{"id":1131,"date":"2008-01-11T19:44:32","date_gmt":"2008-01-12T00:44:32","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2008-01-15T23:13:28","modified_gmt":"2008-01-15T23:13:28","slug":"oliver-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oliver-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Oliver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V6m7x9GDxwY?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nA band pays its dues and gets to spend more time than ever before in the studio. The lap of luxury! While the musicians jam out side 2 filler right on the studio floor and the singer sits in a corner, scribbling out lyrics, <strong>Oliver<\/strong> might as well be preparing his bandmates for a long hiatus. While the band loads up every possible tracks with exotic overdubs afforded by the studio&#8217;s equipment, Oliver might as well be asking the manager at the cool record store where he&#8217;s worked for the last 15 years for a leave of absence. The question is, who&#8217;s going to get that call to play the role of Oliver? <\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Oliver<\/em>: A multi-instrumental, supporting musician usually added in preparation of a band&#8217;s breakthrough or reunion tour. With the promise of larger crowds expecting faithful renditions of the hits, Oliver affords the band the ability to replicate the key studio overdubs that would not otherwise be performed live or that would require an official band member to abandon his or her usual instrument, thereby leaving another hole in the music. Oliver differs from the traditional &#8220;backing&#8221; or &#8220;ghost&#8221; musician in that he is positioned among the official band members, the only differences between himself and the official band members being that he&#8217;s not photographed with the band, may never record with them, and gets much less tail.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Although the need for this Oliver character is borne out of a band&#8217;s deepening &#8220;studio era,&#8221; he  typically makes his first appearance when the band emerges to bring its new double album on <strong>The Road<\/strong>! Who&#8217;s gonna play that extra keyboard part on your new single when you hit the road? Oliver. Who&#8217;s gonna strum that third, <strong>128-String Guitar<\/strong> part that sounds just right on the record? Oliver? Who&#8217;s gonna hop over to bass so that the bassist can take a turn at the piano? Not the singer, but Oliver. Who&#8217;s gonna whip out a harmonica and catch a few rays of spotlight for a solo on that cover of &#8220;I&#8217;m a Man&#8221;? That&#8217;s right, the mysterious new guy on board for the tour.<\/p>\n<p><small><em>More&#8230;<\/em><\/small><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8DbUiRh9Amk?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nHistorically, the precursors to Oliver stood nearly offstage, completely out of the spotlights. For years band used &#8220;ghost musicians&#8221;: a backing singer who&#8217;d subtly double the lead singer&#8217;s failing voice, a multi-instrumentalist who&#8217;d creep onto the wings to flesh out a young trio&#8217;s studio-concocted hit single. The apex of this practice was the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dprp.net\/proghistory\/index.php?i=1979_013\" title=\"http:\/\/www.dprp.net\/proghistory\/index.php?i=1979_013\">&#8220;surrogate band&#8221;<\/a><\/strong> used as part of Pink Floyd&#8217;s handful of grand shows in support of <em>The Wall<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>However, years before The Who brought forth possibly rock&#8217;s first Oliver, keyboardist <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Bundrick\" title=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Bundrick\">John &#8220;Rabbit&#8221; Bundrick<\/a><\/strong>, The Beatles provided a glimpse at what this role promised. &#8220;Who&#8217;s that black dude trailing Ringo as the band hits the rooftop?&#8221; I would imagine some casual Beatles fans thought to themselves as they sat in a theater.<br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nT6325bmcsQ?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Just imagine, had The Beatles gone through with their thoughts of possibly returning to the stage, with <strong>Billy Preston<\/strong> in tow as rock&#8217;s first Oliver, they still would have left open <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=once_and_for_all_the_fifth_beatle&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\" title=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?title=once_and_for_all_the_fifth_beatle&amp;more=1&amp;c=1&amp;tb=1&amp;pb=1\">the debate over who, exactly, was the fifth Beatle!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><small><em>More&#8230;<\/em><\/small><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><br \/>\nRarely does Oliver get invited to join the band. Bundrick&#8217;s been playing with The Who, on and off, for nearly the last 30 years, yet he&#8217;s never been made an official member, he&#8217;s never posed for a press shot with them, etc. Same goes for The dB&#8217;s&#8217; <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Peter_Holsapple\" title=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Peter_Holsapple\">Peter Holsapple<\/a><\/strong>, both in his initial Oliver stint with <strong>REM<\/strong> as well as his long-running gig with <strong>Hootie and the Blowfish<\/strong>. Since taking over Holsapple&#8217;s Oliver role with REM, Young Fresh Fellows leader <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrem.com\/showthread.php?t=18687\" title=\"http:\/\/www.myrem.com\/showthread.php?t=18687\">Scott McCaughey<\/a><\/strong> has, short of being asked to officially join the band, worked the opportunity for all it&#8217;s worth, networking himself into an endless array of cool offshoot bands and collaborations with Peter Buck&#8217;s worldwide rock nerd patrol.<\/p>\n<p>Oliver&#8217;s not always the bridesmaid or the focus of <strong>jump the shark<\/strong> spotters. <strong>Pat Smear<\/strong> joined Nirvana in such a role. Following Kurt Cobain&#8217;s suicide and Dave Grohl&#8217;s formation of Foo Fighters, he moved from the middle spot in the back seat to riding shotgun. <strong>Mark Hart<\/strong>, following two separate touring stints with Crowded House, finally got to pose for band photos in time for the great <em>Together Alone<\/em> album. Shortly thereafter the band broke up. After a long time apart and a band member&#8217;s suicide, the surviving reunited last year &#8211; with Mark Hart in the press photos!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scott Thurston<\/strong>, maybe the only person on earth to have played with both Iggy Pop and Bonnie Raitt,  joined Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers&#8217; 1991 Great Wide Open tour, in the Oliver role. After years of serving as a self-described &#8220;Sidebreaker,&#8221; he was finally pulled into the fold. He now appears in band photos and has his own biography on the band&#8217;s official website. I was watching a PBS Soundstage performance of the band tonight, and Thurston had the honor singing the Roy Orbison part on The Traveling Wilburys&#8217; &#8220;Handle With Care&#8221;. It was a proud moment for Olivers everywhere.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_block\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/users\/frankenslade\/tom-petty-the-heartbreakers-20060421105545409.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" width=\"375\" height=\"196\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"image_legend\">Thurston is the guy on the far right, but by now that&#8217;s no longer a mystery<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><small><em>More&#8230;<\/em><\/small><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mlIqNkGtS7k?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nFor what it&#8217;s worth, it occurred to me that <strong>Led Zeppelin<\/strong> never employed the services of an Oliver. John Paul Jones moved from bass to organ and the band didn&#8217;t miss a beat. They had to worry about Jimmy Page not sucking in concert.<\/p>\n<nav class=\"page-links\"><strong>Pages:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oliver-1\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">1<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oliver-1\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">2<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oliver-1\/3\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">3<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oliver-1\/4\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">4<\/span><\/a><\/nav>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A band pays its dues and gets to spend more time than ever before in the studio. The lap of luxury! While the musicians jam out side 2 filler right on the studio floor and the singer sits in a corner, scribbling out lyrics, Oliver might as well be preparing his bandmates for a long <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/oliver-1\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}