INTERVIEW: Strange Weekend

WTBU’s Reed Romanko sat down with Glen Ridge, New Jersey band Strange Weekend to discuss their history, music, and goals for the band. Strange Weekend is Simon Ogilvie (vocals/guitar), Aiden O’Connor (drums), and Oliver Turiano (bass).

REED ROMANKO: So, what ​is ​Strange Weekend?
SIMON OGILVIE: Well—
AIDEN O’CONNOR: He’s givin’ the candid answer to you.
SO: [Laughs] Well, I mean, it started as me and Oliver always kind of writing songs together since we were in eighth grade or whatever, but Aiden and Oliver both know each other from— OLIVER TURIANO: Band, like marching band and all that, so then we were kind of like, wait a minute, we can combine and do something, so then it kinda just evolved through that way, and—
SO: And like, end of 2016—
OT: Yeah, we formed at the end of 2016—
AO: Do we want to talk about Tituba’s Innocence?

RR: Do it! Yeah, talk about it!
SO: Alright, so we were in a band before called Tituba’s Innocence, with Kedar Ramanathan. I played guitar, Olly played bass… it was kind of more of a joke band.
OT: It ​wasa​ joke band! And then half way through we were like, “Maybe this shouldn’t be a joke band.”
SO: Kedar went to college, and we were like, “Alright, we should start making some real music now.

RR: Okay, that’s fun.
SO: We kind of just rode off of songs Me and Oliver have already wrote, and we just…

RR: Built it up from there?
SO: Yeah, exactly, we built it up from there.

RR: Alright, awesome! With that said, who is Strange Weekend? Tell me a little about yourselves. Who are the people behind Strange Weekend?
SO: I’m Simon Ogilvie, I play guitar and I sing, write songs…

RR: So you’re the primary songwriter you’d say?
SO: Well, it’s a mix… We all collaborate a little bit, but it’s mostly me and Oliver, Aiden gives a lot of good advice.
OT: He does.
AO: [​Laughs​] I’m always there for advice.

RR: Alright.
OT: I’m Oliver Turiano, and I started off as a drummer, I still am [laughs], but once I was just like, “Oh sh*t, Aiden plays drums… I guess I gotta play something else now!” And also I didn’t
want to be a drummer and like a singer/songwriter, so I started learning guitar, and now I play guitar and bass in the band.

RR: And finally…
AO: I’m Aidan O’Connor, and I play drums for these guys, for us, yeah… I do back up vocals, we all kinda sing.
OT and SO: Yeah, we do. [​Laughs​]
AO: Yeah, I’m a drummer. I go to film school in Chicago, I study music too.
SO: Aidan’s been writing up a new song for us. AO: We’ve been working on a music video.

RR: Oh, exciting! Are we gonna get a little sneak peek tonight?
OT: Oh, that would have been nice. [​Laughs​]
SO: But we’re all multi-instrumentalists.
OT: Yeah, like Aidan could write a bass part, or Simon could write a guitar part, or I could think up a cool drum part, so we can all trade around a little bit.

RR: Oh, that’s dope!
OT: We all play everything, and we’re all terrible singers.
SO: I mean, I’m calling myself a guitar player before anything else, and then bass is a secondary thing for me. I do really enjoy playing the bass as well.
AO: I’d say I’m a storyteller. [​Laughs]​
SO: Your main thing is drumming.
AO: Yeah, I play drums, I’m a naturally drummer.

RR: So in that vein of dabbling in each other’s instruments, have you considering going beyond that, maybe picking up a horn, or—
SO: Oh Jesus…
OT: In a couple songs, or two, or actually one, I use a synth, but in a lot of the songs, we actually use like strings and other arranged instruments, so we have some random piano stuff, a lot of synth stuff…
SO: In a new song, Aidan’s gonna be playing bass, and Olly’s gonna be up on drums.
AO: We’re going to have a little switch around, should be pretty cool.
SO: We’re always into playing other instruments, you know — I could have thought of something on the guitar that Olly couldn’t have, and Olly could have thought of something that I couldn’t think of. Bringing out different ideas, collaborating, you know.

RR: Of course! Very important. So, what would you say is your biggest musical inspiration?
AO: What we’re listening to right now.
OT: I mean, at least for me — and I’d probably say for your guys, but I can’t speak for you — whatever I’m listening to at the moment is gonna be what I write from.
SO: Yeah, whatever we’re listening to usually informs what I’m going to be writing about.

RR: Alright, so could you give me some examples?
SO: Bands we’re all really into, Arctic Monkeys—

RR: A classic.
OT: It’s kinda what we grew up on…
SO: A huge guitar influence for me is Johnny Marr from The Smiths.
AO: My Bloody Valentine.
SO: That’s how we got into all the pedals. I really like Ryan Jarman, guitar player for The Cribs.

OT: Recently, I know I’ve listened to a lot of ‘80s stuff, like Prefab Sprout, Aztec Camera, you know, ‘80s “sophisti-pop” if you will.
AO: Oh, of course there’s our boy, Shinner, supporting us.
OT: They’re a go-to.

RR: In terms of lyrics, I know you all contribute your own little bit, what inspires the words you guys say in the songs?
SO: Well, we wrote a lot of songs when we were seventeen, eighteen living in a suburban town…A lot of experiences from that.
AO: Past relationships and stuff, the classic—
OT: You know, the classic teen lyrics, but we always try to make them somewhat more tongue and cheek, satiristic, you gotta love that.
SO: But nothing too heady.
OT: No, nothing too heady! [​Laughs]​
AO: I wouldn’t call myself a lyricist, but I do enjoy writing lyrics.
OT: We like to make lyrics that people can shout along to, like those ​fat choruses.

RR: ​Fat ​choruses!

OT: With a “ph.”

RR: So what’s the end goal with you guys, for Strange Weekend?
OT: I mean, goal for right now, I think we really enjoy putting on local shows that a lot of our friends can come to, and especially mixing the crowds of certain groups and certain friends.

SO: We want to put on a good time for everyone, we don’t want to single anyone out.
OT: I don’t think we’ve ever been like, “We gotta get this because we gotta get huge.”
SO: We’re still thinking on very small level right now. Obviously, obviously, we’d love to— OT: To be indie famous!
SO: Obviously, I’d love to dropout of college and go on tour.
OT: Oh perfect!
SO: Right now we’re just a bunch of dudes playing some rock and roll.
AO: Right now we’re playing, recording songs for our friends, we’re just having a good time. OT: Building up a local following, for us and our friends!

RR: Nice, I respect it. And on that note, thanks! I wish you the best of luck in your performance tonight.
AO, OT, and SO: Thank you!
AO: And thank you BU!