In less than two years as a band, U.K. trio RavenEye has made waves all around the world. 2014 saw the band supporting Joe Satriani for a two month tour before landing key European festival slots. In 2015, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, and Kerrang! all prominently featured the band and its single “Breaking Out.” The same year, there was touring done alongside Slash, Deep Purple, Blues Pills, and Last Fair Deal. Moving ahead to 2016,The Darkness is the latest group to endorse RavenEye, and the two acts will be playing together at Irving Plaza on May 2.
Several days after the show at Irving Plaza, RavenEye will begin recording its debut full-length album at Hoboken’s Water Music. Following that, the band returns to Europe for some major festivals (e.g. Hellfest, Download Festival) and gigs opening for Halestorm.
Vocalist/guitarist Oli Brown answered some questions for Downtown about the band – which also includes bassist Aaron Spiers and drummer Kev Hickman – and came across as a humble, interesting, and informed person. His motivation to succeed ought to be inspiring, especially given how much he’s already accomplished at the age of 25.
For more info on RavenEye, click on over here. Oli can be followed directly on Twitter via @ItsRavenEye.
Your band has accomplished a lot in only a year or so together. Are you working off of to-do lists? Is there a team behind you? What gives?
Oli Brown: We work on this band everyday! It’s an endless, sleepless position, always on social media and always contacting people pushing our name out. It’s amazing how accessible people really are if you make the effort. At the start of it we ran solo and kicked off the first several months ourselves. But we’ve slowly assembled a couple of extra people who we trust, love and respect that believe in this with us. It has been an incredible and crazy year for us, but the work never stops – we know that and love that.
How did the opportunity to tour with The Darkness come about? Had you met any of the Darkness guys before the tour opportunity came up?
O: We tried to pitch for their U.S. tour last year and in turn got offered these dates instead, which was incredible! Funnily enough, I actually had met Dan [Hawkins] when I was 18 looking at recording studios. He had this stunning place to record, which I really wanted to put my first album down in. Sadly it didn’t work out but we had a good little chat then. Now eight years on here we are, it was a funny little reunion.
Will this be your first time playing live in New York City?
O: I’ve played New York a few times now. I performed some solo shows at the Rockwood – incredible room – and The Bowery Electric. As the band, we have played the Billboard Lounge inside the Barclays Center, which was something else, also got to see some hockey too. I lived in Toronto for a couple years and got to see a few games, so progressively have become a [hockey] fan, so seeing it again in New York was a trip.
In the case that you have some downtime while in New York, is there a restaurant or sight that you “have” to visit?
O: I’ve heard about the Blossom Vegan Restaurant, which is meant to be killer! I’m not full vegan in any way but slowly progressing to that way as my home cooking is always vegan. So I’ve been looking at places to eat on the trip and this is definitely one of them. If we get time! Fingers crossed. I never really get the chance to play tourist on tour, I usually find a way to keep myself busy with things I need to do on the off-days. It’s just the three of us on the road, so sometimes we just need to catch up on sleep as the drives can be pretty damn long.
Do you have a way of describing RavenEye when it comes to people who’ve never heard your band before?
O: Hard rock with a hint of some classic undertones and a whole lotta show. We’re like some fucked up offspring of [Jimi] Hendrix, [Josh] Homme and [Chris] Cornell. That’s some kind of way of describing it.
Do you mind when people refer to you as a “blues” artist? Does that feel limiting?
O: I’ve had people refer to me as worse things in life, it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. What I write and what I deliver as an artist is who I am, sometimes that’s blues, sometimes it’s rock. But at the end of the day, I play and sing what moves me, someone’s opinion wont ever make me feel limited.
Was there a particular artist that inspired you to pick up a guitar for the first time?
O: Hendrix! He was the reason I got so wired for playing guitar. So he’s to blame for the mess I’ve got myself into.
Once this tour has wrapped, what’s ahead for RavenEye?
O: We record straight off the back of the tour starting on May 6! We spend the whole month at Water Music in New Jersey to get the first full album recorded. It’s long overdue and we’ve got more than enough songs written and ready to go.
When you’re not busy with RavenEye, how do you like to spend your free time?
O: Rock-climbing – absolutely love it! Helps me switch off from music, or at least try to.
Finally, Oli, any last words for the kids?
O: Come join us online! We look after all our Facebooks, Twitters, etc. and love keeping up with people while we are on the road. So come down and say hey! We love it.
