Today we’d like to introduce you to Shades of Oleander. Them and their team share their story with us below:
For Josh Rivers (Lead vocals, Keys, Guitar), Phillip McCarthy (Lead Guitar, Bass), and Josh Foust (Drums), forming as ‘Shades of Oleander’ at the start of 2020 may have seemed like a good idea in January, but, by March the world had descended into utter chaos and it was clear that we were not going to be making any public appearances anytime soon. In hindsight, I guess that was a good thing because it allowed us to really take our time and write some great songs! And now we are working hard to get out and play shows as well as releasing some of the work we’ve been doing.
We released our first single, “L Words,” in February of 2021 and its music video in March, which has garnered more than 90k streams across streaming platforms. Our second release, “Hell Bent,” was released in July and is already over 150k streams as well! We also have a music video for this single scheduled for release in August. Lastly, we have our debut album set to drop on October 31st! This will lock in a truly great start for the band’s introduction to the world and we hope you’re there with us!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m not sure how many smooth roads actually exist but we’ve definitely had our struggles. Being in an industry that typically requires large groups of people in close proximity to each other when the world needed social distancing wasn’t easy for anyone in entertainment. Even now, as the world has been opening back up, there is understandably hesitation on hosting events that promote large crowds. I would say that has been our biggest struggle by far but we are finding more and more ways to get out and be heard. We truly believe that the world will always need music that speaks to people and we hope to be a voice.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
For us, music speaks to most aspects of life. From politics and spirituality to relationships and the mundane, music covers it all. It’s a voice for those who may not have the words themselves and its perspectives that we may be overlooking. We strive to find those voices and words and make sure they are heard. It may not seem obvious at first when listening to our current two releases but even they have deeper meanings when you think about them.
At first, listen one may think that ‘L Words’ is just a funny/sarcastic break-up song but let’s put it into perspective. The song is about a person reminiscing on a past love that didn’t work out and starts listing reasons why; “His lights gone out. His liver’s washed in liquors lust.” Then finding a seeming link to words that begin with the letter L, continues. Now I know that I won’t ever be free of L words like ‘love’ and ‘leave.’ The narrative then comes full circle when he realizes that he doesn’t want to live a life without love and finishes; “Fuck L words like living life alone and lost.”
‘Hell Bent’ came about from a conversation where someone made a comment regarding people with addiction. They stated that we shouldn’t waste time and money trying to help those people because it’s their choice and ended with the comment, “If they die from an overdose, then there’s no more problem.” Thinking that was a horrible thing to say, ‘Hell Bent was written from the perspective of the addict who’s finishing line is, “The crack in my soul is leaking drugs. Put a whole in my heart and through my lungs.” If you listened to the lyrics and thought, “This sounds like a cry for help.” Congratulations, you understood the material!
Any big plans?
We are most excited for our debut album set to drop on October 31st! Even though we have all been involved in the music industry for many years with various other projects, I can honestly say this is our best work to date! We are so grateful that we found each other and have been able to create some truly incredible songs! We cannot wait to show them to you all!
Contact Info:
- Email: shadesofoleander@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shadesofoleander
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shadesofoleander
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShadeofOleander
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhswNoJftn2ygBpqLk_Lpg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/shadesofoleander
