With Two of Everything, Brian Olive is two for two in making smart, distinctive albums that push his blues and R&B influences in unexpected, compelling directions, matching and building on the strength of his debut.” 

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In June 2011 – the same week that his album Two of Everything came out – Brian Olive appeared on saxophone in the SuperJam at the massive Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.  This time, the all-star jam was led by Dr. John and Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. 

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Dan Auerbach had wanted to produce an album with Dr. John exploring the territory that he staked out in the late 1960’s and 1970’s as Dr. John the Night Tripper.  The result is Locked Down, a 2012 release, with Auerbach producing and several young musicians backing Dr. John.  Among others, Brian Olive is shown as co-writer with Dr. John on all of the songs (as is Dan Auerbach), and he also plays saxophone. 

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Brian Olive was one of several Alive Records artists who performed at the Deep Blues Festival in June-July 2012 in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  A CD called Alive at the Deep Blues Fest includes two of his songs, “Traveling” and “Bonelle” (both on his second album, Two of Everything).  

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Besides his own recording efforts, in recent years Brian Olive has produced several albums for artists like Electric Citizen and Daniel Wayne at The Diamonds studio in his new home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, where his two solo albums were also produced.   

As an example, in the spring of 2014, Brian Olive produced the new album Diamonds for a Dayton, Ohio band called Cricketbows.  The band’s vocalist and guitarist Chad Wells says of him:  “Brian Olive was an amazing guy to work with.  He didn’t try to push us to be something that we’re not and whenever we’d start to glide into a direction that felt insincere, he’d pull us back.  He was more interested in getting a great, truthful performance out of us – warts and all – than trying to polish us or do a bunch of takes to achieve some manufactured perfection.”  

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In July 2014, Brian Olive released a four-song EP called Move.  Speak into My Good Eye – which bills itself as the top independent music source in New Jersey – says of the new release:  “With Move, [Brian] Olive presents all the tricks he has in his solo songbook, especially those acquired while working with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys on a sophomore solo effort named Two of Everything (2011).  Compressed in this tightly knit four-song package is an alluring bit of beauty and craftsmanship that certainly make the listener want to hear more music in this vein, and with any luck this is merely a preview of a larger recording effort to come.” 

A full-length album is planned in the Spring of 2015.  Brian Olive also has a Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/BrianOliveMusic .  

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On August 26, 2014, Brian Olive appeared on the Daytrotter sessions, a series of short interviews and musical performances out of Rock Island, Illinois.  Wikipedia says of Daytrotter:  “Daytrotter is a website for the recording studio Horseshack, which hosts recording sessions with many popular and typically up-and-coming indie music acts, although it works with local bands in the Illinois area as well.  This innovative music studio was founded in 2006 by Sean Moeller.  The sessions can be compared to that of a radio station’s lounge recordings, where musicians passing through the town can record live in the studio.  Due to their tendency to offer an eclectic sampling of music, and their production style, the sessions have been compared to that of the legendary Peel Sessions.” 

Of the 1200 Daytrotter sessions in 2014, the studio ranked Brian Olive’s appearance in the Top 100 (each got a colored sketch on the Daytrotter website).   

(February 2015)

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