Earlier this week, when I visited my 81 year old mother whom is recuperating from an infection in a skilled nursing facility, I was left to hear the complaining from the seniors about the younger generation, and exclamations of “What is the world coming to? Young men and women are not as passionate as they used to be, etc “. I simply do not agree since it seems that the spotlight is often on those that are not creating or passionate about their arts or even life in general. I know a young man who is amazingly talented and passionate in all that he does, that I would like to place in the spotlight and let the world enjoy his great gift of music and that young man is Ethan Teel.
The solo project of Ethan is The Owl-Eyes and earlier this year he released his debut EP, Wild Child. Ethan displays his great affection for various genres of music as he experiments with everything from pop, jazz, heavy metal, alternative, metalcore, hip-hop, punk, and so much more. In addition, he is not only a songwriter but a multi instrumentalist playing the guitar, drums, bass, and vocalist.
We had the opportunity for a Q & A with Ethan and are pleased to bring that to you here:
* * * * * * * *
Music Junkie Press: Thank you very much for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. Can you tell us about the latest with what is going on with your music, The Owl Eyes?
Ethan: As of right now, I’m working with a group of guys to play my music live. Our plan is to hit the open mics in the St.Paul, MN area, and through word-of-mouth, talk to some local bands about opening up for them. Eventually, through all this, we’ll develop a relationship with the club and venue owners and having our own gigs will become easy as pie.
On top of that, I’m always recording and writing. There is one song I plan to launch for free on my website. It’s a collaboration with EDM/Pop artist “Madd Oso.” So far, it sounds bad-ass.
And there’s always web content. Keep checking my website for the latest news, blogs, videos, etc.
Music Junkie Press: I love the new Owl Eyes because it just seems that they are there taking the world in and just watching everything around them, always thinking. How did you come up with calling yourself Owl Eyes?
Ethan: The Owl-Eyes has always been the creative outlet for any of my works of art; whether it be film, poetry, and in the case so far – music. Since The Owl-Eyes is one person (me), there were some in the beginning thinking it would be much easier and simpler to just go under my name, seeing as how I am a “solo” artist. However, many producers and contributors in the past told me that going under a band name would be more marketable. Aside from that, what I do with my music is the same exact thing Trent Reznor does with “Nine Inch Nails.” So I basically told myself, “why bother with my legal name and just make a ‘band’ to go under?” And so I chalked a whole bunch of names down on my phone. One of them was “The Owl-Eyes,” and when shooting my music video back in the late summer of 2013, the video director said that she liked it, and so we went with that.
The origin of the name itself comes from the novel “The Great Gatsby.” In it, there is a minor character called, “The Owl-Eyed man,” and he is discovered in Gatsby’s library during a party. He is amazed that Mr. Gatsby actually has REAL novels in the study, and not just props. However, as the character points out to the protagonist, Mr. Gatsby hasn’t actually read the novels. He just keeps them in the study.
The point of this scene is to prove that Mr. Gatsby is a pseudo-intellectual. He seems smart on the outside – with his vast amount of books, wealth, and worldly experiences. But all of this is a front to trick people into think he’s smarter than he actually is; and it took a pair of “Owl-Eyes,” (Owls being a symbol of wisdom) to point this out.
Pseudo-intellectualism is horrendously large in the music world these days. There are multiple bands naming themselves after great philosophers, works of literature, a passage of scripture, etc; Yet their music, sound, and identity has nothing to do with the name at all. The name is basically a way for marketing to promote the band to teenagers who want to listen to something other than mainstream pop. The kids believe they are getting music with substance because of the name. But the only substance they are getting is blast beats or corny lyrics.
How does this connect to me? I hate pseudo-intellectuals, even though I am one. Pseudo-Intellectual’s talk out of their asses all the time to impress people, and while I recognize this as a pet peeve I hate, I do this literally ALL THE TIME. I figured, “what if I made myself to be the BIGGEST PSEUDO-INTELLECTUAL OF THEM ALL?!? I’ll be the hyperbolic mirror held up to the masses, so that people can look upon me and go, ‘Oh, I get it now.’ and then we can go on to bigger and better things; while also enjoying the music I create.”
And that’s why I called the band “The Owl-Eyes.” We are going to be the mirror that reflects to the world what we have become.
Music Junkie Press: With being so young and having such a great passion for music, did you grow up in a musical family or when did you see yourself immerse yourself into songwriting and creating your own music?
Ethan: Most of the music stuff comes from my mother’s side of the family. My grandfather could play trombone, tuba, and trumpet; whereas my mother played piano (she still plays piano for my hometown church). My grandfather was the first music “geek” in the family. He had an album of “The Mills Brothers,” that he would play over and over again. We actually played that album during the visitation when he passed away. It was such a strange yet welcoming juxtaposition; he was gone and yet we had all this really happy music playing. It was chill.
The seeds for my love of music began when I was 8 years old. I wanted to learn how to play the drums because I saw one kid play them at a local town jamboree. From there, the kid gave me lessons and I was learning about all these cool bands like “Black Sabbath,” and “Lynyrd Skynyrd.” But things really didn’t take off until I was 12; that’s when I discovered “School of Rock.” School of Rock is a for-profit, music education program serving nearly 10,000 students in over 138 locations. There are several different courses within the School itself, but all of them are performance based programs where kids learn a set list and then perform that set list in front of a live audience. It was at School of Rock that I met my local brand of mutants. There were kids just like me, who had the same passion and drive for the arts as I do; and because of this, we shared music recommendations like crazy and I started listening to way more music than I would have otherwise.
The nail on the coffin though – the moment where I decided that music would be my life – came at around 14 years old. I’ve always loved film and for a while I saw myself as possibly becoming a film director. I went to this camp called SOCAPA (School Of Creative And Performing Arts) where I got to direct, edit, write, and produce 2 original short films in the time span of two weeks. I had so much fun while I was out there, but I thought making movies would be as simple as putting my dreams and perceptions onto celluloid. I came to find out that the process was so much harder….maybe not even worth trying?
So I’m sitting in my parents RV, staring up at the ceiling at like 1:00am, and I was thinking to myself “well, what now Ethan? You’ve always wanted to be a film director right? You’ve looked up all these colleges about film, and now you’re having second doubts? What are you gonna do with you life?”
I had Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” on CD, and I had suddenly realized that I’ve never truly listened to an album all the way through. I decided to have a classic be my first album experience, and I played the entirety of the album, all the way through, on a low volume to where the music was crisp, clear, and never distorted. It was a soft and chill moment; the notes just spilling into my ear canal.
When it was all over, I clicked off the Cd and said, “That. I want to do that. I want to be in music forever and eventually create something like I just experienced.” And that’s how I got into music.
Music Junkie Press: What advice could you give to the youth who struggle to continue with their passion for music, either by being told to stray from the type of music they want to create or to follow a different path completely?
Ethan: I say do you. We all got that special drive and sometimes it just takes a lot of experimentation to find that one thing that makes us truly happy. When we do find that one thing, there is nothing better in the world. So do what you feel is right, cause if it ends up with you doing something you absolutely love, eventually people will come around to standing beside you. As long as you have the passion for it, and you express that passion vigorously through hard work and determination, with love and happiness…eventually others will stand beside you. Just remember, there’s no vanity in the presence of gratitude.
But to be more blunt, there’s actually two quotes that I can use to sum all this up.
“Men have called me mad: but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the excellent intelligence – whether much that is glorious – whether all that is profound – does not spring from disease of thought – from moods of mind exalted at the expense of general intellect.”
-Edgar Allen Poe
and finally…
“All works of man have their origin in creative fantasy. What right have we then to depreciate imagination?”
-Carl Jung.
Music Junkie Press: I understand that you are a multi-instrumentalist, do you have an affinity for one instrument versus the others.
Ethan: The first instrument I ever learned how to play was the drums; and they still remain to be my favorite instrument to perform live. I love being the front man because I can control the audience. I love the freedom of expression that being a front man allows for as well. But personally, I just love playing the drums because unlike guitars where your patterns are more melodically based (and therefore, you have to deal much more with music theory) on the drums, the patterns are more rhythmically based. With guitars, vocals, and other types of melodic instruments, you hear the music. But with drums, you feel the music.
To sum it up, lead vocals live and playing the drums are the two instruments in my wheel house of tricks that I always love coming back to.
Music Junkie Press: Do you have any upcoming performances you can tell us about?
Ethan: As of right now, no. But we are working on it everyday. Keep checking the Facebook page and the website for more info. Whenever we get a live gig, those two places will have the details STAT!
Music Junkie Press: Who are some of the most influential musicians that made an impact on you?
Ethan: All of the artists that I have ever listened to have influenced my sound and writing to some degree. To prove this, here are my top 20 Artists of all time (in order). See if you can hear the influences from them in my music.
- The Rolling Stones
- The Kinks
- The Pixies
- Dream Theater
- Lamb of God
- Slipknot
- Death Grips
- Sonic Youth
- Gorillaz
- Led Zeppelin
- TOOL
- Nine Inch Nails
- Rush
- The Black Keys
- Mewithoutyou
- The Flaming Lips
- Primus
- Radiohead
- The Beatles
Pink Floyd.
Music Junkie Press: What are three things about yourself that you can share with us?
Ethan: I busted my head open once and had to get it “glued” back together. No joke. My father and I built this bridge that spans over this little creek towards my Grandmother’s house, and one day when I was 10 years old, while climbing around it, I fell off and cut my head open on some sharp rocks. They took me to the hospital and the cut was deep enough that stitches could’ve been a possibility, but frankly, I was freaking out so bad (cause I had never gone through any trauma ever before then) that they thought giving me stitches would do more harm than good. So they grabbed this stuff called “medical glue,” and, for intensive purposes, “glued” my head back together. Pretty neat huh? No wonder I’m so weird.
I write fanfiction. I haven’t been able to write as much now since I’m in college, but I still do. I geek out over everything and I also love to write. Naturally fan fiction would result out of these two things. It’s just an extension of what I do with my writing. I’ve written fan fictions for Avatar the Last Airbender, Artemis Fowl, Teen Titan, Sly Cooper, and Gorillaz. And I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I’ll hold nothing back. Some of those fan fics got STEAMY!
My first performance ever with the School of Rock, I was attacked on stage by an elderly woman who came down to our school to complain about the noise. She literally pushed my head into the snare drum while she tried grabbing the over head microphones. But I still kept the beat going, and after she was taken off stage by management (while I was still keeping a steady tempo) we were given a standing ovation. TAKE THAT ELDERLY!
Music Junkie Press: If we could peak into your Ipod, what artist or song might we be most surprised at finding in there?
Ethan: Die Antwoord. Yes, I love South African Rave Hip-Hop. I also really dig August Burns Red and Suicide Silence. But I think mostly you’ll be surprised that I have Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, and Childish Gambino on my IPod because I create alt-rock music, and all those acts are SUPER hip-hop. I think we are entering a renaissance age for Hip-Hop. We got all these forward thinking people within the genre right now. “Telegraph Ave. (Oakland by Lloyd)” has been playing on my phone non-stop. It’s slowly becoming my jam, and quite possibly a contender of my top 20 songs of all time.
Music Junkie Press: With music being so powerful and can help, heal, inspire people, can you share a time in your life when music was there to help you through something. Maybe a particular song or artist that was instrumental in getting you through something tough?
Ethan: There of course was the incident about Pink Floyd I mentioned earlier, but that wasn’t necessarily healing. I just wasn’t so sure what I wanted to do with my life, and the music I heard on “Dark Side,” was so awe-inspiring and jaw dropping that I made it a mission in life to recreate that moment of awe through my music.
I guess a good moment of healing through music always comes from Gospel music. Whenever I’m feeling blue, I just bust out my guitar and play “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” I do this gospel bluegrass version that this hymnal in our church has. Every time I sing it, I feel a rising in spirit and in confidence. Sometimes I just gotta remind myself that this plan of existence is only temporary (and to a certain extent, it isn’t really even real; cause what is reality other than a collection of our perceptions) and that “I gotta home on the other side.”
Music Junkie Press: With your emotionally driven lyrics, do you have a particular song writing process?
Ethan: Most of my song writing comes out of fail attempts of trying to play someone else’s tune. I then modify it into becoming my tune. For example, there’s a song I’m working on with a working title “Cigarettes and Dead Daydreams.” I basically came up with the song when I was trying to play “You’re So Great,” by BLUR. I couldn’t get the riff down right, so I just basically modified what I was doing until it became original. I even incorporated a riff from the song “Down by the River,” by Neil Young.
That’s the music side of the equation. Sometimes I will just have a lick that appears out of nowhere in my head that I have to write down (like in my song “Crazy Little Lady.” The main lick of that song just was playing in my head and I had to write it down). But most of the time, the music I create is a jumbled up version of every single song I’ve ever heard ever; I then throw three or more songs together, blend them, and modify the lick into becoming my own original lick. Not plagiarism. It’s Inspiration.
The lyrics themselves come after the song is written, usually. Sometimes there will be fair occasions where I’ll just have a poem in my head I want to put to music. But 9 times out of 10, the lyrics are set to the music after the melody is written; therefore I can come up with good lyrics to fit the mood of the song. You don’t want a happy-fun time song juxtaposed with sad emo lyrics. You want both to match in tone, theme, and mood.
They lyrics basically are portions of my emotions exaggerated to the point of hyperbolic nature. For example the lyrics for “Wild Child,” come from my punk rock, loner, rebellious side; just exaggerated to the sense of goofiness. “Hopeless,” is my hopeless romantic side (pun intended) turned up to 11. All lyrics I ever write are genuine emotions I feel and want to express, I just turn them up to an 11 so they get more specific in nature, yet broader in scope.
And that is my writing process.
Music Junkie Press: Lastly, is there anything you would to share with our audience and your fans?
Ethan: World Domination is at hand. Spread the word, share the website and facebook page; and you’ll be seated at the right hand of
* * * * * * * *
What an amazing young man with a wealth of talent and passion. I can’t wait to see what is next in store for this talented musician. When you look at Ethan and what he has to offer this generation, he gives us hope and rest assured, we will be in good hands.
You can pick up his EP Wild Child here on iTunes. He has also just released his latest EP, Schizo Girlfriend in August and you can pick it up on iTunes here. Both EPs are also available directly through his website here: http://theowleyes.com/music. You are going to love it and soon you will be telling everyone about your new favorite band, The Owl-Eyes! Make sure to visit his social media sites and stay up to date on his latest news.
~ Marisol
Information & Links:
- Website: http://theowleyes.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OwlEyes1995
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Owl_Eyes1995
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/themetalman3
- iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-owl-eyes/id909129397
Leave a Reply