Oh, Hush! have got a secret...
A band of many mysteries, Oh, Hush! have slowly become one of the most talked about musical projects in the internet world. In what can only be described as tantalizingly mystifying, Oh, Hush! are looking to take over and save the world with their music that is self-explained as “so far behind the musical curve [they] think [they’re] actually ahead of it now”. Don’t let yourself regret not jumping on this one, here’s what this band of secrets had to say when we caught up with them.
When searching around the internet for interesting information about Oh, Hush! I discovered that you’re yet to be entered in urbandictionary.com or Wikipedia. What would you like to see written on those sites to describe the group?
Good question!! And I searched wiki the other day and didn’t see anything up there… I was slightly disappointed! Haha I think the bottom line is we’d want a FAN to write those entries for us. I know a lot of bands basically write their entries themselves but I really would want a fan perspective of Oh, Hush! In there. After all, we’re all about two things: 1) the MUSIC and 2) our FANS!! I think as long as those two things were the focal point of the entries, I would be content.
Now that you brought it up, did you wanna take a shot at writing the entries for those?? :-)
There’s been plenty of speculation on who’s in the group, and also whether the members are famous. There are a lot of people who want to know who plays a part in this project, but also quite a few who’d prefer to keep it a secret. How does the divide in public opinion affect the groups’ ultimate decision of unveiling the members?
It’s funny because while I know this is the “million dollar question” as it relates to Oh, Hush!, we probably get 50 e-mails a week from people telling us “please DON’T ever reveal yourselves, I love what you’re doing and I don’t even want to know who you are.” And then we get 2 e-mails a week saying “ok, im really tired of this, just tell us who you are!!?!?” So it really seems like people are connecting with the idea we’re trying to create here. Again, the idea that it doesn’t HAVE to be all about image and who’s in the band and who’s got a sister who’s on a Disney show or whatever. But rather, it can be ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC!!
Ultimately though, we try not to let public opinion sway much about the decision to or not to reveal. We don’t even really think about “the reveal” thing much at all. We are primarily focused on making great music and taking care of our fans! If at some point, there’s a “right” moment to reveal the band, then we’ll turn our attention towards that. But for now, that’s not our focus at all and never really has been.
Clothing lines have quickly become a craze amongst the music world, with different artists releasing their own fashion. Has anyone involved in Oh, Hush! considered releasing their own line?
I think in some respects we already have released our own clothing line. Heck, we’re the band that’s never played a show and still sold thousands and thousands of shirts and merch items. Almost sounds more like a clothing line that happens to play music than a band. I think that’s part of the beauty of Oh, Hush! We’re more than just a band. In fact, I think we’re really re-defining what the idea and concept of a “band” is!! “Oh, Hush!” is a good name for a clothing line right??
The past seven months has seen many great albums released, which ones have been your favourites so far? And what is your most anticipated release for this year?
To be honest, we’ve been so tied up in finishing up our record that we haven’t had all that much time to pay attention to everything that’s come out this year. But luckily our fans keep me in the loop to what’s out there and what needs to be checked out. I think Katy Perry’s record is a pop masterpiece! The Academy Is… new record is fabulous! We just had Jack’s Mannequin and Anberlin release new records… though I haven’t heard either, I can’t wait to hear both! Butch Walker’s “Sycamore Meadows” is gonna blow everyone’s mind later this year! The Killers record is coming out in November. But what about Britney Spears….. I think thats my most anticipated! I think “Womanizer” kinda sucks… but I have a feeling the record is gonna rule!!
Have you ever noticed fans wearing Oh, Hush! shirts in public? If so, do you ever react to them (e.g., smile or wave)?
Haha! That’s actually happened a number of times. Depends where I see the person. If it’s in a musical setting, then it’s all good and just cool to see people representing Oh, Hush! If it’s like at the mall, I’m usually tempted to go up to the person and be like “Oh, Hush! sucks!!” I’ve never done that but I think the next person I see wearing Oh, Hush! at a non-musical event is gonna get that response!!
A lot of fans would have noticed that Oh, Hush! is online quite often, what sites are your favourite to browse and are there any message boards/communities that you lurk?
Well I pretty much leave my computer on 24 hours a day so while it probably looks like I’m sitting in front of my computer all day, I’m really only sitting in front of it MOST of the day! Obviously we’re on myspace a LOT!! I do a little bit of Facebook-ing periodically. I love lostpedia.com for all things geeked-out-LOST-theories!! I spend a lot of time on Wikipedia as well just reading all sorts of crazy bios on different people! I try to stay away from most of the music message boards because most people are pretty mean on those things and it’s not cool to watch people berate various musicians they don’t like. The internet kinda sucks that way… it gives everyone a voice but you don’t have to be accountable for what you actually say. I think that’s kinda lame.
What is the most played song on your iPod right now?
::goes and checks::……………..”Everybody’s Lookin’ For Love” by Oh, Hush! (how ghey am I???)
Does it bother you when fans seem more interested in your identities than the music?
I don’t really get bothered by much. I certainly can understand that people would be interested in the identities of the members of Oh, Hush! That’s totally fine. I think most of our fans at one point have given some thought to that. I’ve had a few people tell me they don’t wanna listen to our music until they know who’s in the band. That’s their prerogative and of course they are proving our point that music has become about WHO’s in a band and what they look like more than the music. But again, nothing really bothers me. Bottom line is we want people to love us or hate us, but do it 100% based on the music!
What are your thoughts of this “scene” and also industry? A lot of people are worried of the fragility of the record industry right now, where do you see it going in the next ten years?
Certainly the music industry has been on a pretty crazy huge decline the past 5 years. Once upon a time 100 bands a year would have platinum records. These days, 10-15 bands do. But that’s another thing I think Oh, Hush! is really ahead of the curve on. While record labels and bands keep on doing the same things over and over and watch the music industry decline, here we are trying a completely different approach to music and having some success. I’m not saying the “Oh, Hush! Model” is the model all bands should follow, but I get excited when I see artists taking their careers into their own hands and doing something a little bit different.
To us, this is a very EXCITING time in music! The internet and pages like myspace have really revolutionized music and the ability to reach fans directly!! Now’s the time when creative thinking and new ways of doing things are possible! We’re really excited about music in the next 10 years! I think we might see record labels become marketing companies and you’ll see more companies (say for example companies like Old Navy… or American Eagle) get more involved in releasing records for bands!! Can’t wait to see what the future holds!!
Who do you believe the most influential person/people in music are currently?
The most influential people in music are the ones who are doing things differently and having an impact! Butch Walker is now not only the hottest producer/songwriter in the world, but he’s also releasing all of his own records himself. Nine Inch Nails released their records themselves in all sorts of crazy different packages and they revolutionized the sale of a CD. Rock bands are working with R&B artists and doing duets and re-mixes (Maroon 5 meets Rihanna). These are the kinds of things that are exciting to me cuz they’re people who take a new approach! That’s awesome!
Are there any questions that you’ve always wished an interviewer would ask, but haven’t?
Yes. How did it feel to be passed over for the lead role of Han Solo in the original Star Wars movie??
As most fans know, you’re quite skilled with the use of ‘net-speak’. Do you ever find yourself using any of these phrases in ‘real life’?
Hahaha!! Nice question bb!! I learned all of my net-speak from all of y’all!! Every once in a grand while I will slip one into real life convo but most people just don’t get that. haha
How do you react when people refer to life off of the internet as ‘real life’?
It’s all “real life” to me bb!!
I’ve read that you’re planning to release an album sometime this year; do you know what the title of the album will be? Or will the naming rights of it become another Oh, Hush! competition?
We just released the album you’re referring to on September 30th!! “The YELLOW Album” was titled by us, but we held a contest to have our fans design the album cover!! We received some 500 entries to the album cover contest but the winning album cover really kinda jumped out at us as what we wanted to really represent this album!!
If you haven’t picked up a copy of the record yet, head over to our myspace page: www.myspace.com/ohhushmusic
OR you can head over to our merch store directly at: www.ohhush.bigcartel.com
There’s a section where people can submit questions about anything, which Oh, Hush! may answer. Some of the questions have been help with homework, and some have been some real life advice. Oh, Hush! is making the world a better place by educating the kids, it seems?
Without over-analyzing things, we certainly do realize that we have a small amount of influence in people’s lives and we want to make sure that we do something POSITIVE with that influence! In some respects it’s just flat out entertainment to publicly answer some question about how a glacier is formed or 10 reasons NOT to date a musician, but in another respect, these are real answers to real questions people submit to us! We also non-publicly answer a lot of questions as well. If there’s a chance we can help people out with some questions or problems they are facing, then we’re gonna do it!
Is there anything you’d like to leave with the readers of this interview, announcements of love, advice, a joke, an album/tour plug?
We just wanna say THANKS to everyone who has supported us the past year! We never could’ve imagined that after starting this thing with one song and an ugly logo, that we’d be here a year later talking about our new record that we just released!! Thanks again!!
Thank you for your time!
Thank YOU for the interview questions!! It was a lot of fun!!
Interview by Kirsty Jarrett
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