Downtown Money Waster :: Features :: The Oohlas

Sometimes in order to keep things interesting, the best thing to do is change it up a bit. That’s exactly what former Everclear drummer Greg Eklund (guitars) did by forming his new band alongside his kid brother Mark Eklund (bass) and friend Olivia Stone (guitar/ vox). The Oohlas, whose name resonates with its fans, offers up a unique sound that steps outside the current trends of today.

“I try not to put a boundary on creativity and just let it happen however it happens,” states Greg Eklund.

The band’s great sense of creativity also helped when coming up with an original name such as the Oohlas.

“Mark and I had been trying to figure out band names forever. Mark and Ollie ride the transit buses here in LA and they heard some kids talking about this girl and saying ‘she was cute but she wasn’t an oohla.’ So they thought it was a great name.”

Along with the band’s catchy title the they also had a catchy sound that attracted the attention of label Stolen Transmission, a sub divisionary label off of Island Records, who signed the Oohlas before they even performed their first song.

“Sara Lewitinn found us through Myspace. She had heard some of our stuff and passed it on to Rob Stevenson who was in the process of getting on Stolen Transmission. They said to us they really liked what we were doing and they wanted us here. So that’s basically how it happened, pretty fast.”

Fast pace is basically how the industry goes. The band just finished a three-week tour that covered 9,000 miles.

“Oh the tour went fantastic. The whole thing we were excited about on that tour was that we were hitting a lot of places that we never had a chance to be.”

One of those places included what every band member wishes to see, the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.

“We had a day off so we went to the Rock ‘n Roll hall of fame in Cleveland. This was pretty cool for us because we were calling ahead because we didn’t really have any money and we wanted to know what it cost to get in. They told us it was like eighteen dollars or whatever it was. So we told them we didn’t have that kind of money. We told them how we’re in a band and they said if you bring in your CD then you get in for free. So that was good. They had an exhibit on the Clash there, which was really cool because I’m a big Clash fan.”

Despite still being at the beginning of the band’s career, Eklund expresses how the good vibes from the tour gave them a vote of confidence that the Oohlas are on their way up.

_________________________________

“Mark and I had been trying to figure out band names forever. Mark and Ollie ride the transit buses here in LA and they heard some kids talking about this girl and saying ‘she was cute but she wasn’t an oohla.'”

- Greg Eklund

_________________________________

Considering Greg Eklund has ten years experience under his belt, it would be assumed that the second time around would be easier knowing what is effective in getting a band's name out their but surprisingly Eklund admits that it’s not.

“I don’t know if it’s easier. With Everclear I joined right before they got signed with Major Records so they had been a band for two years. I think the only difference is being in this band and starting this band was working all the way from the ground up. I was more involved in all of the decisions being made. Where as before it was more of an art band. Every decision and everything that comes through is decided by the three of us.”

When asked about how this new band compares to Everclear, Eklund felt the two offer quite unique experiences.

“This big difference is that I played drums in Everclear and I play guitar and sing in this band. So it’s a whole different thing being on the front of the stage and singing. But at the same time we are doing the same thing Everclear did in the early stages,” Eklund replies. “It’s kind of getting back to how that experience was. Because I’m playing a different instrument it all seems very new to me. Switching instruments made music fun again, which is something I really didn’t have towards the end of Everclear. So I’m having a blast out their now.”

When asking the former drummer about his past experience with Everclear and why he left, Eklund felt it was time.

“Its funny how bands form, have success, then break up in four years or five years. So no matter what, even in a perfect situation it’s just a long time and I would probably be bored. So I would say its one of just many reasons. But mostly it was just time to move on. What are you going to keep doing it for twenty years? You just can’t. I’m not interested in doing that.”

In an effort not to limit themselves, the colorful trio, with added drummer, prefers to stand out like wildflower and have no intentions in ever giving into the popular development.

“There really is no grand objective other than to just go out and hopefully have fun and communicate that to people. We want everyone to have a good time if they come see us and we want to have a good time as well. If you are not having a good time then it’s not worth doing,” comments Eklund.

As far as The Oohlas are concerned, keeping it fun means never controlling your music and just going with the flow.

“For us we never want to limit ourselves with anything. To have a statement I feel somewhat limits you, at least conceptually. We want the good, the bad, the honest, the dishonest, the crazy and the traditional all rolled up into one.”