Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Morreale.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Olivia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Washington, DC and later New York City and started singing when I was about nine years old. When my family moved to New York, I started going to jazz jam sessions at night in the city, but before college I always thought I would study classical voice – I didn’t really realize being a jazz musician or a pop musician was a thing you could do as a career. I always loved jazz and listened to old school big band records and vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole growing up. I was set to study opera at Manhattan School of Music but then got an opportunity that brought me to study jazz at USC in Los Angeles. Since then, I’ve been living and working in LA as a songwriter and musician!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being on the other side of the country from my family has forced me to take ownership of my identity, both in music and in life in general. I’m lucky to have a supportive family and two brothers and a sister whom I love, but being far from them isn’t easy! I’ve tried a lot of things on my own that have crashed and burned. It’s always difficult to own everything about a failure, but then I get to learn more about myself and the people around me and to take full ownership of that information.
As a musician, I’ve also moved through a lot of different genres and styles of music, and as a person I’ve done the same thing in a lot of ways. After attending two schools in Washington DC and then moving to New York in high school and then Los Angeles afterwards I’ve had to adjust to a lot of different situations. I wouldn’t call this a struggle by any means – I’ve been so fortunate to have so many amazing experiences – but being a chameleon socially and musically can get confusing at times, and it’s difficult to get a grasp on what is important and what is truly a part of me.
Other than that, I really can’t complain. I’m one of the luckiest people I know, and I’m so grateful for the people and circumstances that have brought me here.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As a musician, I strive to be involved in any project I think will enhance my art, my musicianship, or myself as a person. I’m currently working on a new album for my project Foxie, but I’m also in a girl band called MOTHER and an R&B duo with my good friend Eli Koskoff, among other projects. Foxie is where I get to write exactly what I want. I get contemplative lyrically and harmonically and cherish those songs as the starting place for everything else I am involved in.
My strengths lie in lyric writing and vocals, and I also arrange and play keyboards. I write and perform with songwriters around the city, play keyboards for a few different groups (including a Queen Tribute!), sing background vocals, and am a member of the Los Robles master chorale! I’ve sung and danced in a vintage trio group and done lots of work that has indirectly informed how I operate as a musician but also as a professional generally speaking in a lot of different settings.
I’m also a journalist and have written for Playboy, Music Connection, and a magazine called Westwood Westwood, where I’ve interviewed other artists and creatives. I love doing this! It gives me an amazing perspective on the way other artists approach creativity as a career.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My parents have always been my biggest supporters – they share every show I have on Facebook. Thanks, guys. More than that, they’ve always encouraged me to explore and to be honest, vulnerable, and realistic all at once, and have supported me in more ways than I can even conceive of! My brothers and sister have of course been a part of that, too.
My band, MOTHER, has also been a huge part of my musical growth thus far – Jess Kallen, Melody Ector, and Christine Meisenhelter have been my bandmates for three years, and we’ve done so much writing, creating, learning and growing together. Our new drummer Mary LaBlanc does our songs justice and is an amazing energy to be around too. I wouldn’t be the same person without them.
The musical community at USC is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received – there are so many friends I made there that I’ll be making music with for the rest of my life, and for that I’m so so grateful.
Pricing:
- My last EP, “Daytime Moon,” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://foxiesays.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @foxiesays
- Facebook: @foxiesays
Image Credit:
Sara Keefe, Marina Pipher, Sam Hardy, Victor Hernandez, Emma Bertrand and Lauren Shelburne
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