Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Maria.
Olivia, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in Western Canada and moved to Boston for college when I was 19. I was fortunate enough to have grown up with a really comprehensive classical music education but from childhood, I knew I was far more interested in being in a rock band. I met Mike Nevin, the other half of Cowboy Boy, in my freshman year of college but it wasn’t until a few years later that we started making music together and it was immediately a really special creative fit. I moved to LA in 2017 and even though Mike still lives in Boston, we’ve managed to make an entirely new album together Postal Service-style, except I email him demos instead of shipping them via USPS.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
The way I usually describe Cowboy Boy is that it’s pink, glittery power-pop. I think it’s pretty fun, but it’s also really direct and really honest. The main thing I hope people take away from listening to these songs is that there is power in vulnerability. Being vulnerable, especially in the public arena, is really scary and really hard. I feel like people, specifically non-men, aren’t often celebrated in the way they should be for having the courage to be vulnerable, but I find that I am most inspired by people that take that risk regardless. My aim as a songwriter is to present myself as honestly as possible, and hope that the people who hear my music find something resonant in what I’m saying. I derive a lot of personal and artistic strength from being able to unflinchingly express how I feel, and I think that strength translates well in the music I make.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
This is a difficult question to answer personally because I had the privilege of growing up in a family that had the means to foster my musical education both before and during college, and I know that my musical journey has been significantly less fraught with financial struggle than 99 percent of the rest of the world. That said, music is a full-time job that I am currently balancing between my other 2 full-time jobs that I need to pay my bills and buy my food. If I have any advice at all, it’s that you can learn almost anything on YouTube that you can learn at music school or in music lessons, and if you can’t learn it on YouTube, you can learn it by surrounding yourself with people that are better at music than you are.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Our debut EP, PRINCESS is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, and anywhere else you stream your music! We also recently released a couple of remixes from that EP that is a lot more pop-leaning than anything else we’ve done previously, and those are also available to stream. We’re pushing for a release of our second EP later this year as well, so keep an eye out for that. If you want to support us, or any music that you care about, the best thing you can do is throw us on a playlist and send it to all your friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: cowboyboyband.bandcamp.com
- Email: cowboyboyband@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cowboyboy_band/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cowboyboyband/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cowboyboyband
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Av2Givcsj23U125eU9mQD?si=ji7RRZ4aRLCVoRzYUGAhWw
Image Credit:
Elle DioGuardi, Olivia Maria
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