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Olivia Dolphin
901 Plays4 months ago
It was a pleasure to talk to Olivia Dolphin about her deep literary and musical talents back in Episode 116
Providence, Rhode Island’s Olivia Dolphin brings a deep and gritty honesty to her lyrics that captures an audience. Whether it’s a song about embracing your imperfections, being ghosted, or challenging yourself, Dolphin’s vulnerability pulls you in.
Enjoy the single "Quiet Girls" and this talk about life, magick, art, literature and the things we live for . . .
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Reunion with Olivia Dolphin
00:00:01
Speaker
You are listening to something rather than nothing. Creator and host, Ken Volante. Editor and producer, Peter Bauer.
00:00:16
Speaker
Hey everybody, this is Ken Volante with the Something Rather Than Nothing podcast, and I am super excited to have Olivia Dolphin back on the show. And Olivia, we just started talking before we got on here. is three Almost three years ago, you were on 2021. Welcome back.
00:00:35
Speaker
Thank you so much. It's it's good to be back. 2021 seems like a lifetime ago. But um yeah, I'm so happy to be back. It's so cool. It's so cool. 2021. Yeah, it does seem like a long time ago, but it's
Podcast Anniversary and Social Media Discussion
00:00:51
Speaker
really cool. um You know, I've been the fifth as a few days here before.
00:00:58
Speaker
our fifth year anniversary on the show of me doing the show. So the show's been going for a while and I think it's kind of interesting to see the passage of time. I do an episode weekly and it was really good to see. um you know I saw you on social media. I saw you on Instagram.
00:01:16
Speaker
And a good part of being the the host and being connected with ah creative talent is like, you got no music. And I'm like, all right, this is really cool. um And you know the pieces that connect us just remind listeners, if if you remember Olivia from back before, um both went to the University
Olivia's New Band and Music Scene Involvement
00:01:35
Speaker
of Rhode Island. I had seen a bit about your um publication journal, Wizards in Space, featured in the University of Rhode Island.
00:01:45
Speaker
magazine so that was cool and I learned you did music and um in in over there in Providence and I'm from Pawtucket so it's been it I really enjoy this opportunity to kind of jump back ah you know with your over to Rhode Island with that overlap but um it's 2024 now what what what's what what you got going on what's uh oh my god like What's going on? Where
Emerging Art Scene in Pawtucket
00:02:12
Speaker
do you even start? so First of all, that's such a blast from the past. um I still love URI and Pawtucket has this like awesome art scene coming up right now. Pawtucket is like doing really awesome things. ah so Shout out to Pawtucket. Since we last talked,
00:02:31
Speaker
so um I started playing with with a little bit of a different band arrangement, so I started playing out with like a full band, ah which was just so fun and so cool. We could definitely get into that. um and then ah we as a full band decided we wanted to drop, we wanted to record an album. So that was like a big project for us in 2023 and spilling over into 2024. And that was a different kind of approach that we did from my first um set of music that I released. um I worked with um a big studio called Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island, which is actually my hometown.
00:03:18
Speaker
Yeah. um So that was such a cool experience to do that with the full band. so um And we've been slowly releasing a couple singles um over the past couple months, and then that's leading up to a full album release at the start of the fall.
Final Issue of 'Wizards in Space' and Publications
00:03:39
Speaker
So that's kind of our main our main driver. um But I've been really focusing on on music and the local scene of Providence and just really exploring that avenue. um Another really important milestone is that Wizards in Space, we launched our ninth issue.
00:03:58
Speaker
And that was actually our last dialogue nine. Thank you. Yeah, that was um earlier this year or late last year. I can't remember. It's all blurring together. But ah issue nine of Wizards in Space came out and that's actually our last issue. um So we decided to retire the project. um And so that was like a huge milestone for us as well. that's ah I wanted to jump on on Wizards in Space. um like Is there a way to get like the whole set or like how do folks like to get those? I know they were individually supported at the the time and we had talked about that on last episode, but can folks get old copies or what's the deal? You can definitely get old copies. um We never reprinted, like we stopped reprinting like issues one and two, but I think we have a ton of back stock of later um
00:04:46
Speaker
later sets at WizardsInSpaceMag.com and everything is like super on sale right now because at this point our main mission is to clean out our personal closets. So if you want to buy like t-shirts and merch and old issues like ah definitely like buy a bunch give them as gifts because uh first of all there there it's a printed literary magazine where all the writers are paid um if you're not familiar with lizards in space it leans like spec thick and fantasy but um but there's like a ton of really brilliant like poetry in there so there's something for everyone we published comics um and like art and everything and it's got kind of
00:05:24
Speaker
kind of these threads of of magic that that tie it all together, but the magic of like just just loving writing and and and loving a really good story. um So those are all for sale at WizardsInTheSpaceMag.com, and I hope you go and buy them if you're listening, because I need some awesome space back.
00:05:41
Speaker
No, um yeah, when you're talking about like personal closet, it wasn't like a metaphor or some type of thing. It was like, no probably literally the closet you'd like some space back. Yes, I literally would like space back. Yeah, I mean, we're just a small small like team of people like humans like you and me and everyone so literally when we publish these books and we print a bunch of back stock they sit in our closets and we mail them out as orders come in so so please if you're listening um help us
00:06:13
Speaker
help us
Providence Music Scene and Live Performances
00:06:14
Speaker
clear up. I'll promise to hit you up on that point after after we record. yeah um ah So ah a bunch of different things to talk about. um It's great to hear you record in Lincoln, Rhode Island. as I went to high school in Cumberland, Rhode Island nearby. I've had relatives live over there, so I know ah that area that area well. and so it' It feels like You know, really, really cool to have that connections and talking about, um, uh, wizards and, and space and your wonderful work on that and, and the collective spirit and and and vibe and folks getting paid in high quality art and storytelling.
00:06:53
Speaker
And to be honest with you, too, like I remember I was listening to our old episode that we did. And just like there's something really cool about talking about those things in space and magic and ah Harry Potter and fantasy and all these pieces. I really liked the vibe. And when we talked about that last time and and and stuck on my head that it was in the fall. I like spooky season September over, you know, so.
00:07:20
Speaker
um in in in and really enjoy that so um I saw on your social media Instagram as such I saw you playing a lot of live what's going on with the Playing live and the type of places you've been hitting up but in the Rhode Island New England area Yeah. Okay. This is like one of my favorite things to talk about. So to set the scene, I now play with a full band. And I say now because previously I was either doing a lot of single shows. um I'm a vocalist, so I sing. I write all my own songs, but I also play the piano. So I'm a singer-songwriter who plays the piano. And before I was playing with like another guitarist that would do kind of like acoustic strumming stuff and then a bass player. So we had this like
00:08:04
Speaker
thin but you know but awesome like arrangement. um and And it really set me up as a like for a foundation of finding my sound. um But the two guys I was playing with, um you know I started playing more and more and they couldn't commit to that kind of pacing. So you know we I said, maybe I'll find other guys to play with. And the whole thing fell together kind of like faded faded in a way. So um my partner's in the band with me. He plays harmonica and he started sitting in on a couple couple of shows. He works with people, as we all do. And ah one of his coworkers came to the show and his coworker after the show came up to me and he was like, do you need a drummer? And I was like, yeah, I do.
00:08:49
Speaker
need a drummer. And he was like, I'll drum for you. And I was like, okay. And I was like, you know what, if this guy, you know, his name is Sam, if Sam wants to jump for me, then I'm going to distrust that he's a good drummer. that I'm going to roll with it. And so Sam joined the band and he's an incredible drummer.
00:09:05
Speaker
And we have a very similar background in classical training and marching band. And so when we're writing together and we're we're arranging this, you can really hear that that magic much magic background.
00:09:19
Speaker
ah So that was perfect. And then I already knew of Sam and Jeff got along. At the time, I was also playing a lot of shows so and I was having my friend Luke um on the bill. and And Luke is an incredible musician. He's been so supportive and so like a creative thought partner of mine for a really long time. And so I went to him and I said, Luke, you know, we've been doing these shows together. You're on your your original stuff. I'm on my original stuff, but I need a guitarist.
00:09:45
Speaker
You know, I want to give you first right of refusal. Are you interested? Like no pressure. But like we've been doing this thing together. Do you want to take it to the next level? And he was like, yeah, let's try it out. And I was like, OK. I was like, let's just give it a shot. So it was me, Sam, Jeff and Luke for quite some time.
00:10:00
Speaker
um And Jeff also, he plays um harmonica, but he amplifies it. So he runs it through guitar pedals, kind of like distortion pedals, um and it runs through an amp, so it's amplified. And it is like the coolest sound I've ever heard in my life. It's extremely compelling. And people, when they come to the shows, they're like, what was that noise? And I was like, that was Jeff on the amplified harmonica. And ah and and suddenly I'm like overshadowed by the the by the amplified harmonica.
00:10:28
Speaker
And then last but not least, um we needed a bass player driven by the the fact that we wanted to record. And I asked a previous band member of Jeff's, his name is Johnny McMahon, and I asked Johnny if he wanted to sit in on a couple shows and sit in on the studio sessions and Johnny Really completed um us finding our our sound and Johnny is an incredible bass player and he um He's just an incredible musician look all around he collects old keyboards. He fixes old keyboards um You know old organs and things like that So he's just like very knowledgeable about about music and arranging and he's been in the game a long time and so that's that's the crew we play with now and um
00:11:12
Speaker
We've kind of found this stride of 90s feminine rock, but with a lot of like orchestral um influences, which is really cool. and we're playing um i like to call it I don't know if the guys like to call it this, but I like to call it witch pop. That sounds right.
00:11:31
Speaker
stop right Yeah, so it's very um driven by the magic of community and our our collective love of nature and um just just the fact that we love oh playing music together and we love you know spending time together and doing these things and um making sure that what we're doing feels right for everyone. And it's just like it's just a really cool way to kind of make magic together. So we're calling it Witch Pop,
Musical Influences and Artistic Reflection
00:11:59
Speaker
um which is super fun. And then we've been playing shows.
00:12:01
Speaker
um Out in Providence and the Providence local scene is like so cool ah really cool yeah, we're gonna talk some more about the the Providence scene i and I was I was able to ah To you know to hear some of your music with them your preview from the album and I gotta tell you is I'm glad to have the conversation because of being able to have your verbal description of what I'm hearing in particular with the Amplified harmonica. Well, I was just listening intently when you're talking about that cuz I didn't and but I'm not aware of that or like ah that combination I'm like, okay, I'm gonna listen, you know listen for that sound and um You know the 90s, you know, they can describe in the music. It's always tough to do and I like when you directly describe it, but um 90s, you know like feminine power right like I ah I really adore um
00:13:00
Speaker
the energy that came out of that period, you know, it's like the big three, you know, Polygene Harvey, Tori Amos, and ah later like ah Regina Specter. And I know some of these artists have been really ah influential on you and it i There's such a force, a Fiona Apple, there's such a force in a deep soul within that. It's not quite like music I ever heard. So like when you identify it in that way, like I can hear that. And I can hear it in in in your performance. There was one thing I wanted to ask you about. um
00:13:35
Speaker
One thing I really enjoy with your performance and I wanted to ask you but how the audience take takes it is the intensity of your performance at time in your vocals and in in in in in in that live scene. um It has a visceral element to it and I find that in that and in that style of music that you could you could feel that there. um Is there a vibe that goes on with you in the audience when you know there is that when you were out there like that? Yeah, definitely. the I think of my my live shows as an energy exchange. So when we have a live audience in the room with us, thats that's when we I think we play the best when we have like an attentive, um interested audience. and And we're lucky in Providence that those those people come out with with intention and and to support the live local music scene here. But it really is this energy exchange. and
00:14:33
Speaker
um I will say that that playing for an audience like that is so fun, because they do get into it. Especially a lot of my music is based on very personal, vulnerable experiences, but written in a way where you know I never want anybody to to see too too far down and into the glass. I want to explain it for myself. and And if you interpret it a different way, then that's for you. And I think that's the energy exchange. And I think that that's that's what art really is.
00:15:05
Speaker
um You know, and um I think the audience really appreciates that because they're able to kind of like ah give it their own energy and give it their own life. But we're sharing something at the same time. um But a lot of my music is is about, you know, being a woman, being a woman in in this world um and the experience, some of the shared experiences that we have, even though the songs and these lyrics are driven from my own personal experience, they're still shared. And so I think I think the the people that come to the shows, they can read that and they really appreciate it because it's almost like an outlet for them to express themselves. And um that's something that I really want to keep building with my shows. And you know I come from a background where I went to a lot of Harry Potter conventions. I went to a lot of shows where the energy exchange was you know what we believe in. I believe in in everybody should have access to to media literacy so they can understand understand what's propaganda, what's not. They can kind of understand where the source is coming from. That's all stuff I learned from going to Harry and the Potter shows because they they write directly to that. you know um you know So I want my shows to be a place where people can come and and feel safe and express themselves.
00:16:23
Speaker
But there's also this idea of like, um you know, I watch like, chapel groans, you know, rise to fame and in the way that her fans express themselves and Taylor Swift. And, you know, at some points, it's like, yeah, you want to be you want to get all your anger out and you want to like, feel seen and stuff, but also you want to have a good time and celebrate joy. And so I think our shows are starting to become a good balance of those two things. So People come and they know that they can wear sparkles and they can get dressed up if they want and they can kind of come Expressed as themselves, but then also share in some really solid, you know things that we all believe in You know social rights and social of justice and civil rights and and exploring all those things that are important to Providence as a whole um And those are those are the elements of a show I'm i'm trying to build
00:17:07
Speaker
Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Damn. yeah I might want to be over in Providence on the other side of the country now. You guys are all in visit. I know. I know. i was i i yeah i always I always love it out there. But i um there's something about going back or going back to, you know, Pawtucket, Providence, South County.
00:17:30
Speaker
And having different eyes in the sense of being older, working in the arts, seeing all these beautiful things in the world, and then going back and being like,
00:17:42
Speaker
What was the influence when I was a kid was I wasn't as sensitive to like this art or go look at that or this yeah person's and I wasn't familiar with the world. So going back, it's always great because it always provides, you know, like it always like, like you said, with Patuckia, Patuckia is janky, right? It's always been a janky place. in and But a lot of creatives a lot of folks who shift over from Providence over there in Kentucky the food gets better It's working in class. It's redefining itself and ah there's just a lot of good energy and you talking about ah The experience of going to your shows what you're trying to cultivate I think it's a great thing because um ah Lately I've been trying to go out dancing more of like nice. Yeah, just not in my head, you know
00:18:33
Speaker
not dealing with ambiguity in my head, being like, what am I gonna do? I'm dancing to the music for like two, three hours and just like get all that shit out. yeah oh my it's it's um So hearing about the concert experience, something i that really draws me to it. Talk to talk to me, um ah when we when we last talked, a and by the way, listeners, ah episode 116 back in September, 2021 was when we talked to Olivia Dolphin, the first time. but um But we talked a bit but back then, you know connecting on on Rhode Island and and talking about collective scene. You have a lot of deep interest, literary, music, art, and otherwise. And what I've seen in um you know an article or two or you talking about it is, again, like a cultivation
00:19:28
Speaker
of the arts in combination of different types of arts. Tell us about what you've been seeing and doing in that area because I really want to get the feel of what's
Creative Spaces and Community Projects in Providence
00:19:42
Speaker
going on. So in Providence, we have so much. There's a lot of different creative spaces. There's like murals everywhere and we have like Providence water fire where there's like literally water on the fire or fire on the water and um And there's there's so there's so much cool stuff. like there's like I just did a ah gig with Waterfire where it was like a a small like lighting. The Providence Drum Troop was there, which is kind of this like marching band-esque drum troupe. It's community-driven. There's like big nozzo and like these puppets. like like Providence is just like popping off. And our culinary scene is amazing, so that our culinary arts is incredible.
00:20:19
Speaker
So there's a lot of avenues and in Providence where we're ah every aspect has has some sort of creativity to it. um And our our music venues are are really sacred, I think, to us. We have AS220, which is an arts community. There's this new venue in East Providence called Myrtle. And they're a music venue first, but they're also a vintage store. So they have like a little section where you can go and you can shop vintage clothes, like all the furnitures for sale. um And they're doing an incredible job at cultivating community. um and And the shows are all free, which is incredible. you know So you can go to see a free show, but the bands still get paid. So it's just like the scene is is really and amazing right now in Providence. And something that I've been trying to do, which is like there's all these pillars of of arts communities in Providence that are really strong.
00:21:10
Speaker
um But you don't always get like interconnectivity between them. um yeah And so I'm trying to figure out ways to kind of cross pollinate our creative scenes. um So I'm spinning up something that I'm um workshopping with some friends, but it's going to be a series of shows.
00:21:29
Speaker
called Well-versed in Providence, ah Well-versed PVD. And basically it's gonna be a showcase of storytellers, poets, and songwriters under one theme. We're gonna aim to do like four shows a year.
00:21:45
Speaker
And so there's going to kind of be all this interconnectivity between the stories and the songs, you know, because they're under under a theme, but also the idea is to bring different audiences together. So like our literary community might come and hear a songwriter for the first time. Our music scene might hear a poet for the first time that they really like. um And we kind of want to give it this like cabaret kind of kind of feel where it's a seeded show, it's earlier in the evening, you get a drink, you watch the show, it's emceed. And we're thinking about tying in maybe like a local nonprofit to showcase and give some donations to or for small businesses that might want to come and just just really think about ways to bring in all these elements of providence under one theme, under one roof.
00:22:33
Speaker
um because I really think that that's how arts survive and that's how community gets built, is by having these these shows that you can come to and and you know you know when it's happening and you know what the theme is and and you know you're in for a good time, um just to keep keep building that really strong web of connection between all the arts in Providence, not just you know songwriters supporting songwriters and art people supporting art people and writers supporting writers. It's like, how do we really, like Just get everybody to realize that there's so much in um getting a little bit outside your comfort zone Yeah, yeah, and so um There's a combination of that creativity and uh smartness, right? So it's an attractive smart or thinking people open-minded people and um it's a it's it's a really great and really great environment i'm glad to hear um
00:23:28
Speaker
ah You know, you further immersed in some of those ideas that we talked about a few years ago and connecting, even going back to your journal, right? Organize and put things under a theme, allowing people to expand their mind on a topic. and and connect these pieces.
00:23:47
Speaker
so i ah you know With the show, as as you know, eclectic and variety, when you said cabaret, I'm like, that's what I like, pizzazz and in and changes. in I can watch something long for three and a half hours, that's fine. But I also like show me the next thing. This is great. Yeah. I also think there's so many people in Providence that like a lot of different things, but they have to go to different places to see the things that they like. And if anybody from Providence is listening and you think I'm wrong, like please reach out and tell me because I think part of what I'm i'm thinking about is is is you know being mindful of the community that exists already. But I really, really feel passionate about combining
00:24:30
Speaker
Songwriting and storytelling because what is songwriting if not storytelling and there's just so much I think there's so much energy but that goes into to really good writing and really good like musicianship and it's like let's let's bring some of that together and see um if we can create a theme tonight that just just keeps bringing people back for more and more because one thing I see in Providence is is when you go to a music show, there's a lot of musicians in the audience. And now let me that makes sense because who loves music? Musicians. But I sometimes feel like the musicians in Rhode Island are just passing the same 20 bucks around, you know?
00:25:09
Speaker
how like like comics It's so like an indie comic show. Everybody's got each other's material. Exactly. and which i Which is good. but You need other people. And that is the core of community, and that is so important. But you know i I'm not going to lie, I went to you know i went to the Aeros tour last summer at Gillette, and Gillette was sold out three
Supporting Local Music and Art Community
00:25:31
Speaker
nights in a row. Oh, I'm envious of you. I'm envious of you though. It was very cool. I went on the rain show though. It was a magical night, but it was a wet, wet magic. what magic ah ah You could throw me in the middle of the ocean in a typhoon if I can still see Taylor performing or hear what's going on. i know But anyways, it could have been more ideal, but i'm what I'm seeing is
00:25:57
Speaker
i'm that I'm not expressing deep empathy that it rained how terribly it felt. I'm not going to throw them in the same sense, and I'm going to buy new shoes the next day, so it was a very, you know, gnarly. at Gillette for Taylor Swift there's it's a sold out stadium three nights in a row right and there's people in the parking lot because they didn't get tickets and I just want to listen and be with people that love this thing they love that was the core of Harry Potter conventions you just want to be with people that
00:26:30
Speaker
love the thing that you love. And they're jazzed about it. And that goes for every community, you know, fantasy, sci-fi conventions that have been going for 70 years. Like, you know, these the core of this is that you just want to be around things people that love the things that you love. And I sometimes wonder, all those people that went to Gillette,
00:26:49
Speaker
I'm like, where are they? but Are they going to local shows? Are they just waiting for the next big act to come through? And there's nothing wrong with that. But how do how do you make a big act? You've got to start small. You've got to find somebody small. And if you support them and you support them, you're going to be part of their story. I think one of the reasons why i Taylor Swift is so possible is because she's done this thing. And it is through the reality of it where you're part of her story. The fans are so ingrained in their story. And so it's like, okay, if you want to create that again, and if you want to be part of that, then you've got to get out to the live music and find someone that's doing something you love and cheer them on over and over again. And that is something else I'm trying to kind of instill in the Providence community is to say, okay, you know,
00:27:37
Speaker
where are the people that just love music, they love going to shows, and you don't have to wait for the big-named act to come through Gillette. You can go to Myrtle, you can go to AS220, you can go to Whisky, you can go to Nickinese, you can go to all these places, you can go to your local open mic, like, and find somebody that you love what they're doing, and stream their stuff, buy their stuff, buy their merch, tell your friends about it, and then, you know, you never know, but you're going to be part of that person's story forever, and I think that's like the real magic of of of community and and local music. And so um that's my message to anybody. I think it's good to encourage. I mean, there's like some risk in it. You know, I think when I think about taste and artistic taste or artistic views I've had over my life, you know, like
00:28:29
Speaker
things things change a whole lot. And I find myself open up to whole new things at at different times. And so that's part of my personality. But I also think that something is cultivated and that people can yeah cultivate a taken a little bit of a risk. And you know, the place that you're at isn't probably really that dodgy to go to at that time, or stay up a little bit later.
00:28:52
Speaker
yeah on that notion, right? On the notion that, that you know, in a place like Provenance, in many cities around, you look around, you can you can find. I mean, when people complain about there not being any good new music, I'm like, well, whatever, you're getting schlepped isn't good, but you got to find out, like, because I can... Yeah, you got to go and check it out. There's so much out there.
00:29:16
Speaker
It's like rolling the dice, you know what I mean? Like you could, yeah, you could stay up a little bit later and feel a little sluggish the next day but or you can meet you can meet really cool people and you can you can hear your new favorite song. And I think that that's worth the risk. I will say though, I am actively working with the venues and providence to try to get the times a little less loose.
00:29:39
Speaker
Because I mean, I play, I play, times are changing. I cannot be, I cannot go on at midnight. I like, I try to avoid it at all costs. I don't play well after a certain time period. You know what I mean? Like my brain just didn't work. There's rhythms, there's rhythms and everything, you know? Yeah, if my circadian rhythm is off, then my whole rhythm is off. So,
00:30:04
Speaker
Our first three singles, I had this idea that like each single would get progressively darker and darker and darker. So our first single that came out was the song called Not Perfect, which is kind of this like reclamation anthem. It's kind of this fun,
00:30:17
Speaker
scream along, sing along, banger around kind of accepting your flaws as a human. Then we had Ghost Story, which is a rearrangement of a song we ah released previously, but it's a little bit darker. and I call it my spooky banger. I know, my spooky banger. You know how to use words. You know how to use words. it' funny It's funny. Yeah, so this spooky banger, and that really fits in with this image of the lyrical content is very witch pop. And then we have Quiet Girls, um which which everybody will be able to hear today. And Quiet Girls was really kind of like a very intense song that we laid down and recorded. The album is going to be called Better, and it's going to come out on at the end of September.
00:31:04
Speaker
And the album actually takes you on like a ah little bit of a journey. And there's some very soft moments in the album that I don't i don't think this the single strategy um of of releasing some of our our darker, more arranged songs um really alludes to. um So we went in into the studio with five full band songs. And then I had three songs that were just um All I had was vocal and pianos, but I worked with this incredible producer, Emma Newton, and they um really got what I was going for right away. And Emma also has a little bit of a classical background. They play the harp.
00:31:46
Speaker
um and Yeah, and they just got it right away. And so there's three songs on the album that are very orchestral and very a nod to this lush, um almost like pastoral ah Music that I that I grew up listening to and and that I love and that I have a ah background in classical music And I actually got to play flute on the album because I am a trained classical flute player um And I haven't been doing much with flute Because I've been doing the it's very hard to play the flute when you're singing and playing the piano. It's like there's no room for There's no room for that. um But I got to do it in the studio um and that's on it on a track called Once Again. And I just wanted to kind of tease that because the album really, really shifts between all of my musical interests and arrangements. And um I can't wait. I think there's something for everyone um on the on the album and i and I can't wait for people to kind of like sit with it and and experience the the full album.
Personal Connections in New Album
00:32:54
Speaker
Yeah, oh man, is this is really exciting. It's good and um in the summer, you know new music in the summer, it just feels different. It's really cool. Yeah, um yeah and ah I saw you did, a or I heard, I listened to, or you did an interview with Artscape out there talking about some of the summer as well. So it's good to get out there and and and and talk about these. I also saw, if I have this correct,
00:33:22
Speaker
an article in the valley breeze. Yes. i look I love the valley. I know the valley. I one love the valley breeze. is alley bees So I couldn't have my note read here. I said, valley breeze. I got to bring it up. yeah Yes. Oh my God. That was so fun. So for anybody that doesn't know the valley breeze is like a town newspaper of kind of like the north part of Rhode Island. And so where you grew up in Cumberland, where I grew up in Lincoln, like the Valley Breeze was just always around and they all covered the high school, they covered the kind of the town stuff. And I got to um interview with this really incredible reporter that just like asked like really thoughtful questions and it was so cool. um And like my picture was in the paper and there's so much, you know, there's there's so much,
00:34:09
Speaker
in in the album that comes from my hometown of Lincoln and and and really celebrating a lot of my long-term friendships that i've I've made through the town. Big nice studio where we recorded is from Lincoln and there's all these like interconnectivity on the album. You know, just like one one example is I really um wanted an organ on the album and I wanted this particular organ because it was my best friend's grandmother's and when her grandmother passed away she had this organ left over in her house like a ah church organ kind of kind of thing if you can picture it and Rachel my best friend was like do you want this organ I was like yeah of course I want this organ but I'm like 22 years old I don't have a house organs are very heavy like what am I what am I gonna do with this you know and she was like oh
00:34:58
Speaker
don't worry about it. Like my cousin just started a music studio, we're going to donate it to him. And I was like, okay, cool. I didn't even know you had like a cousin that was going to open a music studio. That's sick. Whatever. All these years later, I'm at big nice studio. And I'm like, is that the Lowry that my best friends were owned? And Brad was like, that is the Lowry organ. And I was like, I have to have that on the album. I have to because there's so much of my friendships from this town that are infused in the album. And Rachel's family particularly was like a second family to me. And so it was just like, I have to have this on the album. And so
00:35:35
Speaker
That was such a fun experience and fun really fun to like revisit um some of these connections between between the the town um and Big Nice Studio is is the best place but best place to record. So if you're looking for a place to record whoever is ever listening, then like check out Big Nice Studio, the third absolute top of the game.
00:35:54
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds like quite the place to record. That sounds like a Swift story too. I don't know. They handed down organ. It sounds like there should be a song about the organ itself and your connection. I um i do have to say one thing on the Taylor Swift, um my peculiar response to, I'll just say, ah Tortured Poets, the new album. The strange thing is, olivia and and I am i'm a huge Taylor Swift fan. I have a very unique take on Taylor Swift. I am obsessive with folklore um as an album in ways I can go on forever. But I haven't listened to the new album because my life has been so
00:36:38
Speaker
like busy or haven't been able to plan things as well, that when I start listening to the album, I have to dedicate my mind and thinking in Time to it. And so it's out of respect, but it's the weirdest thing. I have not listened to the new wow album yet. And it's not a torture or anything, but it it feels weird at this point, but I'm, yeah I'm almost there. And when I get, when I get there, Olivia, is, is, is, is it gonna, is it gonna greet me warmly this album? Is it gonna greet you warmly? I'm going to say no, because it's not a warm,
00:37:16
Speaker
album. That album is gonna like reach into your chest and rip out your heart. That's fine too. Yeah. so Yeah, I mean, that's what what would you expect from something called the Torture Poet's Fright in the year that she's been having. But there's so much, there's a lot of elements on that album that I really like. and And I had a lot of mixed feelings about it for a long time, but it's really grown on me. And there's one song on there, Clara Bow, which is a masterclass in in storytelling and songwriting.
00:37:46
Speaker
um So when you listen to it, I would love to hear what you think about it, because it's a masterclass on the show. Such an amazing songwriter. I think the part of her brilliance is too subtle for for, I don't know, for the spectacle and stuff like that. I think some of the brilliance is observable in a different way. and But just, you know, entertainment. I mean, I saw the you know the ah concert in the
00:38:18
Speaker
movie theater wasn't raining in the movie theaters. Right. But ah I saw it and I was like, you know, it's just so loose in my mind. I was like, look at those fucking outfits. I'm like, look at that fucking set. Yeah. Listen to that. para just I thought it was amazing because it was like all the senses. It was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Got her craft. I mean, you can hate her. You can love her, but you can't deny that she's she's cracked.
00:38:48
Speaker
She's cracked the code that a lot of us, I think, when we i think when I look at it, and you know you just got to honor it for what it is. And um you know she she's really inspiring in the way that she she just connects with her fans. And I think she writes songs in a really similar way where they're deeply personal but open enough for people to kind of place on their own stories.
00:39:15
Speaker
um which I think is is the original intent, and then it gets all garbled and muddled when the media and the, you know, different people get their hands on it. And of course, there's always an interaction with songs where you're like, who's this written about? Or like, you know, what inspired this? But I think sometimes you want to, you're there's a natural desire to understand the inspiration of the song so you can kind of accurately map it to your own experiences.
00:39:38
Speaker
um But then once you get over that and once you kind of get over the initial like taking in of the lyrics, I think there's so much now that when I listen to the album, like I'm not thinking, oh, is this song written about this person? Or is this song written about this person? I'm thinking about these lyrics remind me of this time in my life or these lyrics remind me of this person. But there is a natural hurdle to to get to get there because you're absorbing the lyrics. So that's my Taylor Swift rant. Yeah, thank you.
00:40:05
Speaker
That's what I asked for. I mean, that's what this that's partially what this space is for. I've invite i've invited Taylor six times. She'll come out one day. um You're not bullshitting. People think I've been bullshitting for five years. Have no i don't have you thought about um my cat is biting like plastic right now and you got a signing that's a sign the there' a car um you thought about reaching out to the Taylor Swift impersonator at Canopy Lake?
00:40:38
Speaker
She's a really good, she puts on a really good show. I haven't seen it live yet, but I've seen the TikToks. Maybe she'll come on your show. ah That's new information, what you mentioned to me. I was very excited and distracted by the information you just told me. So yeah, yeah, I'm goingnna check that um'm gonna check that out. um Hey, ah Olivia, tell us, some we're gonna we're gonna play a new track of yours at at the end of us talking here on this
New Song 'Quiet Girls' and Social Media Presence
00:41:05
Speaker
episode. Tell us about tell about your new song.
00:41:09
Speaker
Yeah, okay, so I'm so excited. So on August 9th, we're releasing a track called Quiet Girls. And Quiet Girls is um one of the more intense songs I've ever written. um It's really about... ah It's really about...
00:41:32
Speaker
um my experiences walking through the world as ah as a woman and some of the experiences I had when I was younger um and just you know the people in my life you know that that kind of wanted to to hold power over me.
00:41:51
Speaker
um And just recognizing that and and hearing the things that they would say to me that they tried to to to do to maintain some of that power, um to get me to act a certain way or feel a certain way about myself. And um I realized at the end of it, at the end of this this experience, is that what they really wanted me to do was be quiet.
00:42:12
Speaker
um And I didn't really want to be quiet. So it took me a really long time to write this song and to talk about some of these experiences. But essentially at the end of the day, this song is kind of envisions this group of of girls that that kind of, ah you know, they'll it it It's this twist on like, you you want all of these girls to stay quiet, but at the end of the day, the quiet ones are the ones that are gonna really come out and and speak up for what they believe in. And so there's kind of this encouragement of of saying like, if somebody's telling you to to shut up, then maybe that's when... you really, you know, should consider um telling your truth and and speaking up. So that's what Quiet Girls is about. And it's the the arrangement of it kind of is this like creepy, crawly, angry, um angry song. um That's like, I think when you're arranging it, I really leaned into ah elements of the doors. um There's some some songs there that that really inspired this track.
00:43:14
Speaker
um Tori Amos, of course, ah and ah just really letting the band kind of like make the weirdest noises and and really creepy crawly stuff because I think I really wanted the song to kind of have this idea that you were being followed and you were being watched and you, because at the end of the day, that is our experience, but I wanted to flip it on its head so that that the quiet the quiet girls are the ones that are watching you and keeping tabs on you. So I'm super excited for this song to hit um the world. I i think it's gonna be, I think people are gonna,
00:43:51
Speaker
I hope, you know, relate to it and see the song for what it is. Yeah. Thank you for talking about that, Olivia. And is there a version that you put out either on social media or video or somehow that I've heard it already? I've had clips of it. So this is the first time we've done a studio recording of it. Yeah. But there's been clips of it out. I see part of your vocal performance. Very powerful. Very powerful. Quiet Girls from Olivia Dolphin.
00:44:35
Speaker
Back of the car, back of the car where no one will believe you Back of the car, back of the car where no one can see you What would you say? What would you say to the quiet girl?
00:45:03
Speaker
Girl
00:45:41
Speaker
Bye!
00:47:00
Speaker
Say to the ice cream girl What would you say? What would you say to the latest girl? Don't be mean Don't be too keen
00:47:36
Speaker
Should've stayed, should've stayed close
00:49:07
Speaker
green great, great chat with you, Olivia, and, you know, dropping into um ah the the territory over there and and and thinking about the ways you've been thinking about the the disparate arts, pulling things together. I've long thought of a festival tied to the podcast to bring eclectic, you know, ah it's been an idea that needs to be made manifest, but I'm yeah convinced that it could pull together the same type of thing where it's like people are are thinking, people are creating, people are trying to ah crack the egg to like open their brains up in exchange in ideas. And I don't know, these times need more that more than than anything. Hunter S. Thompson said, when the going gets weird, the weird GoPro.
00:49:58
Speaker
i you know like You gotta to go pro in some things here. You just gotta believe in yourself. you know and i you know It's funny that you say that because I've been thinking a lot in my my kind of journey in talking about the singles I'm releasing and um being a little bit more present in the Providence art scene is like it it is really people like you and artscape and the public's radio and the the music venues and um like we have a ah radio station the Wheeler School music radio station WELH Wheeler School's radio station like they they play local music
00:50:44
Speaker
And it matters. It matters so much because just in the way I talked about how my shows are an energy exchange, this is an energy exchange. exchange The people that are listening, that's an energy exchange where we're we're all interested in the same things and we're all passionate about art and making sure that that that art lives on even as the world gets crazier and crazier. um And so it's it's people like you that that do this, that that matter, that you know, you take the time out of your day to showcase artists. I mean, that is just as important as people, you know, writing music and and putting it out. If we didn't have people listening to our music, I mean, we'd still make music, but it makes it a lot more fun um that we can come on to shows like this and talk about it. So I i just commen commend you for for doing this because it's it's really, really important work. Thank you. Hell yeah. And it's it's it's it's enjoyable. And I think the
00:51:39
Speaker
you know The root source of it is that ideas are exciting, that art is exciting, that art ah messes with our head in such a way. And and and if we allow it, it can be it can be really good. um The unexplainable doesn't have to torture you. like Why is it so beautiful? I don't know. I'll never know.
00:51:59
Speaker
Like, but I want to look at that, painting like you know, and I want to listen yeah to that song. So I like, um I just really enjoy the vibe on that. And, you know, talking about um ah your new music, everybody check out ah Olivia Dolphins.
00:52:16
Speaker
um New music, new single um that that we have ah described it generally as a witch pop and the album ah better. ah Shout out to all the places you mentioned, Olivia. We'll try to tag them and let them know about the, let folks know about the the local Providence scene. And of course, anybody can access your music even if they don't.
00:52:40
Speaker
ah have the chance to to do it live. Where do they go? ah Best spots to drop in, to find your stuff, get pictures of you, bio, find out about you, that type of thing.
00:52:50
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So you can stream all of our music wherever you choose to stream music, Spotify, iTunes, whatever. OliviaDolphinMusic.com is our main website. And I would say I'm most active on my Instagram, which is my old just like handle before I was doing anything online of personal note. LiviDoll, L-I-V-I-D-O-L was a nickname from high school.
00:53:17
Speaker
ah So come find me on Instagram. That's where i'm I'm most active, but I've got the TikTok. I've got, um you know, all the socials, but but most active, I would say, on Instagram. And love, love, love, love to connect with other artists and listeners. So reach out, slide into my DMs. It's super welcome.
00:53:35
Speaker
That's super, and yeah, thanks thanks thanks for sharing all that. And um and listeners too, um Olivia and I had talked, we're going to bring on, in the future, we haven't announced the guest yet, but um a future artist in this type of scene, so expand out, talk a little bit more about Providence, Rhode Island, and something that Olivia and I have talked about, that kind of like arts organizing, arts energy, bringing ah different type of disciplines,
00:54:04
Speaker
ah together, which is is very exciting because you had different types of minds who might normally not be together. So some more coming from you and in your troop out there, Olivia, but I just wanted to thank you for coming on to something rather than nothing. Again, it's been way too long, three years between appearances, but I have the sense that you and I will probably correct that long gap between between visits next I think so I think so this is me this means the world to me and I love um I love your podcast and I love listening to to to all the different artists and I love that that you continue to to connect with the artists over and over again I think I think that's just has so much value to it so thank you so much for having me on yeah and I don't know how I'll stand it but I had this in my head for half an hour long live Dobby
00:54:55
Speaker
Oh yeah, Dobby. You gotta just... I love I have three Dobby statues. Good for you. I just love Dobby. And we do a whole Harry Potter podcast. Yeah, we got... All right. Well, we're gonna bring Olivia back, folks. We're ending this one. We're gonna be talking more about the Providence scene, talking about Dobby and Harry Potter and why...
00:55:20
Speaker
Help your life, change your life, build empathy. Thanks, Olivia. Oh my god, thank you so much.
00:55:38
Speaker
This is something rather than nothing.
00:55:48
Speaker
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00:56:09
Speaker
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00:56:36
Speaker
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