Olivia Awbrey: Photo by Sam Gehrke“I selfishly wrote ‘Ones to Make It’ as a pep talk to myself,” tells singer-songwriter Olivia Awbrey. “I wrote it when I was touring by myself and wondering why I was attempting a career in music—it can be lonely and you're broke most of the time. But if there's one thing that sticks out to me about the music I listen to, it’s that it’s always there to create empathy and inspire people to do more and be themselves. I listen to artists who carry that message of persistence and punk rock honesty throughout their narratives, and I wanted to add to that tradition.”
Thus, "'Ones to Make It' is my attempt to write an inspiring song that blends punk with folk, and calls in my musical and activist community to believe in what we're doing,” Awbrey continues. It’s also the lead track from her studio debut, a full-band effort—featuring Shane Abrams on bass, Pete Abraham on electric guitar and John-Paul Ortega on drums—entitled Fight or Fight that’s due out on Thursday, March 16 and will be celebrated that eve at the Alberta Street Pub.
Recorded at Dead Aunt Thelma's and The Rye Room beginning last September, “It took a few months of evening and weekend studio visits, and I'm glad we took our time,” Awbrey reflects. Matt Greco of The Rye Room “became a great driving force of the recording process. Because I've done a lot of home recording on my own, I was happily surprised to find that recording with an engineer can be fun and so much easier.” Greco also offered his services on keys and organ on many of the album's seven tracks, while other collaborators include Margaret Wehr (also of Moorea Masa & The Mood) providing some violin, Sam Hunt playing trumpet on a few songs, and Dan Klee (of Danny Paul II) on saxophone.
And while “we've been a four-piece for only a year,” Awbrey is incredibly excited about the diverse styles that the guys bring to her songs—it all fits “really well with the direction I envision this project going,” she explains.
