Oliver White - Musician
By: Jennifer Branson
Musicians have unique paths to success that shape their talents through various experiences. Local musician Oliver White from Denison is inspired by both his personal life and the lives of others. He uses real events and emotions to create his songs. His music reflects his journey and the world he lives in.
Oliver’s musical journey started in a family that loved music. His parents were high school band and choir directors, and later they became music ministers at a church. With music all around him from the time he was born, it seemed like he was meant to be a musician.
Becoming a musician is a personal journey that often relies on intuition. For Oliver, a typical day in the studio is a mix of coffee and creativity. He finds it hard to stick to one music style for too long because his creative process changes. However, he enjoys this challenge. Oliver describes his creative process as spontaneous and unpredictable, which often depends on the instrument he is playing.“It seems like I create things differently every time that I come up with something. If I pick up an acoustic guitar and start writing, the song will be much different than if I plug in my electric guitar and start beating it up.”
Oliver gets a lot of inspiration from his musical heroes. Heroes often spark passion and motivation, so looking at their successes can push one to do one’s best. Being inspired by other musicians also helps musicians appreciate important qualities like creativity and perseverance. Oliver admires artists like Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Ian Moore, and Doyle Bramhall II. They encourage Oliver’s own growth as an artist.
Like any musician, Oliver’s path has had its ups and downs. On the upside, he has had the chance to perform alongside famous artists. “I’ve shared stages with American music icons and regional legends and have met several of my biggest personal influences.” In regard to the low points, he stated, “The challenge that I believe was most difficult for me was alcoholism. I haven’t had a drink in 14 years, and now when doors open for me, I can recognize them.”
Oliver acknowledges that musicians can face unique struggles. Sometimes unexpected events happen that could lead to huge problems. However, how a person responds to these situations can change everything. A positive response can turn a potential disaster into a positive experience. “We’d rehearsed for our latest studio session for about a month. The day before we were scheduled to perform, our drummer’s house flooded. So he couldn’t make the session, and we were going to postpone recording. That same night the drummer from our last project came to see me play and during the show, like, in the middle of the set, I stopped and asked, ‘What are you doing tomorrow? Wanna record an album?!?’ He accepted and showed up the next day to learn the songs while we recorded them. We knew this would be a challenge because he’d never even heard these songs before! We’d track some drums and listen to them during playback. Instructing him to keep this or that, but that or this was wrong, and he’d go back and try again. He did a wonderful job of learning, modifying, and playing these songs. They changed a little because we used a drummer that we hadn’t rehearsed with, but it worked out, and we’re very proud of what we captured.”
Furthermore, Oliver’s musical style has evolved over time. It has been determined by his changing interests and experiences. He explained, “My influences change, and so does the music that I play. For a few years I listened to a lot of my friend’s music, and that’s evident on our last album. I believe that as we grow as artists, our styles should change.” Additionally, skateboarding has influenced Oliver, who picked up the sport a few years ago. He appreciates the music, fashion, and art associated with skateboarding culture.
As for what’s on the horizon for Oliver, he is about to embark on a fresh journey. “Currently, we’re about to start filming videos for our new songs, which is something that I’ve never personally done. My artistic goals for the future are to keep creating, learning, and teaching.” Oliver’s path continues to wind in a most interesting way. As a student of life, which is the spark to his creativity, Oliver is following the guidance of his own earliest teachers, his parents. Oliver’s parents taught him the importance of teaching and leading an ensemble to nurture his musical growth. And now he shares his gifts with others by teaching them.
Oliver believes that new musical artists should first focus on meeting their basic needs for survival. Once those needs are secured, they should invest any extra resources into their art. For artists who truly commit to their craft, there are two main rewards. Their art can help them sustain themselves, and if they are lucky, it may bring even bigger rewards in the future.
Looking at the big picture regarding the significance of art in today’s world is a complicated question. Oliver believes that society and artistic expressions are in a state of continual change. “… things are in constant motion, and art, in all forms, is always changing. I think our world and art impact and influence each other.” And technology has changed a great deal about how music is created and promoted. Oliver thinks that when musicians start using technology, they can find it nearly impossible to return to older methods of making music. He believes that people still need to figure out whether these changes are good or bad for artists and the music industry.
In regard to Oliver’s goal when recording his music, he is interested in chronicling genuine, honest moments from real life. “Our next release, “Are We Gonna Live,” is a song about a stagnant relationship and asks if we’re going to live the life that we want to live or continue to keep one another from truly living.”
Clearly, love and heartbreak are important themes in Oliver’s music. He likes to take on the challenge of expressing relatable and meaningful ideas in a fresh way. Oliver hopes that people will feel happiness from the genuine nature of his music. “I’m going to say that my music has a message about being human and treating each other as such.”
