Brother Oliver has made quite a name for themselves over the last couple of years. The beloved psychedelic rock outfit has toured the Southeast and Midwest aggressively and they’ve had quite a few groundbreaking moments as a band — including opening for big name acts like The Steve Miller Band and having the mayor of their city name a day after them for their album release. But as much as you might know about Brother Oliver, here’s 10 things you probably didn’t know:
1. They Got Their Start With Ukulele Covers
In high school, Stephen primarily wanted to record cover videos with his ukulele and Andrew on vocals. They did a couple, and they actually got a lot of views, but Andrew wasn’t feeling it and wanted to pursue original music primarily. Stephen followed suit shortly thereafter.
2. Andrew Took Guitar Lessons When He Was 10, But Quit In a Rage
Before Andrew got his start with a trumpet, he took guitar lessons as a 10 year old — but only for a couple months before quitting in a rage because he hated practicing and thought it was “too hard.” Obviously, he gave guitar a second chance later in life, but this time he’d teach himself.
3. Devin Sent a Crazed, Overly-Handsy Fan to Andrew’s Room Just To Mess With Him
After playing a show in West Virginia, there was an overly forward and handsy fan that was hanging around the hostel and wouldn’t leave Andrew alone. It was late, so being fed up Andrew decided to turn in for the night. Much to his surprise, the fan started banging on the door and jiggling the door knob aggressively trying to break in. How’d he know what room Andrew was in? Well, their drummer Devin is to blame. Some sense of humor. The fan, however, never made it into the room (thank goodness—it was pretty funny though).
4. George Sweet Is a Published (and Well-Renowned) Classical Composer
The band’s bassist, George Sweet, is a classical composer by day. He’s written countless pieces and has publishing deals with some of the largest classical band & orchestra distributors in the country. His music has been performed by orchestras all over the world.
5. Stephen Can Solve a Rubik’s Cube While Riding a Unicycle
Or at least he could at one time. We’re not sure if he had aspirations of the circus or what, but he used to do this stunt on the regular.
6. Andrew Was Homecoming King In Highschool, But Only Went To One Class
For the majority of their youth, Andrew and Stephen were homeschooled. But during Andrew’s junior year in high school they enrolled in one class at a local school to play sports. They went to class one hour a day, then they’d go home to be homeschooled for the rest of the day. Andrew was elected homecoming king that year, much to the pleasure of his at-times-oversized ego.
7. Devin Joined the Band On Accident (and We’re Happy He Did)
When Andrew was searching for a drummer for the band, he had an audition lined up with a friend who was mildly interested. But when Andrew showed up the practice space, his friend had a guitar in his hand and didn’t want to play drums. Instead, Devin was on the drums. They proceeded to play for an hour to two and Andrew was intrigued by Devin as an option. They got to talking, and the rest is history.
8. George Swam In the Holston River In Sub-Freezing Temperatures Because It “Looked Like Fun”
The morning after performing at the Band Camp Music Festival in Bristol, VA, the band was surprised waking up to find George splashing around in the Holston River. The issue is, it was 30 degrees out. Much to their shock, George was enjoying himself and seemingly un-phased by the cold temps.
9. Stephen Once Spent Three Days On Tour With The Flu — And Slept In the Van All Three Nights
Being sick on tour has got to be one of the worst things. A couple years ago, Stephen came down with the flu, and he had it bad. But the show must go on! Not only did he play every show that weekend, but he had to sleep in the van because Andrew didn’t want to spend money on hotels at the time. Cruel.
10. They Bought Their Tour Van For Just $1200 (and It’s Run Like A Gem For Over 150,000 Miles)
The band’s legendary silver tour van was purchased for just $1200, and it’s been a pure champ of the roads ever since. The van just goes and goes and goes. Call it luck, call it divine, but it’s got to be in the running for one of the best value purchases of all time. Hundreds of shows and 150,000 miles later, and it’s still going strong. Knock on wood.
Check out Brother Oliver on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube.