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Audio: musician Mike Oliver
1st February 2011
Quirky Mike Oliver is an 18-year-old musician and college student from Swindon. Earlier in his short career he was part of a band called the PI's, which was made up of members of the Physically Impaired Unit at his school.
If you like Frank Turner and blues, Mike says you'll probably enjoy his music.
He sang live and spoke with Liz Carr and Mat Fraser as part of the fortnightly Ouch Talk show, available as a podcast.
If you like Frank Turner and blues, Mike says you'll probably enjoy his music.
He sang live and spoke with Liz Carr and Mat Fraser as part of the fortnightly Ouch Talk show, available as a podcast.
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MAT Liz, who's the incredibly handsome guy over there?
LIZ Mike Oliver is with us here today. No not the disabled academic one, you're another one, Mike yeah?
MIKE Yeah apparently I'm a boxer as well on google. I did that incredibly egoistical thing where you google yourself.
MAT I've never done it.
LIZ How many pages did you get to before you decided to stop?
MIKE I got to like the 16th which is quite far in I think for somebody, but yeah I'm a boxer and an academic like you said. And I'm also a musician which is me.
MAT Indeed and you're here to play some live music for us in a bit, and we're looking forward to it. But, first, tell us a bit about yourself - where you're from?
MIKE Well basically I'm a musician, I'm from Swindon.
MAT I'm so sorry.
MIKE I know it's not brilliant is it?
MAT No about being a musician.
MIKE And I do kind of folky acoustic music at the moment with the guy who's here today, Ollie.
LIZ Are you a musician fulltime or are you studying or working?
MIKE I study at college but if somebody asks I'd be a musician even though I make no money whatsoever but I don't think anybody does at the moment.
MAT It's part of being a musician isn't it normally?
MIKE Yeah exactly.
MAT And when you write songs do you write the lyrics first or do you write the music or does Ollie write the music I mean what...?
MIKE It really I mean it kind of really depends. We've done it both ways like sometimes he's like the kind of person who just sits and just plays and so if he's got... I'll just stop him sometimes and it'll be like, "What was that, that was really cool?"
LIZ And do you play anything as well?
MIKE Well I can kind of play base but because of the CP thing which I assume will get mentioned in a later question, it's inhibiting.
LIZ We were going to avoid it. We always avoid talking about people's...
MAT Oh no we don't do that.
LIZ Yeah absolutely.
MAT Do you play live?
MIKE Yeah we...
MAT Whereabouts?
MIKE Well around Swindon we've had a few gigs. We've had one gig in Milton Keynes but basically that's what we're trying to do at the moment is break into the 'Swindon scene'.
MAT Well as everybody knows if you really want to break into the 'Swindon scene' you have to come on the Ouch disability podcast.
MIKE Well yeah that's it every opportunity's an opportunity isn't it? Clichés work don't they?
LIZ But I love... I was reading that you actually had a band at school so this isn't your first...
MAT Oh yeah this is good.
MIKE Okay. So basically I'm only 18 so when I was 15 - long story short - I approached a guy who worked at the school and I was like, "Hey I want to be in a band." And so he went to the person who ran the unit for the people with disabilities at the school. So basically what happened is we did this band and we were called the PIs for the physically impaired.
LIZ I love it.
MIKE Which everybody finds really funny but it wasn't like a really deep thing, it was just like yeah.
MAT The PIs.
MIKE I was like it doesn't matter we're just going to call ourselves that.
LIZ And what sort of music did you play, what songs?
MAT What were they called?
MIKE What?
MAT The songs.
MIKE Oh we did... they were like all really negative titles because I was going through a bit of a punk phase, like I grew up with lots of Blink 182 and stuff.
MAT But were they about disability like, "Aagghh I'm angry."
MIKE There was one called Go Away that was kind of a...
LIZ Every teenager writes a song called Go Away.
MIKE No but it was more specific than that. I mean nobody listened to my lyrics because I was just kind of shouting. But it was kind of like, "Don't patronise me, don't categorise me I'm just who I am".
MAT And now apparently I have to tell you right here and now, Mike, that I was and sometimes still am a drummer. In the notes it said you clashed with the drummer. Could that have been because of your monstrously enlarged ego and not agreeing that all songs should speed up in the middle?
MIKE Probably. It was more like this guy without - I mean I love him, we had our differences...
MAT They hate each other.
LIZ Of course.
MIKE This guy had never heard of Phil Collins obviously because he was like, "Well I'm a drummer I don't have to write anything." And I was like, "What? If you don't like what I write, you write something." He was like, "No I'm a drummer." And then we never got past that. And we were just two really big personalities and we just clashed. And then we had kind of a bassist who played base on a keyboard which is complicated anyway, but it just got round us finding a bassist basically. And he got caught in the middle of it all and then... Because they were, I should say as well, they were younger, they were like in Year 8 or something.
MAT Did it come to blows, Mike?
MIKE Almost.
MAT Was it a crip fight at school?
MIKE Actually no, there was this guy in our band who was like he...
LIZ Was it like Timmy and Jimmy that's all I'm thinking so far?
MIKE He couldn't really play anything so all he used to do was just play a tambourine and he was in the band, he had his place right?
LIZ Patronise...
MAT And you hear it all here, this is the music industry in one soliloquy my friend.
MIKE So he was like, he goes, "Sorry I didn't mean to hit you I had a fit." Now I can tell the difference.
MAT This is a comedy sketch waiting to happen. Shall we do the quick questions?
LIZ Shall we move on with the quick questions?
MAT Yeah come on.
LIZ Are you ready, Mike?
MIKE Yeah, yeah.
LIZ Okay. Well in three words how would you sum up your school days?
MIKE Slow, lonely and pointless.
MAT And bearing in mind we're on the BBC what's your favourite joke?
MIKE Oh God we're on the BBC aren't we? What do you call a guy who hangs around with musicians? A drummer.
LIZ Coffee or fruit juice?
MIKE Coffee.
MAT Not funny. That was not funny.
LIZ Mat, it's not about you.
MAT Crisps or olives, Mike?
MIKE Crisps.
LIZ The first thing I'll do when I get home today is...?
MIKE Brag about being on the BBC.
MAT If I could be an animal I'd be...?
MIKE A leopard.
LIZ If I could live in another country I'd choose...?
MIKE America.
MAT TV or internet?
MIKE Internet.
LIZ Disabled persons' railcard or young persons' railcard?
MIKE Young persons' railcard.
MAT Drummers are better than lead singers because...?
MIKE They sing.
MAT No I was joking. That's the quick fire questions done.
LIZ No.
MAT No?
LIZ People who like Mike Oliver's music also like...?
MIKE Frank Turner, Blues music, honesty.
LIZ Ooh!
MAT Honesty!
LIZ It's quite deep.
MAT Oh dear. Right then honest Mike Oliver.
LIZ Or is honesty a band?
MAT Isn't it an album by Beyonce?
MIKE Is it?
MAT No.
MIKE I don't listen to Beyonce so I will...
MAT Oh well that makes all of us. Okay.
LIZ And if we want to find out more, listen to your stuff where can listeners tune into?
MIKE Well I've got a Reverbnations site which is just kind of it's moving on from MySpace. So it's Reverbnation/mikeolivermusic.
MAT Now cue Mike, what are you going to play for us Mike?
MIKE It's called Pay No Mind.
[Playing music]
LIZ Mike Oliver is with us here today. No not the disabled academic one, you're another one, Mike yeah?
MIKE Yeah apparently I'm a boxer as well on google. I did that incredibly egoistical thing where you google yourself.
MAT I've never done it.
LIZ How many pages did you get to before you decided to stop?
MIKE I got to like the 16th which is quite far in I think for somebody, but yeah I'm a boxer and an academic like you said. And I'm also a musician which is me.
MAT Indeed and you're here to play some live music for us in a bit, and we're looking forward to it. But, first, tell us a bit about yourself - where you're from?
MIKE Well basically I'm a musician, I'm from Swindon.
MAT I'm so sorry.
MIKE I know it's not brilliant is it?
MAT No about being a musician.
MIKE And I do kind of folky acoustic music at the moment with the guy who's here today, Ollie.
LIZ Are you a musician fulltime or are you studying or working?
MIKE I study at college but if somebody asks I'd be a musician even though I make no money whatsoever but I don't think anybody does at the moment.
MAT It's part of being a musician isn't it normally?
MIKE Yeah exactly.
MAT And when you write songs do you write the lyrics first or do you write the music or does Ollie write the music I mean what...?
MIKE It really I mean it kind of really depends. We've done it both ways like sometimes he's like the kind of person who just sits and just plays and so if he's got... I'll just stop him sometimes and it'll be like, "What was that, that was really cool?"
LIZ And do you play anything as well?
MIKE Well I can kind of play base but because of the CP thing which I assume will get mentioned in a later question, it's inhibiting.
LIZ We were going to avoid it. We always avoid talking about people's...
MAT Oh no we don't do that.
LIZ Yeah absolutely.
MAT Do you play live?
MIKE Yeah we...
MAT Whereabouts?
MIKE Well around Swindon we've had a few gigs. We've had one gig in Milton Keynes but basically that's what we're trying to do at the moment is break into the 'Swindon scene'.
MAT Well as everybody knows if you really want to break into the 'Swindon scene' you have to come on the Ouch disability podcast.
MIKE Well yeah that's it every opportunity's an opportunity isn't it? Clichés work don't they?
LIZ But I love... I was reading that you actually had a band at school so this isn't your first...
MAT Oh yeah this is good.
MIKE Okay. So basically I'm only 18 so when I was 15 - long story short - I approached a guy who worked at the school and I was like, "Hey I want to be in a band." And so he went to the person who ran the unit for the people with disabilities at the school. So basically what happened is we did this band and we were called the PIs for the physically impaired.
LIZ I love it.
MIKE Which everybody finds really funny but it wasn't like a really deep thing, it was just like yeah.
MAT The PIs.
MIKE I was like it doesn't matter we're just going to call ourselves that.
LIZ And what sort of music did you play, what songs?
MAT What were they called?
MIKE What?
MAT The songs.
MIKE Oh we did... they were like all really negative titles because I was going through a bit of a punk phase, like I grew up with lots of Blink 182 and stuff.
MAT But were they about disability like, "Aagghh I'm angry."
MIKE There was one called Go Away that was kind of a...
LIZ Every teenager writes a song called Go Away.
MIKE No but it was more specific than that. I mean nobody listened to my lyrics because I was just kind of shouting. But it was kind of like, "Don't patronise me, don't categorise me I'm just who I am".
MAT And now apparently I have to tell you right here and now, Mike, that I was and sometimes still am a drummer. In the notes it said you clashed with the drummer. Could that have been because of your monstrously enlarged ego and not agreeing that all songs should speed up in the middle?
MIKE Probably. It was more like this guy without - I mean I love him, we had our differences...
MAT They hate each other.
LIZ Of course.
MIKE This guy had never heard of Phil Collins obviously because he was like, "Well I'm a drummer I don't have to write anything." And I was like, "What? If you don't like what I write, you write something." He was like, "No I'm a drummer." And then we never got past that. And we were just two really big personalities and we just clashed. And then we had kind of a bassist who played base on a keyboard which is complicated anyway, but it just got round us finding a bassist basically. And he got caught in the middle of it all and then... Because they were, I should say as well, they were younger, they were like in Year 8 or something.
MAT Did it come to blows, Mike?
MIKE Almost.
MAT Was it a crip fight at school?
MIKE Actually no, there was this guy in our band who was like he...
LIZ Was it like Timmy and Jimmy that's all I'm thinking so far?
MIKE He couldn't really play anything so all he used to do was just play a tambourine and he was in the band, he had his place right?
LIZ Patronise...
MAT And you hear it all here, this is the music industry in one soliloquy my friend.
MIKE So he was like, he goes, "Sorry I didn't mean to hit you I had a fit." Now I can tell the difference.
MAT This is a comedy sketch waiting to happen. Shall we do the quick questions?
LIZ Shall we move on with the quick questions?
MAT Yeah come on.
LIZ Are you ready, Mike?
MIKE Yeah, yeah.
LIZ Okay. Well in three words how would you sum up your school days?
MIKE Slow, lonely and pointless.
MAT And bearing in mind we're on the BBC what's your favourite joke?
MIKE Oh God we're on the BBC aren't we? What do you call a guy who hangs around with musicians? A drummer.
LIZ Coffee or fruit juice?
MIKE Coffee.
MAT Not funny. That was not funny.
LIZ Mat, it's not about you.
MAT Crisps or olives, Mike?
MIKE Crisps.
LIZ The first thing I'll do when I get home today is...?
MIKE Brag about being on the BBC.
MAT If I could be an animal I'd be...?
MIKE A leopard.
LIZ If I could live in another country I'd choose...?
MIKE America.
MAT TV or internet?
MIKE Internet.
LIZ Disabled persons' railcard or young persons' railcard?
MIKE Young persons' railcard.
MAT Drummers are better than lead singers because...?
MIKE They sing.
MAT No I was joking. That's the quick fire questions done.
LIZ No.
MAT No?
LIZ People who like Mike Oliver's music also like...?
MIKE Frank Turner, Blues music, honesty.
LIZ Ooh!
MAT Honesty!
LIZ It's quite deep.
MAT Oh dear. Right then honest Mike Oliver.
LIZ Or is honesty a band?
MAT Isn't it an album by Beyonce?
MIKE Is it?
MAT No.
MIKE I don't listen to Beyonce so I will...
MAT Oh well that makes all of us. Okay.
LIZ And if we want to find out more, listen to your stuff where can listeners tune into?
MIKE Well I've got a Reverbnations site which is just kind of it's moving on from MySpace. So it's Reverbnation/mikeolivermusic.
MAT Now cue Mike, what are you going to play for us Mike?
MIKE It's called Pay No Mind.
[Playing music]
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